I never thought I would be saying this, but … I had a great time at the “Big House” recently.

No, not Leavenworth.

I sunk deep into the trenches of that other school in Ann Arbor for the Bovines on the Goal Line Sale hosted by Ri-Val-Re Farms and Faria Brothers Dairy. They had a great gathering of genomic giants in the Holstein and Jersey breeds and buyers and sellers alike were happy with their purchases.

The Cattle Exchange of Delhi, N.Y. was at the helm of management with Dave Rama handling the auctioneer duties and Daniel Brandt reading pedigrees.

So where did they keep the sale cattle? On the field? In the locker room? Downtown Ann Arbor? Nope, they were on a power point, projected on the wall.

The cattle all sold absentia while the buyers and sellers sat in comfy chairs and enjoyed a full buffet of wonderful food. No manure, no shavings, no weather concerns, just a nice place to sit and enjoy a sale.

My fellow Spartan comrade, Rick VerBeek was on the sales staff, and while I thought he would wear something green and white, he went with the classic black. Well, he had to wear a sale staff shirt; and lucky for him, it was black and not some obnoxious maize or blue.

I, however, represented my Spartans wearing a subdued green and white. I didn’t want to be that fan who thinks she’s cool wearing a bold Spartan Green shirt in the heart of enemy territory. (I always roll my eyes when I see Michigan fans do that in East Lansing.)

Entering the Big House, we were greeted by University of Michigan hosts who were in the business of keeping things secure. They escorted us around the facility, directing us where we needed to go and making sure we had what we needed. They were lovely people.

After the sale, we were invited to tour the locker room and go out onto the field. So, feeling like a total traitor, I did. All of us did. The entire crowd of folks who just got done buying cattle turned into kids on the playground as the men showed off their sweet football skills, and the little kids just ran around.

It was a fun experience for everyone involved as they rarely get to enjoy getting up close and personal with a legendary football program.

Like I said, I never thought I would find myself standing on the turf in Michigan’s stadium, much less find it so impressive. There’s just something not right about a dyed-in-the-wool, born-and-bred Spartan actually enjoying standing in enemy territory.

Maybe I’m getting old and mushy, or maybe I need to spit in an envelope and send it off to Twenty-Three And Me to make sure my DNA still has MSU stamped on it.

While I will never turn into a Michigan fan … never … ever, I will give kudos to the University of Michigan and a genuinely fine staff of people who gave us a tour of the facility and bantered with this Spartan as I tried to convince them to come back from the darkside and join the right side.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Melissa Hart may write to her in care of this publication.