Are the Kalamazoo Metro Buses Wrapped in Ohio State Colors on Purpose?
We take great pride in our Michigander-ness in these parts, and often use Ohio as our punching bag for fun. That's most apparent during football season when the Wolverines lineup across the ball from the (b)uckeyes to finish the season. So, it's safe to say, when Michigan eyes are drawn to Grey and Scarlet colors, it should be an immediate red flag.
But recently, a visitor to Kalamazoo may have picked up on a possible conspiracy of overt Ohio State fandom right in front of our faces. In fact, guarantee you've seen this egregious display of Ohio-dom nearly every day you get out of the house, and drive by a Kalamazoo Metro Transit bus.
A reel posted by @iceakaboss on Instagram recently, may have shed some light on a new conspiracy theory.
In the video, they claim that the head of business for Kalamazoo Metro picked a very specific color scheme for the company's fleet of buses and vans on purpose.
Yeah, Mr. "boss" there, says the head of Kalamazoo Metro is actually a graduate of Ohio State, and slyly decided to take a jab at Wolverine fans in West Michigan, by wrapping all the vehicles in the Scarlet, Gray, and White.
It's also worth noting that @riceakaboss is also from Columbus, Ohio, so it could just be him stirring the pot for us Michiganders.
But he does bring up an interesting coincidence, that those vehicles JUST happened to be the exact same colors as that school to the south.
Is the Director of Kalamazoo Metro Really from Ohio State?
To check this, I actually made a call to the main offices of Metro Transit and got no reply. But I suspect I wasn't going to get the answer I expected, or a call back in general, because it's a silly question.
See, the funny thing is, current Chief executive Sean McBride isn't the person we should be talking to. He's only one of seven members in the Transit Authority Board of Directors in town that are appointed by the Mayor of Kalamazoo, which currently is David Anderson. But even HE isn't the person we probably need to talk to.
In fact, the current incarnation of Scarlet and Gray buses made their debut just five years ago, when the city was awarded a grant to buy new buses.
In their defense, before the full bus design was solidified, the original Metro logo was also Scarlet and Gray, but much less ostentatious.
So, if you're really looking for someone to blame for our Scarlet and Gray buses in Kalamazoo, we gotta find the person who designed their paint jobs.
Anyone wanna fess up now?
Also, maybe the next time the Metro gets an upgrade to the bus fleet, we can see about a new wrap job. I hear Maize and Blue are pretty nice.
Kalamazoo Metro Transit is Still an Awesome addition to the Community
By the way, the Kalamazoo Metro Transit is an amazing program, that we would never throw shade at. This was just some fun that got started with a funny video on the internet. In NO WAY would we ever condone any accusation toward someone at this organization for doing something so heinous.
They provide a valuable service to Kalamazoo, and the surrounding metro area, and we greatly appreciate them.
8 Major Red Flags For People Moving To Ohio
Gallery Credit: Canva
8 Items Ohio Residents Should Never Carry In Their Purse Or Wallet
Gallery Credit: Jessica Poxson