Spartans Rise from a Miserable State

Recession is typically defined as a significant decline in activity, lasting longer than a few months, and always used in relation to the economy. With recess being the root of the word, and meaning “to pause”, can we rightfully say the State of Michigan is going through both an economic and athletic recession?

Just as Detroit’s auto industry spent many years prospering before it stalled, isn’t it the same for Michigan’s most popular sports?

The Detroit Red Wings were the 2008 Stanley Cup Champions, and the Michigan State Spartans are now bound for the Final Four. But the greatness of puck pros and round ball amateurs bookend months of Michigan sports misery, with the greater attractions still suffering.

Twenty years ago, Michigan represented the upper echelon of sports. The ’89 Pistons won the second of back-to-back NBA titles. And proving they had the best basketball at any level, the Wolverines won the NCAA Championship.

In the Rose Bowl, Bo Schembechler’s Michigan football team notched an upset 22-14 victory over USC, and in that same year, the Detroit Lions drafted running back Barry Sanders, who went on to receive NFL rookie of the year honors. All eyes were on the 26th state, where athletic success was the calling, and polished trophies added to the lure.

But here in 2009, it’s a reversal of fortune, with most of the sports attractions taking a step back, and one moving from the penthouse to the basement.

The biggest pigskin draws in the State of Michigan combined to finish 3-25 in 2008, with the misery accompanied by historic lows. The Detroit Lions became only the second NFL franchise to go winless in a season. 

And in doing so, became the first to lose 16 games in a football calendar. The University of Michigan’s record of 3-9 marks the most single season losses in the program’s history, and 2008 snapped a 33-year streak of bowl appearances for college football’s all time leader in victories.

Joe Dumars was masterful in keeping his Pistons among the Eastern elite, and stability allowed the Motor City cagers to be serious title contenders in any given year.

The new season began with the departure of Chauncey Billups, the most important component of the fine tuned engine, and they stepped quickly into eastern mediocrity. After years of consistency that kept Detroit among the league’s top franchises, they now fail to rate among the NBA’s top 15.

The Detroit Tigers are just two years removed from their World Series appearance, and loss, to the St. Louis Cardinals. Their record of 74-88 in 2008 shows a two year journey that took them from American League best to a last place finish in the AL Central.

For the state of Michigan, the Spartans are indeed a sight for sore eyes. In a tournament filled with Big East hype, Michigan State has danced their way to the final four, defeating the power conference’s top dog, and No. 1 program in America, Louisville, to get there. It’s their 5th Final Four appearance in the past 11 years.

But more importantly, the success starved Michigan residents receive a homegrown product  at Ford’s Field for the college hoops finale, and find themselves just two victories away from National bragging rights.

The suffrage is expected to continue for the top spectator sports in the state, as the holes have been dug too deep to expect and instant turnaround for the Lions and U of M football. 

But in a time of corporate downsizing and rising unemployment, coupled with the declination of the most popular sports, one particular gang in green enables the Wolverine State to tune in and crack a partial smile.

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