Ohio State football: You have to be a special kind of person to be a Michigan fan

When the NCAA said they could prove Jim Harbaugh’s program had been running an extensive cheating operation, I watched them thumb their nose and laugh in the face of anyone and everyone. I’ve watched them celebrate a “championship” and act like it was won because of superior coaching and talent, instead of acknowledging the program was built through cheating.

Most recently, I’ve watched them on social media make feeble attempts to taunt Ohio State football fans over the Buckeyes’ weekend haul of commitments. All of this has led me to this conclusion: you have to be a special kind of person to be a Michigan fan.

Your favorite college football program has just been informed by the NCAA that they can prove a cheating operation has been in place for the last two and a half seasons. Not just any cheating operation, but the worst the sport has seen in its over 150-year history. As a fan, are you outraged?

Not at all. You take great pride in supporting and glorifying the cheating. Furthermore, you point fingers at everyone else as the real problem because they dare call out your favorite team. You, along with certain media members (like Ari Wasserman of The Athletic), call fans of your biggest rival crybabies for reminding everyone of the tainted championship. Sound familiar? It should because this is exactly what Wolverine fans have done in the last five months. You have to be a special kind of person to be a Michigan fan.

It's one thing to support and glorify cheating, but it is something entirely different when you point a finger at a rival and act like they are doing something that falls outside the rules. This past weekend, the Buckeyes landed commitments from four recruits.

The reaction of Michigan fans has been to refer to OSU as the best team money can buy. This is in obvious reference to the large NIL collective that is available to Ohio State players and recruits. I’m certain Michigan fans will be chagrined to learn that NIL money is legal.

That is a term I know they are not familiar with…legal. L-E-G-A-L. It means within the rules. So, after not hiding their pride in their favorite team’s cheating, they try to diminish the recruiting success of their bitter rival by making a rather frail attempt to be critical of something that is well within the rules. You have to be a special kind of person to be a Michigan fan.

I’ll be very honest. I’d rather be labeled a crybaby than a cheater. Cheating, glorifying cheating, making excuses for cheating, or acting like it never happened (yes, I’m referring to the sports media) speaks to a complete lack of character and integrity. By now, you know what I’m going to say: you have to be a special kind of person to be a Michigan fan.