Michigan Football, basketball fans underrated in FanSided 250

Michigan football and basketball fans probably should have been ranked higher in the FanSided 250, simply due to their loyalty and passion through everything.

Being a fan of Michigan football and Michigan basketball is exciting — it’s also torture. But, that’s what makes Wolverines fans so special. They may be crazy but they love their team.

So when the FanSided 250 came out and ranked Michigan fans as the No. 112 fanbase overall and the 15th-ranked fanbase in college sports, the number seems a little low.

Clemson took the top spot, followed by LSU and the school we all love to hate — Ohio State. But there were some other curious picks such as Penn State coming in at No. 8.

I guess since Michigan football has been known for finishing third in the Big Ten East, Wolverine fans were destined to finish third in fandom too.

Making a case for Michigan fans to rank higher

Of course, the fan vote played a big part in that and so did some of the social media following which definitely helped the Wolverines. However, other programs that had more success on the field of play ended up getting ranked a little higher and it’s hard to argue with that.

But I don’t think there are any fans in the Big Ten that are better than Michigan’s and that includes the faithful of the Ohio State Buckeyes.

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OSU has done more winning on the football field and the Buckeyes might have a larger fanbase too, which could also have to do with the fact that their state isn’t split like Michigan is between the Wolverines and Spartans.

But outside of the Buckeyes, no team draws more eyes than Michigan. The Michigan-Ohio State game is the biggest in the Big Ten (at least in terms of eyeballs) every year for a reason and it’s because the Wolverines have an enormous following.

Another great thing about Michigan is that it’s hard to say it’s a football school or a basketball school. It has won national championships in both sports and has fielded teams routinely ranked in the top 25.

Jim Harbaugh hasn’t led Michigan to the playoff, but they have finished ranked in the top 25 in four of his five seasons and the hoops program had made three consecutive Sweet 16 appearances before last year’s NCAA tournament was canceled.

Plus, with Juwan Howard pulling in top-ranked recruiting class for Michigan basketball, it’s safe to say this number will be on the rise in the future.