Local Spartans, Wolverines Catching Bowl Fever

Dec. 18, 2015

New Year’s Eve and New Year’s Day have a special significance this year for University of Michigan and Michigan State University football fans.

Both squads are matched up in high-profile bowl games and football fever is growing among Wolverine and Spartan fans.

The Spartans are only two wins from the program’s first national championship since 1966 and will play Alabama at the Cotton Bowl in a Dec. 31 national semifinal in Arlington, Texas. The Spartans are 9-point underdogs to the Crimson Tide, who are powered by running back Derrick Henry, winner of the Heisman Trophy.

Clemson and Oklahoma will meet in the other semifinal at the Orange Bowl and the winners will face off Jan. 11 in Glendale, Arizona.

On New Year’s Day, Michigan will play the Florida Gators in The Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. Las Vegas sports books have installed the Wolverines as 4-point favorites.

The Spartans clinched their spot in football’s final four by knocking off Iowa, 16-13, in the Big Ten championship game. Michigan State cinched the thrilling win with a 22-play drive that ended with a 1-yard lunge by LJ Scott as time expired.

"That was some finish," said Dan Edson, an MSU grad who was at the game. "We’re excited about the Alabama game, but our son and his wife here in TC are expecting their second child during Christmas week, so that is priority one at the Edson house. If the Spartans beat Alabama, we will certainly go to the national championship. We’ll watch this game at home with friends."

Edson finished grad school at MSU in 1979 and considers himself fortunate to be there during the Kirk Gibson years and the Magic Johnson/Greg Kelser basketball championship. The Traverse City resident is president of American Proficiency Institute and in 2004 was presented with MSU’s distinguished alumni award.

"My wife Debbie and I went to the 2014 Rose Bowl in Pasadena," he recalled. "We had only three days, so we flew out to L.A. on New Year’s Eve morning and went to a pep rally with thousands of fans. That evening we attended an athletic department reception where, among others, we met Kirk Cousins, Gene Washington and Clint Jones from the "˜66 championship team, and George Blaha. On game day we went to the president’s reception at the Rose Bowl and experienced the thrill of beating Stanford with a strong defensive stand. Back at our hotel in LA, hundreds of fans celebrated "Spartans Will!"

Suttons Bay realtor Jonathon Oltersdorf attended MSU grad school from 2003–2007 and makes sure to get to a couple of home games each football season. He was at both the basketball championship and the Rose Bowl of 2013.

"It’s a great time to be a Spartan fan," he said. "Our basketball team is ranked No. 1 and the football team is playing for a national championship. We’ve had hardfought battles with both Iowa and Ohio State. It’s old school, Big Ten football. And against Alabama it will be tough. But we match up well."

Any predictions? "I see a 24-21 Spartan victory on a late field goal by [Michael] Geiger and a windmill celebration!" One Spartan fan who will be watching from afar is Melissa Madsen, who grew up in Georgia and attended Michigan State from 2006-2010. She later moved to Traverse City and now lives in Perth, Australia. "I will actually be in London during the game watching with fellow Spartans," she said. "I do watch the games here once every three weeks or so when they air"¦It’s only games on ESPN that air here, which is a shame because I miss out on CBS and Big 10 Network."

Growing up in Georgia, Madsen became a University of Florida fan and will be rooting for the Gators against the Wolverines. "I’m excited for the Florida game, but not thrilled about the Alabama vs. MSU because I know the SEC will pull out the win," she said.

The Crimson Tide (12-1) reached the playoffs semifinals by defeating Florida in the SEC championship game, 29-15. The second-ever meeting with the Spartans is filled with story lines. Alabama coach Nick Saban was Michigan State’s head coach from 1995-99, and had a stint as a Spartans assistant from 1983-87. The Crimson Tide put a 49-7 drubbing on MSU in the Capital One Bowl in 2011. Since that setback, Michigan State has tied a Big Ten record with four consecutive bowl wins.

Michigan Wolverine fans are thrilled to be returning to the bowl scene after last season’s less-than-stellar 5-7 record under former coach Brady Hoke. It was the first time since 2009 that the Wolverines were not in a bowl game. But the hiring of new coach Jim Harbaugh invigorated both the team and fans and he directed the Wolverines to a solid nine-win season.

"I’m thrilled to be playing New Year’s Day and I’m thrilled with the matchup with Florida," said Traverse City’s Kim Marian, past president of the U of M Club, which includes some 3,300 alumni in the five-county Grand Traverse region. "This year 9-3 was spectacular."

A marketing professional and pilates instructor, Marian attended U of M from 1989-93 and has been to four bowl games – three Rose Bowls and a Gator Bowl. As a member of the flag squad in the marching band, she made the trip to Pasadena in 1990, a 17-10 loss to Southern California. It was historic because it was the final game of Bo Schembechler’s illustrious 27-year coaching career.

Marian also attended the 1992 and ’93 Rose Bowls. In 1992, the Wolverines lost to Washington, 34-14. But the Maize and Blue got revenge in ’92 by besting the Huskies, 38-31.

"As an overall theme among my U of M brethren, we are excited to see the team play in a bowl game, especially on New Year’s Day," said Marian. "For a first-year coach, we are very happy with the team’s performance and many people have shared that this team performed much better than anticipated. Everyone is looking to a bright future with Coach Harbaugh at the helm!"