PHOTOS: There were a lot of people at Michigan's practice, even Ohio State fans
After Jim Harbaugh announced that his team’s final practice at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Fla. would be open to the public, there were non-Michigan fans who hoped to make the trip.
Arkansas coach Bret Bielema jokingly announced on Twitter his intentions to attend the practices, as did Michigan State coach Mark Dantonio and Tennessee coach Butch Jones. By now, you know how that turned out.
The quiet period prevented rival NCAA coaches from attending Michigan’s “circus.” But that didn’t prevent Ohio State fans from crashing the party.
These Buckeye fans even showed off their pride in front of the Michigan team bus:
@11W I thought it was #northtilyousmellitwesttilyoustepinit, but obviously I was wrong! pic.twitter.com/0LmOeMbXnD
— Jeff Grundey (@Grun_D) March 4, 2016
Those fans didn’t dare to rep Ohio State colors in enemy territory. That wasn’t the case for every Buckeye in Bradenton.
This man didn’t hide his fandom:
As you can see, he wasn’t the most popular fan at IMG:
God bless the brave soul who came to #Michigan open practice…wearing a #Buckeyes shirt. #Wolverines pic.twitter.com/3TNk3JpDVr
— Matt Baker (@MBakerTBTimes) March 4, 2016
Apparently the Buckeye fan in red wasn’t alone, which led to quite the unfriendly welcome:
2 fans in red — assuming they're OSU fans — were taking their seats and getting majorly booed. They waved to the crowd and…left
— angelique (@chengelis) March 4, 2016
Let’s not assume that they drove down from Ohio for the trip. They could’ve easily been local Ohio State fans who just wanted to get a rise out of the pro-MIchigan crowd.
Even without the Ohio State fans and the high-profile coaches, Michigan still had itself a healthy crowd for a spring practice in Florida:
Spring practice at IMG pic.twitter.com/xYv4e1ihWD
— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) March 4, 2016