Hello. My Name is Bob Rarig, and I am a Michilvania Nittany Wolverine. This is my story.
Like a lot of boys, I developed my early sports allegiances based on whom my dad rooted for. Since my dad never cared about college sports, I was left to find my own allegiances. Since I grew up in south central Pennsylvania, one would think I would be a Penn State fan.
However, I never liked PSU because everyone else loved PSU, but no one could give me a reason why. In retrospect, all they would have had to say was "Joe Pa," and I probably would have caught on.
But they didn't, so I started rooting for Michigan.
Why?
1) Because their football helmets were (and are still) awesome.
2) Because PSU fans didn't like Michigan
3) Because Notre Dame fans (the only other college fans you could find where I'm from) seemed to loathe Michigan (and since even the geographical explanation wasn't an option for Notre Dame fans, I thought Notre Dame fans were much dumber than PSU fans).
Since I was 11 at the time, I didn't fully understand how apt a choice I had made. By the time I was 12, I realized that Notre Dame was one of Michigan's greatest rivals and that Michigan was actually really good at football and (then, at least) basketball.
I took a lot of crap in high school for being a Michigan fan, but the 1997 national championship made it all worth it. When I was a senior, the only college I wanted to go to was U of M, but my parents made me apply to other schools, including Penn State. I was accepted to PSU. I was wait-listed and eventually denied by U of M.
Devastated, I went to Penn State to save money while earning my bachelors degree. I never told a soul that I was a Michigan fan except for two of my girlfriends (who just happened to be U of M fans, too).
The first football game I went to was the 1999 PSU vs. Michigan game the week after Minnesota had ruined PSU's bid for a national championship. That was the last year PSU had Courtney Brown and LaVar Arrington on defense.
*On a side note, I walked by LaVar Arrington on the sidewalk once during my freshman year, and I'll never forget that he was wearing a black leather jacket that must have taken three cows to make. Dude was huge!*
I distinctly remember my friends getting upset with me when I didn't go nuts when PSU picked off a pass in the end zone to deny Michigan the lead. In a rare moment of smoothness under pressure, I immediately responded, "The way we've played on offense so far, does it really matter?" And they bought it!
They actually stopped cheering for the their defense and started worrying about the offense! Michigan won that game (and hasn't lost to PSU since), and I was more careful in the stands from then on, although it got easier as I started to really love PSU over time.
Despite maintaining my allegiance to U of M, I never really got over getting rejected by the admissions department. I think that that was one of the biggest motivators I had while going into college, and it drove me to an unexpected level of success in the classroom, which gave me the opportunity to go to graduate school.
Having developed an allegiance to Penn State over four years (while not abandoning U of M—I still rooted for Michigan in the games against PSU), I applied to Michigan for grad school simply for the acceptance letter: the one thing missing from my substantial U of M paraphernalia collection.
I had really wanted to go to grad school in California, but once I visited both UC Irvine (where people seemed to be robots) and U of M on recruitment trips, I knew I belonged in Ann Arbor.
Just as my Michigan allegiance (or, more accurately, my PSU hatred) waned over four years in Happy Valley, I thought that I might start abandoning PSU the moment I stepped on campus in Ann Arbor.
Quite the contrary.
My time spent at Penn State remains the best years of my life, and there is an unavoidable bond one has with their alma mater that strengthens over time. I love Ann Arbor; it feels like home and Michigan Stadium is one of my favorite places in the world; but the life of a graduate student is much different than that of an undergrad.
Being a very nostalgic person, I have always loved reliving the best parts of my past, and that now includes cheering for the Nittany Lions. I invited my best PSU friends to Ann Arbor for the PSU vs. Michigan game last year. I wore a Penn State jersey to the game and sat in the student section of the Big House.
My friend Jake asked me, as we were setting up the tailgate, if I would be wearing a U of M jersey if Michigan had the better record. I said yes. Jake wasn't happy to hear the truth but begrudgingly gave me props for the honesty.
I never thought coming to Michigan would involve me going to a game in the big house wearing a Penn State jersey. I would not hesitate to wear the maize and blue into Beaver Stadium—the temporary big house. Some, or perhaps most, would call me a front-runner for cheering for the team with the better shot at a conference or national championship every year when these two teams meet head-to-head.
I can't argue with such an assessment, but I've reached the point where I have no other way of choosing whom to root for in such a scenario. I've been a Wolverine for 15 years and a Nittany Lion for nine.
I earned a degree from both schools. I love them both and won't apologize for it. But no matter whether you're a PSU or U of M fan, you can't argue the fact that I have twice the reason to hate Ohio State and Notre Dame, so it can't be all bad, right?
Coming soon: Redskins to Bengals? and The Team vs. Conference Quandary.
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about 1 month ago
As long as you hate OSU as much as I do then we're all good lol. Awesome article! I am faced with a similar dilemma, although it's not at the college football level, but the NFL level. I'm a Panthers/Eagles fan. If interested, my article "My Town, My Team, My Carolina Panthers" explains why.
You're article is a POTD for me. I immensly enjoyed it! I love personal experince articles.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks Eric,
I read your article and although I couldn't disagree more with your opinion that football is America's pastime (I'm stickin' with baseball) I can totally picture 5 year-old eagles fans booing you. I have been to many Philly sporting events and Philly fans, especially eagles fans, are relentless.
Keep on hatin' OSU!
about 1 month ago
Lol, yeah they are relentless. I respect your take on America's pastime, but I still love football more than any sporting event. I had to laugh to myself too however, while they're booing me I'm thinking how much I also like the Eagles lol
about 1 month ago
You should be ashamed of yourself being from PA and becoming a Michigan fan!
You gotta pick one or the other dude.
about 1 month ago
Michigan SUCKS!!! Just abandon those sorry SOB's! They all deserve nothing better than 0-12 and complete humility! I still can't decide whether my most hated team is Notre Dame or Michigan, as I hate them both so much! Michigan wears their stupid yellow and blue...THAT'S RIGHT!!! NOT MAIZE AND BLUE...YELLOW AND BLUE!!! Are you UM fans blind? Its freaking YELLOW! YELLOW AND BLUE!!!
I'm sorry Bob, but I cannot respect you until you choose one or the other...and if you pick UM you're chances are very slim that I will expect you.
If you are going to the PSU vs UM game this year, you better wear white and blue. If you wear yellow and blue, I will find you, and either take your jersey off and replace it with a PSU one, or spray paint your Michigan jersey blue and white. Penn State fans do not usually get angry like this, but you cannot be a fan of both UM and PSU, especially when you go into Beaver Stadium and root for Michigan!
If you need some help...go with the more proud, more prestigious, better program with a bigger stadium, which means go with PENN STATE!!! Abandon those yellow and blue things and be a Nittany Lion...you're from Pennsylvania, for G-d's sake!
from about 1 month ago
If I were going to the PSU-Michigan game I'd be wearing white and blue for sure. Unfortunately I won't be able to make it down to Happy Valley this season. Have fun at the game; this should be the year the Lions maul the wolverines.
from about 1 month ago
Thanks. If we don't kill them, that would mean that...we...are...worse than...Toledo.......
That would be pathetic. If we don't break the curse I will kill someone...not literally. Seriously, I would probably not watch or go to another Penn State game, ever, if they lose this game.
about 1 month ago
Penn State has it this year!!
about 1 month ago
I sure hope so
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