Michigan vs. Michigan State and the healing power of sports
Saturday night will be a very different kind of spectacle between the Michigan Wolverines and Michigan State Spartans. Sure, the two schools will come together to renew their basketball rivalry, one of the best in the country.
But it is far down the list of what is important.
On Feb. 13, a gunman took the lives of three MSU students and sent five others to the hospital, shaking the East Lansing community to its core in an all too familiar feeling. There were students on campus that had experienced both the Oxford and Parkland mass shootings.
It was another heartbreaking and gutwrenching week that hit far too close to home.
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Michigan has plans to honor its rival school before and during the game in Ann Arbor on Saturday, including warmup shirts for the Wolverines and student section, the band learning the MSU alma mater, green and white LED wristbands and more. But what Saturday is most symbolic of is how sports can heal, and how we can all come together to put aside our allegiances to celebrate life and a communal experience.
This rivalry means the world to a lot of people, and at its core is a phenomenal experience. There are always fans that argue Ohio State is Michigan’s chief rival. On the field of play historically, that is hard to argue. But Michigan vs. Michigan State has always felt like it meant more because this state is our home. You walk out of your front door to work and see a Gruff Sparty flag on your neighbor’s property. You go to the gym and someone is working out in a Spartan sweatshirt. Co-workers and best friends exist on both sides of the rivalry.
This one matters most because the state of Michigan is our home. It’s a sibling rivalry.
It’s family.
An attack on a rival’s community is an attack on ours because of the deep, rich history and shared connection. We may have Maize and Blue or Green and White preferences, but we’re all just flesh and blood. We all have the same-sized soul, stories to tell and family and friends to rally around. They should all be hugged a little tighter and loved a little harder.
Saturday night will be a return to normalcy for the Spartan community and Michigan will be wrapping its arms around them. Sports are entertainment. Sports connect people. And the state of Michigan will be connected through a nationally-televised display of respect, love and honor for those who we have lost and those we are still lucky to have with us.
The recent relationship between the two schools has been far too toxic and when you zoom out and look at it from a wide-angle lens, it has all been so petty and pointless. Anything born out of hatred only ever escalates to more hatred. There is no reason for the outlandish behavior that has taken place on both sides of the rivalry. Enough of the finger-pointing. Enough of the “what abouts.” The pious and holier-than-thou attitudes. It has all been so exhausting. It does not matter and never has because the two sides are far more alike than they are different.
We get to see that put aside on Saturday night and hopefully, it becomes a turning point.
It has to be because we all need it now more than ever.
At some point, the pieces have to be picked up and everyone moves forward as normally as they can. Our hearts go out to the Michigan State community and the families affected by this horrible tragedy. We should never have to feel unsafe in the places we gather, and parents should never have to wonder if their children will return home from wherever they are sent, especially at school.
Too many bright futures have been lost. Saturday night, we honor them. And hopefully, start to heal.
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