I think this college rivalry thing could should be used to benefit science.<p>I'm from Finland, country of good PISA grades for 15 year old kids. Also a country with lackluster universities according to Shanghai rankings. Our universities are plenty, as it was political decision to have one university in each "county". And then there is the idea "we are small country, we need to direct our resources". As a result there are two big technical universities Aalto and TTY, 200km apart. Which do not compete in anything scientific. If TTY studies steel casting, Aalto studies aluminum casting. Now this divide is getting worse as result of political decisions.<p>There are student rivalries. The mechanical engineering students compete with electrical engineering students in pranking and drinking alcohol. Aalto students and Helsinki university students sneer at each other. And TTY, Aalto and various other students meet every year in kyykkä sport competition.<p>While students don't have much to do with actual research, the attitudes probably effect pretty much everything. Currently the most competitive and talented students try to get masters degree as fast as possible and then make career at the private sector.<p>You could compare this to Oxbridge. Two universities specifically trying to maintain comparable scientific know-how in every field possible. The compete on everything while being only 100km apart.
Speaking as a Michigan grad, his description of the the UM / OSU rivalry sounds completely foreign to me. It's true I do know a few "how stupid OSU is" jokes, but I've never perceived them as anything but standard ingroup / outgroup jokes. (Think dumb blonde jokes here.)<p>But I've always seen the game as the best public school in Michigan versus the best public school in Ohio, two great universities with great football traditions. I've no idea why you'd think of OSU as hillbillies; I don't know that I've ever heard that association made.<p>Now Michigan versus Michigan State fits right into the model he's talking about. But even there it seems a real stretch to describe it as class warfare.
Rather more interesting, I think, is how college football is a great way to divert people's tribalist instincts into harmless pasttimes.<p>In college football territory, a rich guy seeking to waste money might donate it to his favorite college football team. In other areas, if he wants to waste money crushing his tribal enemies, he will instead do politics.
You can usually dismiss a pseudoscientific/pseudointellectual article by spotting the headline claim "<i>How</i> <controversial claim that is not well established as true> happened", instead of claiming "A case to prove of <controversial fact>"
Bah. I was talking the other weekend to a cousin who was raised in Ann Arbor and went to Michigan State. She could certainly have attended UM, but wanted to get away from home. With various Michigander shirt-tail relatives it seems to be much the same sort of thing.