Investigation into MSU/U of M Football Game?
Wow, what an interstate rivalry football game last Saturday. University of Michigan beat Michigan State University 21 – 6. In fact U of M beat MSU pretty handily, but the actual game was not where the controversy was.
The controversy of the match happened hours before the kickoff, and now U of M Football coach Jim Harbaugh is asking for an investigation according to reporting by Mlive. There is video provided in the link I gave you to the Mlive reporting, check it out.
The controversy surrounds MSU’s traditional pregame walk. Prior to kickoff Saturday, the Michigan State football team entered Spartan Stadium for its traditional pregame walk, they entered the stadium after a few Michigan players had already taken the field to warm up.
Coach Harbaugh said the Michigan athletic department called MSU earlier in the week to ask when, exactly, the Spartans would be doing their traditional pregame walk so that they could make sure they weren't on the field for it.
According to U of M, MSU officials told U of M that it originally planned to begin its field-wide march, described as a pre-game ritual for MSU that spans the length of the field, at 9:45 a.m., then they moved it to 9:55.
According to people at the game and stadium at that time MSU did not take the field until shortly after 10 a.m., with video of the march proving that they entered the field at approximately 10:02 a.m.
Three Michigan players, including Devin Bush had went on to the field to warm up, when the line of Spartan’s approached him and the two others they refused to move as MSU, and a confrontation ensued, with one Michigan player being allegedly clothes-lined and another having his headphones ripped off.
Coach Harbaugh was quoted saying:
We were aware they did a traditional walk and we contacted them. They send us a book, pregame operations, the most detailed and finest I've ever seen. Has everything in it in writing. But that part was not. So we called them and said 'what time are you guys doing your walk, we don't want to put our players out until you do your traditional walk...They gave us a time. 'It'll be at 9:45 (a.m.).' Said OK, great.' Then, 'well, it might be 9:55, now it is going to be 9:55 a day later.' That walk happened another 10 minutes after that. At no point was there any kind of heads up or, 'hey could you guys please leave the field.'
Enough with all the useless investigations, both in politics and now sports. Let the schools work it out and leave it all on the field.
Quite honestly both teams looked a little sloppy during the game, U of M was trying its hardest to let MSU win the game. It just so happens that MSU was much sloppier than U of M.