Wolverine Digest

Spartan Fan Goes Full 'Little Brother' Mode for the Holidays

In spite of owning the head-to-head in 2021, the Michigan State Spartans - and their fans - will be watching the Michigan Wolverines compete for a national championship for the holiday season.

Christopher Breiler

There's no doubt about it, Michigan has put together one hell of a football season so far. Led by veteran edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson, the Wolverines put together a 12-1 record during the regular season, beat Ohio State for the first time in the Jim Harbaugh era, captured the Big Ten Championship and earned themselves the No. 2 spot in the College Football Playoff. 

For Michigan, the season has been damn near perfect so far. 

There is, of course, one negative mark that still bothers the maize and blue faithful - even as they book their ridiculously expensive travel plans to Miami for New Year's Eve. The narrow loss to the Michigan State Spartans is one that many Michigan fans still refer back to, often highlighting just how close the Wolverines are to a perfect 13-0 record and the No. 1 seed in the college football playoff.

Though Michigan State won by a score of 37-33, a controversial call would ultimately own the headlines following the game. On the play in question, junior edge rusher David Ojabo sacked Michigan State quarterback Payton Thorne late in the first half. The sack resulted in a fumble, which was recovered by Aidan Hutchinson in the end zone for what was initially ruled as a touchdown. After a lengthy review, the officiating crew decided to reverse the call on the field - taking away the critical Michigan touchdown and keeping the Spartans alive. 

The rest is history.

While the loss to Michigan State certainly seemed devastating at the time, the Wolverines never wavered in their focus, their belief in themselves or their belief in each other. Following that brutal loss to the Spartans, Michigan finished the regular season winning five straight - including blowout wins over No. 2 Ohio State and No. 13 Iowa in the Big Ten Championship game. 

Not only did the Wolverines earn their first Big Ten Championship since 2004, they also earned the No. 2 spot in the College Football Playoff and a trip to Miami to face No. 3 Georgia in the Orange Bowl. 

With so much going right for the maize and blue faithful in 2021, it's understandable that fans of rival programs might be feeling a big salty this holiday season. There are plenty of examples I could provide in order to highlight my point, but instead I'll simply leave you with this exquisite example a thing called "inferiority complex". 

If you're from Ann Arbor, you simply refer to it as "Little Brother" syndrome.

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Christopher Breiler
CHRISTOPHER BREILER

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