The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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82 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2023 "I think it's a great time for the two schools to come together and see what's really impor- tant." T hose were former Mich- igan head coach John Beilein's words before Michigan's home game with Michigan State Feb. 18. He and the 2013 team were honored at halftime and on hand to watch the Wolverines score the last 12 points to win 84-72 and split the regular-season se- ries, significant in that it kept their flickering NCAA Tour- nament hopes alive. But the overall significance has never seemed clearer in the wake of the mass shooting on the Michigan State cam- pus Feb. 13 that left three MSU students dead and five oth- ers critically injured. Sports are sports — life is what's important, and eight families had theirs altered forever when a sick individual senselessly went on a rampage before taking his own life. The Michigan State response was overwhelming, and many of us watched in tears when Tom Izzo and others ad- dressed Spartan nation during a vigil on campus. As Michiganders, most of us have friends and/or family with ties to the school, including some with kids there now. We were texting some of them during the incident when they were on the phones with their children making sure they were safe and encour- aging them to lock their doors. The U-M response, too, was sincere and touching. Several in the crowd wore "Spartan Strong" shirts in support of the visiting team, and a banner with the same words hung in the student section. Izzo openly wept when the arena was lit up green in the pregame; a moment of silence followed, and a rendition of the MSU alma mater was performed by the Michigan pep band. "Right now, it's not about the sport. It's about life," Michigan head coach Ju- wan Howard said. "Unfortunately, there were those that were lost during such a tragedy. It hit home — very close to home — for us. "This is not easy. This is a tough one that we're all dealing with. I say 'we all' because our hearts go out to the Michi- gan State family and, more importantly, our condolences go to the families of the lost ones. This is not one of those where you think about the sport — you think about the people." After all — and lost too often in the banter — these are games, nothing more. Anyone who can't understand that now (on either side) probably needs a reset of their own. There were plenty, unfortunately. Several MSU fans on message boards (the lunatic fringe of fan bases, to be clear, not indicative of the group as a whole) suggested Michigan wasn't be- ing sincere and was "grandstanding" with its pregame gesture, trying to make itself "look good." Some Michigan fans on their boards countered that Izzo's response was nothing but "an act." To both, as we responded on our own site, we'd say emphatically … "Get a grip." Any such reaction is a slap in the face to the victims and their loved ones. People from families who lost children (ours included) and faced that unimaginable grief under- stand and grieve with them. The pain is incomprehensible, and the last thing they need to hear or read is anything along "party lines." They need love and sup- port, and they've gotten it — sincerely — from folks in this state and beyond. And that's all that matters. Izzo realized it and ac- knowledged it in his postgame press conference. "I'd like to thank the Uni- versity of Michigan for the things they did on our behalf, from our university, our students, the three deceased students, ones that are in the hospital," Izzo said. "I thought it was a very classy move on their part, and I appreciated that." But now, he added, life goes on, and so do the games … "games" being the emphasis. It's not world-altering stuff, and too often it's treated as such. So, we move on and go about our jobs with heavy hearts, the victims and their families on our minds, with unfortunate added perspective. The rhetoric that has escalated the rivalry, no matter who's worse or if you wear green and white or maize and blue, needs to be toned down (us included) and the tribalism scaled back immensely. After all, these are just games, not a matter of life and death, something that was made evident suddenly and devas- tatingly this month. We ache for those directly involved, and we pray for their strength and heal- ing. ❏ Chris Balas has been with The Wolver- ine since 1997. Contact him at cbalas@ thewolverine.com and follow him on Twitter @Balas_Wolverine. INSIDE MICHIGAN CHRIS BALAS Bigger Than Sports When the Michigan State men's basketball team came to Crisler Center for a matchup Feb. 18 just days after a tragic shooting at MSU, the entire University of Michigan community came together in grieving and support of its in-state neighbor school's students, staff and faculty. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY