Yay I AM a fan, and it was a cool surprise to find a bar dedicated to the Michigan Wolverines on game day today! Nice vibe (albeit smoky at times), a ton of maize & blue regalia and decor including a custom linoleum M lower floor and a wall-to-wall Go Blue shrine. The bartenders play the cowbell intermittently just like in the Big House. Found out that one of the veteran bartenders was singlehandedly responsible for transforming this Inn Zone location into a Michigan hang. The main projection screen could've been a bit brighter, but it didn't matter as we chose to sit at the bar where there were HD flat screens.
One cannot choose the bar that their elder fellow alumni decide to hang out at. It doesn't work that way. Traditions are established, and fortunately the Inn Zone is suitably cool with the right amount of dive-y attitude. The place is windowless, but it's clean and the drinks are reasonably priced (Jameson on the rocks for $4) and the bartenders are super friendly. The corner cutout pickup window to the kitchen (which serves finger food and burgers - cash only) reminds me of a cross between two Ann Arbor classics: Backroom Pizza and Blimpy Burger.
For the Yelp record: the state universities in Michigan are not created equal. 2.5-3.0GPA students go to Western Michigan, Central Michigan and Michigan State. You need at least a 3.4 to get into the University Of Michigan as long as your SATs are in the 90th percentile. 36% of U of M students come from out-of-state, compared to a measly 9% out-of-state enrollment at Michigan State. No one truly aspires to go to Michigan State, which explains why many Michigan State alumni have a chip on their shoulder. Michigan State has one of the highest acceptance rates of any state university in the country. Not to mention their campus is pretty ugly in a government-building kind of way. Poor Spartans.
GO BLUE!