Michigan St. Spartans Set To End Recession, Cure Cancer

I am not sure if everyone has heard about this or not, but apparently there is some sort of economic problem hitting Michigan, specifically the city of Detroit. It is all I have heard over the past week or so on ESPN and sports talk radio. Apparently the economy there is in the dumps and Michigan has the highest unemployment rate in the Union, but the Michigan State Spartan men's basketball team is carrying the hopes of the entire state on their shoulders. I sure hope this economic mess doesn't spread to the rest of the country, or even the world!

The fact that thousands of other colleges and universities around the country are not fighting for a national championship should be of no concern to their fans, because only the fans in Detroit have actually been negatively affected by this apparent state-wide recession.

And on a less serious note, we should all be rooting for Michigan State because the city of Detroit had to suffer through that historical 0-16 Lions team this last year. Sure, in the last 15 years Michigan State's basketball team has a title, the Red Wings have four Stanley Cups (including last year), the Pistons have an NBA title, and sure that is more major sports titles than 90% of other towns during that span, but the Lions are bad and these are good, hard-working, flag-waving-Americans and they deserve more.

Sure since the turn of the millennium Detroit has hosted a Major League Baseball All-Star game, a Super Bowl, a Ryder Cup, four NBA and NHL Finals series, and now an NCAA Final Four. But we should all get behind these Spartans because this is a cursed sports town that never gets to see anything great happen. Plus, North Carolina only has the fourth worst unemployment rate in the country, so those people are spoiled economically as well as in terms of sports (the Hurricanes won the Stanley Cup a few years back and the Panthers have a really good wide receiver). And on top of it all, now Gary Sheffield is gone. Is there no bottom to this hole?

Fox radio hosts Isaac Lowenkron and Pooh Richardson made a good point during the MSU-UConn game on Saturday. As Pooh said, this Michigan State team is just like the 1980 U.S. Olympic Hockey team, and their win over Connecticut was just like the Miracle on Ice over the Russians. Lowenkron agreed, saying that all of us Americans across the country should feel a little better about our own situations because that pesky 2-seed went into their home gym and knocked off a 1-seed! I know I feel better about getting laid off last year and having a part-time job now! Thanks AP-ranked #8 school, for showing me that anything is possible...even you beating the #5 ranked school! Oh Miracle of all Miracles!

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In reality, I am rooting for Michigan State tonight because I am annoyed that Tyler Hansbrough apparently cannot close his mouth and I am a Duke fan anyway. Plus Tom Izzo seems like a good guy and I'd like to see him win it all again. And Roy Williams already seems like kindof a smug little guy anyway; he doesn't need another title to add to it. And let's face it, neither of them is helping or hurting my bracket at this point. But can we all give it a rest about how hard the city of Detroit has had it and how this win will make it all better? 1 in 5 people in that city is unemployed and no new industries are popping up to help out...how much is this game going to help or hurt? And as I mentioned, it is not as though it is these poor kids in unmatched uniforms vs. a 1998 Silicon Valley little league All-Star team, flying in on a team jet with their trainers, P.R. staffs, and entourages in tow. North Carolina has been hit extraordinarily hard by this recession as well...do those people not deserve a little joy?

Put the game in its proper perspective and enjoy it that way. Despite all the money, and all the lights, and all the cameras, and all the scouts, and all the agents, and all the boosters, and all the talk, it is still just 20 kids playing for a trophy for their schools.