Democrat senatorial candidate Abdul El-Sayed spoke at a Students versus Billionaires town hall on the University of Michigan campus and answered questions about Ann Arbor housing. He said the area needs more units that remain open to people who actually want to occupy them, and he identified football supporters as the barrier because game days attract visitors with spare money who acquire properties via short-term rental companies and remove those homes from the regular market.

The Wolverines schedule at most eight home games annually and sometimes fewer. Social media users mocked the claim that such limited seasonal activity could depress housing supply and doubted that attacking college football would boost his Senate bid. In an August interview El-Sayed expressed excitement about beating Ohio and noted that JD Vance of Ohio would visit Michigan the following week, a phrasing that led observers to conclude he is not a genuine college football fan.