Lee Wright
I’m not an alumnus of Michigan State, but I am an ardent fan of the university’s football and basketball teams. I’ve been asked to write thoughts and opinions regarding the Big Ten in general, and Michigan State in particular. A little background might be in order…
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Originally, I was a University of Michigan fan because the Wolverines were my dad’s team even though he never went to college. I eventually graduated from college, but it was a division II school and my interest remained with the Big Ten and Michigan State. My dad downplayed the significance of “…that team in East Lansing,” and rooted for the team in Ann Arbor throughout my youth. I went along until the 1984 Sugar Bowl, which featured the Wolverines against Auburn and Bo Jackson. The Michigan football team, led by Bo Schembechler, received most of the accolades each year with Michigan State taking a back seat in both the national and state media.
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The Wolverines won many games each year, usually against inferior opponents. When it came time to play in the post season, against other ranked teams, the outcome was usually not in Michigan’s favor. Then came the 1984 Sugar Bowl. I remember Auburn getting in position for a short field goal late in the game (Michigan led 7-6). The decision to use their last timeout to ‘ice’ the Auburn kicker (who was a senior and led the SEC in scoring that year) was another of Michigan’s costly mistakes that lost games. The kicker made the field goal to make the score 10-7, and the game ended when the clock ran out with Michigan near the 50-yard line and no time outs left. From that moment on, I became a Michigan State fan and haven’t looked back since. (Sidebar: this decision proved interesting soon after as I met my wife who had two brothers who graduated from MSU.)