The Michigan Wolverines plan to wear all maize in a game for the first time since 1928. First of all, I need to say that that is very cool. I love Michigan football in that I want them to be relevant. I admittedly prefer Ohio State because my wife is from Ohio, but I appreciate Michigan. I think the uniforms will be cool, and I know that this is just another way for Jim Harbaugh to control the narrative and keep his team in the presses for as long as possible. He is a genius at this sort of thing, and we should marvel at how he is eating up as much air time as possible.
Look at me, here I am talking about it.
A little bit of buzz here and there
Jim Harbaugh does the little things that add up, and that is part of what makes him a marketing genius. He knows how to put his team back in the news just about once a month, and that forces us to talk about him once a month for a couple days. That is what makes his program so appealing. These kids who go to Michigan scan work on their brand, and they will have the exposure they need before they go to the next level. A player who does not go to the NFL still gets exposure that they can use to get a job and have a nice life. It really does work out in everyone's favor.
Michigan needs it
They have yet to get over the hump that we all call Ohio State, and the people in Michigan simply call that state to the south.
They hate each other enough that this is a massive missing piece on his resume, and he is battling a coach in Urban Meyer who is so good at his job that we automatically assume Ohio State could make the playoff. We are looking past Michigan even though they are good because the Buckeyes are better. That must sting Harbaugh, and he must keep his team relevant so that they have the buzz going into the season.
It only takes one
It only takes one win for the Wolverines to get into the college football playoff, and it only takes one national title for Harbaugh to have a job for life. They are good enough to do this, and we all know it. The sideshow that is the maize uniforms and trips to Italy is just a way to get recruits to notice them.
Harbaugh is a Michigan guy, and I am willing to overlook a lot because I know that he actually loves the school. That is enough for me considering that I am not a graduate of a major university. I cannot speak to how much it means to him, and I will defer, in this case, to his school pride.
Perhaps it is time to take Michigan seriously even as the use gimmicks to get attention in the media. It actually works.
