I'm not and old fart by any means, but I've seen a lot of ups and downs between ours and the UM programs since the 90's. In the last 20 years, both teams have won as many as 10 and have lost as many as 10. There's been some really bad multi-season slumps for both, as well as some good times. Bother teams are experiencing the highest level of sustained success as they have had in recent memory.

Though all of this, though, I have noticed one thing that never seems to go away, not matter the records. Only fan base can be happy at a time. When one side is riding high, the other is panicking because they fear they are getting left behind. It's as if, no matter who we are playing, we are always playing against each other, and each side can never truly enjoy their own success when the other is just a little bit better at the time. Momentum can change sides weekly or even daily, depending on factors ranging from big wins to a commitment to arrest to an individual award. It never stops, and I don't care what any UM fan says. They are just as obsessed as we are. They are just better at pretending like we don't matter to them.

The last two seasons are a perfect example of this. While we were #1 for a month last season, UM fans couldn't even enjoy their own success. Every one of then I would know would fake a smile and say how cool it is for the state. Deep down, you could tell it was eating them up inside. This year, the tables have turned, and none of us seem to even care about the bowl game. We are too busy freaking out about Mullen and recruiting. Why? Because 8-4 and a nice bowl isn't acceptable? No. It's simply because UM is better than us right now and have steeper trajectory going forward. That's all that seems to matter. We can't look at our own teams and decide how we feel without looking at the other first.