Has This Been The Greatest Year Of Football In The History Of The State Of Michigan?

Last week, I declared that the state of Michigan had the greatest week of football that they’d ever seen. That is undeniable. The idea of Michigan football winning a national championship and the Detroit Lions winning a playoff game the same week is some fairytale shit. Hell, the idea of the Detroit Lions winning a playoff game at all is some fairytale shit. But it did get me thinking, is this year, from front to back, the greatest football season that this state has ever seen. Let’s discuss. 

You have to look at the three major teams in this state. You have the University of Michigan football team, the University of Michigan State football team, and the Detroit Lions in the NFL. Two of those teams have seen much success in the 21st century. The other team is the Lions. So it's hard to find one if we're looking at years in which all three of these teams were good simultaneously. But considering the success that at least two of these teams have had in 2023, it might be fair to say that this has been the greatest football season this state has ever seen.

First off, the Lions never win, like, ever. They had not won a playoff game in my lifetime until last Sunday, so we're trying to assess what the greatest football season in the state of Michigan has been; it's pretty easy to narrow it down because there haven't been a whole lot of successful Lions campaigns. Opposing fan bases can scoff at how we celebrated a playoff victory, but it's something that's about as likely as Haley's comment. Hopefully, that changes with this new regime.

Michigan football's success speaks for itself. This was one of the most unique and greatest seasons in college football history. They went 15-0 to cap off the greatest three-year stretch in the history of Michigan football. The downside is that there is still a chunk of the state that still hates the University of Michigan—those poor suckers. But even if you hate Michigan, you can't deny that they are the most talked about program in the state and the college football main headliners. They also seldom win National Championships. This is their first National Championship since 1997, and it's the first time they've won an outright national championship in decades. To have them in the Lions kicking ass concurrently is pretty rare. 

Is there any other year that holds up to this year? The first one that came to mind was in 2011. Michigan and Michigan State both won 11 games, and the Lions made the playoffs with Matt Stafford and Calvin Johnson. But neither one of those teams won a division or conference championship. Michigan State came damn close but lost a classic game to Wisconsin. While all three of those teams were good simultaneously, you can argue that none of them won anything of consequence. It's hard to deny the importance of a campaign that featured a National Championship. 

I'm writing this blog to brainstorm my thesis and drive home the point that people should be enjoying this. You may be a Spartan fan, and you hate Michigan. You guys had a lot of success. Michigan State football inflicted a lot of trauma on me growing up; Michigan winning the national championship this year is a vindication of that trauma. And even if you're split on the college teams, we're all united with the Lions. Not only has this been a successful Lions campaign, but I truly hope it's the beginning of something special. We'll cross that bridge when we get to it.

This season is far from over, but this team is set up with a lot of draft capital and cap space. Dan Campbell has turned the Detroit Lions into a team that free agents want to play for. Many people viewed this Michigan football season as the conclusion of a three-year arc. The program is in fantastic shape, but I wonder if they'll ever have a team as good as they had this season. With the lions, it's different. I don't want to put the car before the horse, but that last week was a watershed moment. Hopefully, in the future, playoff wins will be an expectation and not a surprise. For a city and a state that struggled to see success with their sports teams, this year has been a magic carpet ride.