The Bizarre Trophy Rivalry Between Michigan and Michigan State

Forget Faygo versus Vernors, or even "pop" versus "soda", The Michigan and Michigan State rivalry is one of the biggest things you'll find Michiganders arguing about.

And no matter which side of the fence you find yourself on, we can all agree about one thing: one of the trophies they're competing for leaves everyone a loser.

If you haven't seen this thing, it's called the Big Bear trophy, and it's what the Michigan and Michigan State Men's Soccer teams compete for every single year

Courtesy of Michigan State University Athletics

This soccer tournament is a huge deal, drawing an almost sold out crowd to cheer on their team as they compete for what looks like a bear that a toddler drew from memory.

The battle for the big bear started back in 2000 when Michigan added soccer as a Varsity sport. While the two teams started playing each other as far back as the 1950's, the current rivalry for this trophy is newer than not.

How did they end up with this trophy? Michigan head coach Steve Burns purchased the wooden-bear sculpture to commemorate the revival of the rivalry, and since they've been passing it back and forth each year.

And while, I love the IDEA of the rivalry, this weirdly shaped bear feels like no one wins if they have to store it for a year until the two teams meet again. Can we crowdfund for them to get a new one?

Now this is a trophy I can get behind...