OK, Boomer: MSU Fans Are Way Younger Than Old, Curmudgeonly Michigan Fanbase
The next time some Michigan fan is spouting off about the history of the Wolverines and the global size and appeal of their football program, here's what to say.
"OK, boomer."
And you would be backed up by cold, hard numbers in saying that.
According to data compiled by marketing research firm SBRnet, Michigan State has more fans than Michigan, and Spartan fans tend to be far younger.
The data, part of SBRnet's detailed rankings of the most popular college football programs, show that MSU has significantly more fans among Gen Z and Gen X segments, whereas Michigan has slightly more among Millennials and considerably more within the Baby Boomer segment.
Here's a full breakdown of the numbers:
Gen Z Fans | Millennial Fans | Gen X Fans | Baby Boomer Fans | Total Fans | |
Michigan State | 253,850 | 619,072 | 1,029,026 | 856,508 | 2,938,450 |
Michigan | 85,948 | 715,881 | 687,111 | 1,106,529 | 2,877,610 |
No wonder Michigan fans won't shut up about things that happened before the advent of the personal computer — many of them were around to witness that ancient history!
For context, Gen Z is defined as those born between 1997 and 2012. Michigan holds a 10-6 advantage in the rivalry with MSU during that span.
Millennials are classified as those born between 1981 and 1996. Michigan won 11 of the 16 rivalry matchups over those years.
Gen Xers were born between 1965 and 1980, over which span Michigan also won 11 of the 16 games with MSU.
Ironically, the only generational birthdate range that MSU commanded was that of Baby Boomers, from 1949 to 1964, during which the Spartans went 10-4-2.
SBRnet's data found that Ohio State is the most popular college football program, with nearly 6.3 million total fans. That number is more than 50 percent larger than that of the second-most popular program, Alabama.