Wolverines Make Their Presence Felt vs. Michigan State

If you read my column last week, you're probably surprised I've come down from my high enough to write on this blog. I'm talking, of course, of my joy following Duke's 84-79 victory over Michigan State last Wednesday.

Now, despite what many of you may think, I didn't write that column solely to vent my hatred of the Spartans—although that was certainly a contributing factor. No, I found the event an impetus to discuss rivalry in college sport in a time not overshadowed by Duke and North Carolina's own furious rivalry. I argued that rivalry is such a pivotal part of sport, and college sport in particular, that it stuck with you even when you had new allegiances. Such was the case with me—as a lifelong Michigan fan I hate Michigan State, a hatred which I carried with me into Cameron Wednesday and made chanting "DUI" and Korie Lucious all the more satisfying.

And apparently I wasn't the only one who felt that way. The average fan might not have noticed it, but there were at least a handful of fans in the crowd, specifically the graduate student section, who were not wearing Duke apparel, but instead the good-ol' Maize and Blue of the Wolverines. One pair of fans even held up a sign referencing Mike Hart's famous "little-brother" quip that I referenced in my column. Seeing that made my heart flutter and gave me enough courage to try singing "The Victors" amid the mass of Cameron Crazies. Unfortunately, my fellow Wolverines couldn't provide sufficient support.

Still, their presence provided (for once) concrete evidence for what I was arguing in my column. For that one game, those fans (since they were in the graduate student section, I'm assuming they were Michigan undergrads) chose to show their Wolverine pride as a way of connecting to old friends from Ann Arbor, who in all likelihood were also rooting for the Blue Devils against the hated Spartans. Those students likely will never wear a Michigan jersey into Cameron ever again, but for that one night their old connection to the Wolverines was just as important as their current connection to the Blue Devils.

I only wish I had the courage to at least wear my Wolverine hat to the game. In that way, I guess those graduate students were better Michigan fans that night. So if you're reading this column and ever want to grab a drink, it's on me—one former Wolverine to another.