COLUMN: Saturday’s game will sort out the true Chips
On Saturday, a group of Central Michigan students will have to make a decision.
Green and white or maroon and gold?
This is the dilemma for CMU students who also root for Michigan State.
CMU Head Coach John Bonamego said after practice Wednesday it “irks” him to see Chippewa students wearing colors from a different school.
“We are Central Michigan,” he said. “I just feel like you should be loyal to your school.”
But for hardcore Spartan fans, it might not be so easy.
If the second-ranked Spartans can finish the regular season undefeated, they will likely end up in the College Football Playoff with a chance at the National Championship.
A loss to CMU would ruin them. The Spartans would fall down the rankings like Cedar Point’s Power Tower ride.
On the other hand, a Chippewa victory—as unlikely as it may be—would be the biggest win in program history. It would also be the highest-ranked team a Mid-American Conference school has ever beaten, with the previous high coming in 2003 when Marshall defeated No. 6 Kansas State.
It would be near the territory of Appalachian State upsetting Michigan in 2007. Something junior kicker Ron Coluzzi said he would “tell (his) grandchildren about.”
Hence the quandary for Spartan fans on campus.
There are some fans who have been born and raised in green and white, but there are undoubtedly others who just root for MSU because they’re good. And it’s fun to root for teams who win.
Clearly its a different audience than the Detroit Lions fanbase.
It’s easy to call out those flip-flop fans and tell them to transfer to East Lansing. But it’s not so easy to root for “your school” and against “your team” if you’ve been waiting for Sparty’s chance at a title.
Central Michigan is not the most glamorous team to cheer on. But come Saturday morning, the Spartans from Mount Pleasant will have a tough decision to make.
Stay on the bandwagon?
Or come together with your peers, root for your classmates and stick with the underdogs? Like a true Chip.
