While the Free Press is probably about to do a Harbaugh centerfold it is interesting to see what is going on with MSU in the Chicagoland area and the western suburbs in particular. I have lived in the area for about 20 years and in Chicago there is no distinct college allegiance as there is in the Detroit area. If anything, Notre Dame is the local football school because of the Irish and Catholic population base and the history and proximity of the school. Northwestern has tried to market themselves into being the Chicago home team but no school seems to have gained visibility and credibility more than MSU over the past 10 years.
My daughters attend(ed) Hinsdale Central so that is obviously skewed since the Allen brothers have had a direct impact in the immediate area but it goes beyond that. When I first moved here it seemed kids were as likely, if not more likely, to go to Indiana as they were Illinois maybe in part because of the easier admission hurdle but Illinois was never embraced the way you would imagine the big state school would be. Beyond that it seemed Iowa, Purdue and maybe Wisconsin and Michigan were all lumped together as being in the general consideration set of college bound kids in the area and of course the admission hurdles varied. Minnesota, Ohio State and MSU were not typically in the consideration set or at least not as frequently. They were not top of mind.
In the west suburbs MSU is probably one of the hottest schools and is now there with Indiana and Purdue as a consideration for college bound kids. If you were to go just by the amount of MSU flags, bumper stickers and shirts you would think MSU just opened a Chicago satellite campus because it has grown exponentially since I have been here. There are plenty of UM grads and fans here but the media has nothing to gain by devoting the front section of the paper to UM because Chicago lacks the "Walmart" contingent, for lack of a better description.
It is amazing what success in football gets you because it has clearly elevated the perception of the entire university and made people much more aware of what MSU is about in this area. I have little doubt that if you took a poll of public perception MSU would fare better here than it does in Detroit. I am sure things have changed in Detroit too but it is dramatic here and you are spared the media sycophants who are pandering to the die hard UM wannabe audience that longs for the return of disco and the resurrection of UM.
When I went to pick up my daughter at middle school it seemed MSU stuff was more evident than any other school though I obviously was quick to notice it. The future seems pretty bright around here.
My daughters attend(ed) Hinsdale Central so that is obviously skewed since the Allen brothers have had a direct impact in the immediate area but it goes beyond that. When I first moved here it seemed kids were as likely, if not more likely, to go to Indiana as they were Illinois maybe in part because of the easier admission hurdle but Illinois was never embraced the way you would imagine the big state school would be. Beyond that it seemed Iowa, Purdue and maybe Wisconsin and Michigan were all lumped together as being in the general consideration set of college bound kids in the area and of course the admission hurdles varied. Minnesota, Ohio State and MSU were not typically in the consideration set or at least not as frequently. They were not top of mind.
In the west suburbs MSU is probably one of the hottest schools and is now there with Indiana and Purdue as a consideration for college bound kids. If you were to go just by the amount of MSU flags, bumper stickers and shirts you would think MSU just opened a Chicago satellite campus because it has grown exponentially since I have been here. There are plenty of UM grads and fans here but the media has nothing to gain by devoting the front section of the paper to UM because Chicago lacks the "Walmart" contingent, for lack of a better description.
It is amazing what success in football gets you because it has clearly elevated the perception of the entire university and made people much more aware of what MSU is about in this area. I have little doubt that if you took a poll of public perception MSU would fare better here than it does in Detroit. I am sure things have changed in Detroit too but it is dramatic here and you are spared the media sycophants who are pandering to the die hard UM wannabe audience that longs for the return of disco and the resurrection of UM.
When I went to pick up my daughter at middle school it seemed MSU stuff was more evident than any other school though I obviously was quick to notice it. The future seems pretty bright around here.
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