Michigan vs. Michigan State...is it a rivalry?

The great thing about living close to Detroit is sports radio. I love it, I can turn on 97.1 FM, and when it goes to commercial, I can turn to 113o AM. It is truly a beautiful thing. The focus on both of those stations besides the Tigers pennant race is the game coming up this weekend. UofM vs. MSU. The one common question in regards to this matchup is, "Is this a rivalry?" My answer to that is a resounding YES! As far as the level of rivalry is not important, what is important is it is a rivalry. It doesnt matter whether or not the overall records are close, or the career records are close. This, for as long as I can remember, is always a competitive game. It also gets the fans fired up. Whether its football, hockey, or basketball, the state pays attention when these two teams play. But right now the focus is on football. Amazingly enough, MSU is favored by 1. But that speaks to how competitive this game normally is. And if you know the series, you remember moments, good and bad. For me, I remember Braylon Edwards going off and bringing a victory to the Maize and Blue. I also remember MSU coming to the goaline.....5....4...3...2...1...1...1...snap, and MSU winning. Thats not a typo, those are three ones, but the point is we as fans remember moments from these games. I cant say that about Indiana or Purdue or even Penn St.

Now, I consider the rivalry with Ohio St. to be bigger on the hatred scale. If MSU is playing OSU, I am routing for MSU. Ohio St. is just annoying. I remember going to a conference for college 8 years ago, and learning that people at Ohio St. say they are from THEEE Ohio St. University. Give me a break. They say Michigan fans are full of ourselves, but at least we dont throw the title THEEEE in front of our favorite university.

In closing, think what you want, but UofM vs. MSU is a rivalry. It might not rank on the hatred scale as big as OSU, but it still matters. I plan on enjoying it the battle on Saturday. That is all.