College football in North America draws one of the largest active sports audiences in the world. Schools like Ohio State, Georgia, Michigan State, and the University of Michigan host some of the biggest fandoms, bringing in over 100,000 fans per game. The University of Michigan has one of the most dedicated and active audiences, as they are
one of the most successful NCAA football schools of all time, having won 11 national championships. Michigan’s football team in particular has a large anti-fandom that boasts animosity towards the team, coaches, and players. The anti-fandom surrounding Michigan football has recently exploded, following a scandal that gained popularity in early November as the university’s coaches and staff were caught cheating, by stealing signs from opposing teams. Therefore, in this paper, I am arguing that the anti-fandom on social media platforms like X (Twitter) surrounding the University of Michigan is significant and should be analyzed, as the negative backlash from anti-fans is irritating Michigan’s fans. Additionally, the anti-fandom negatively impacts the NCAA as it tarnishes their reputation, and impacts the idolization of football in particular across college sports, thus impacting the larger society.
The University of Michigan and its football team, the Wolverines, are not new to controversy. Earlier this year, the Wolverines’ head coach Jim Harbaugh was suspended for violating the NCAA recruitment rules, and more recently in early November, he was suspended again for a sign-stealing system conducted by staff members for the
Wolverines (Braziller, 2023). Wolverines’ staff were caught purchasing tickets to over 35 games and record
ing signs and playbook strategies of teams that Michigan would either play later in the season or possibly in the Playoffs (Braziller, 2023). Sign-stealing has been around since the creation of sports, as teams have always tried to find advantages in order to win. In the NCAA, sign-stealing itself is not actually against the rules, but the use of technology to do so is (Treacy, 2023). In addition, teams cannot scout by sending staff or coaches to games in which future opponents are playing, as this can result in teams having a significant advantage in the future (Treacy, 2023). The Wolverines violated these NCAA rules as Connor Stalions, the staff member behind this sign-stealing system bought tickets and transferred them to associates who he would have record plays, and take photos with him of opposing teams (Thomas, 2023). The method of sign-stealing, created by Stalions and his associates, allowed them to review videos and photos in order to create the best plan of attack for Michigan against their opponents. The sign-stealing system was then shut down when Stalions was photographed behind the sidelines of an opposing team, which resulted in him quitting his job at Michigan as facial recognition proved that the photos were of him (Thomas, 2023). The discovery of the sign-stealing scandal in Michigan resulted in an NCAA investigation, ending with Jim Harbaugh, the head coach of the Wolverines, agreeing to a suspension (Cohen, 2023). The suspension would last the rest of the regular season, allowing him to return to the playoffs, but crucially making sure that their head coach would be absent in the big games against Penn State, Maryland, and Ohio State (Cohen, 2023).
