If you were born in the state
of Michigan, you likely en-
tered this world with desig-
nated colors: green and white
or maize and blue. Whether
or not you grew into these
colors and attended the cor-
responding
university
is
where intrastate enmity aris-
es. This is because the noto-
riety attached to your colors
and logos extends beyond
just being a fan — in-state
collegiate allegiance produc-
es predetermined archetypes
that are rooted in things
deeper than football banter.
Specifically, these archetypes
view arrogance as a formally
earned trait for those with an
acceptance letter, and school
pride as a mindless obsession
for those without.
With the University of Mich-
igan Athletic Department
announcing the return of a
college football season with
spectators, the in-state rival-
ry between the University of
Michigan and Michigan State
University is bound to reig-
nite with a year’s worth of
restrained animosity emerg-
ing beneath face masks and
between six feet of distance.
Regardless of your family’s
membership in one of the
largest living alumni bases in
the world, adversaries locat-
ed in East Lansing demand
clarification of one’s connec-
tion to the University, vali-
dating your logo and overall
tolerability in the stands.
In their terms and perhaps
even in ours, you are either
an “academic Wolverine” al-
lowed to exclaim “Go blue!”
or a so-called “Walmart Wol-
verine” that is groundlessly
affiliated.
The “academic Wolverine” is
portrayed as an elitist, mak-
ing many think the acronym
A² stands for “arrogant ass-
hole” in place of Ann Arbor.
The University, in the eye of
the “academic,” is a public
Ivy with a beautiful campus
situated in a bustling city,
livened with the thrill of
D-I athletics and Midwest
tailgating. Such sentiment
causes a possessive connec-
tion to Ann Arbor for the
“academic,” making an ac-
ceptance letter an implied
entry permit for those wish-
ing to take pictures in front
of campus buildings or cheer
at sports games. Academic
Wolverines scored above the
national average on the ACT
test and will both implicitly
and explicitly tell you about
it, legitimizing their place at
the University and cement-
ing themselves amongst the
legacy of Victors.
Ann Arbor has once again
been ranked the best college
town in America and the
University has maintained its
place as the top public uni-
versity in the United States
for five straight years. Is that
elitist for us to constantly
bring up? The University is
no exception to statistic and
rank-heavy marketing strat-
egies that create a sense of
elitism within students, as
demonstrated by the pro-
motional brochures which
declare us “Leaders and the
Best,” not “Leaders and the
Humble.”
With a 23% acceptance rate,
the school pride that the
“academic” feels is earned.
However, our exclusive ad-
mission rate is the reason
that there are not enough
block M acceptance letters
to go around, forcing many
to purchase such school
pride through season tick-
ets or branded t-shirts. This
desire for school acceptance
goes beyond admission into
the Ann Arbor classroom,
for access to a prestigious
education is not equally dis-
tributable and attainable in
both financial and societal
aspects.
Because of this, the “Walmart
Wolverine” archetype was
developed by Spartans and
exacerbated by the “academ-
ic.” Often defined as a Michi-
gan fan who has no formal af-
filiation to the University, the
“Walmart Wolverine” gener-
ally lacks a college education,
tends to have a low-paying
job and therefore resorts to
buying
affordable
Michi-
gan gear from Walmart. The
“Walmart Wolverine” is ded-
icated to the sports program
and the Big House on a great-
er level than the “academic”
and will recite historical suc-
cesses of the football team
in extensive detail and with
heightened enthusiasm.
With no U-M diploma, the
“Walmart Wolverine” is so-
cialized to be looked at solely
as a mindless fan by Spartans
and contrasts clearly with
the “academic,” and has not
earned the right to brag of
the University’s athletic suc-
cesses and academic pres-
tige. Implying that arrogance
is confined and acceptable
only to those who pay U-M
tuition is in itself arrogant.
In the largest football sta-
dium in the country, there is
a delineation between those
who purchase tickets as
alumni or current students to
fill the stands and those who
purchase tickets out of per-
sonal interest, with no formal
school attachment. Remem-
ber when fans were seen
hoisting up a banner read-
ing “Pardon our arrogance”
in the stands throughout the
early 2000s? Both teams re-
acted adversely. Filling seats
and selling tickets has be-
come stigmatized by those
wearing both green and
white as well as maize and
blue, creating rivalry in the
stands.
These
archetypes
should
be dismantled, considering
they stray from the intent of
the University and the tenets
upon which it was founded.
In the words of former Uni-
versity President James B.
Angell, Michigan was found-
ed and shaped to be “an un-
common education for the
common man” and woman.
“‘Have an aristocracy of birth
if you will,” he said, “or of
riches, if you wish, but give
our plain boys from the log
cabins a chance to develop
their minds with the best
learning and we fear nothing
from your aristocracy.’”
The two extremes of the
Wolverine archetypes reveal
a sense of bitter resentment
that is instilled by our in-
state rivals to rid the Uni-
versity of inclusivity it has
fiercely sought to foster. We
cannot accept and foster this
sentiment that diminishes
our mission statement.
24 — Thursday, August 5, 2021
Opinion
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
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Pardon
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JULIA VERKLAN MALONEY
Daily Opinion Writer
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