The phrase “Go Blue” appeared over Spartan Stadium on Saturday in an impressive yet simultaneously baffling troll job.
Michigan was responsible for that East Lansing ‘Go Blue’ skywriter
The Wolverines weren’t specifically targeting East Lansing with this message, so they say. But the important thing about this story is that everybody won.
Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports
Yep. Go Blue. Above Spartan Stadium. @ pic.twitter.com/j0osLyrXss
— Trevor Parks (@YSUSID) September 14, 2013
Was some Michigan booster responsible for this? As it turns out, no.
Michigan’s athletics department paid for the gesture, perhaps thousands of dollars, though U-M is adamant that no specific area of Michigan was targeted. So this message was not by any means intended to fly over the tiny piece of the state occupied by Spartan Stadium. The fact that it did was just a wonderful bit of serendipity for the Wolverines.
Michigan athletics department spokesman Dave Ablauf explains, via MLive.com:
”We hired the skywriters to canvas southeast Michigan with slogans and numbers prior to our game last Saturday,“he said in a statement. “There were no locations targeted...”
Right.
Some tangible good came from this stunt, though, and this is awesome: It led to thousands of dollars being donated to the Michigan Ovarian Cancer Alliance. Michigan State fan Scott Westerman, whose wife Colleen has twice beaten ovarian cancer, turned the whole thing into a great opportunity and managed a minor shot at the Spartans’ rivals in the process.
“The sheer cost of this momentary chest beating gives the unfortunate perception of malice,” he wrote online after the game. “That’s not what Spartans are about and I don’t believe it’s what true UofM alumni are all about. Will you help me show Wolverines everywhere what we can do with $3,000? This is Ovarian Cancer Awareness Month. As many of you know, Colleen is a two time survivor, one of hundreds in our state who are fighting this silent killer. Will you consider making a $10-$50 contribution to the Michigan Ovarian Cancer Alliance (which is based in Ann Arbor) and say that it’s coming from a supporter of Michigan State University?”
More from SB Nation:
See More:
