The upcoming clash in Michigan this weekend takes me back to a tailgate gameday experience last year that was one of the greatest. Last year it was the 100th game between Michigan State and Michigan, a rivalry that dates back to when MSU wasn’t Michigan State University, but it was Michigan Agricultural College (MAC). The winner of this annual bitter rivalry takes home the 4 ft. statue of Paul Bunyan – a legend in Michigan folklore.
The campus of MSU is located in East Lansing which is right near the state capital, which is about 1.5 hours northwest of Detroit.
Knowing that we were invited to a tailgate put on by “TheVictorsTailgate” (http://www.thevictorstailgate.com/), we only needed to find a parking spot before we made our way over to meet our fellow tailgaters. We found a good spot by the plant services building for $10 where the tailgating was already underway at the customary 9am opening time (for 3:30 games). There are a lot of parking options to take advantage of in the heart of the action, which is between the south of the stadium and north of Towbridge Road (The Munn parking lot towards the east part of the stadium is non-alchoholic and may want to be avoided.) The tennis courts would be the first parking priority, but the lineup to get a limited spot starts very very early. We walked from our parking spot through the RV section and upon the tennis courts. We entered a sea of fans that were well into the festivities. The usual events of beer pong, ghetto shoes (washers into a wooden box), Cornhole (bean bag toss), and Ladder golf were in full swing among the mostly younger and very energetic student body. There were so many more students that could fill the stadium, let alone the designated student section. It was like Friday night, yet it was only Saturday morning – I cant imagine what Friday night must have been like!
TheVictorsTailgate had a full spread on where there was a full ham as the main dish, with Gyros (for the Sparty theme), and all the necessary snacks. These guys had such a menu that Bratwurst were simply accessories. The tailgate was so impressive that even the Commissioner of Tailgating – Joe Cahn came by to check things out and have a chat.
We left the stadium with about 30 minutes before kickoff, which gave us a comfortable amount of time due to the fact that the crowd arrived from all angles of the stadium, which alleviated mass congestion. Stopping for a picture with the bronzed life-size picture of the Spartan warrior was apparently a very popular thing to do.
The atmosphere inside the stadium was very lively and the chants of “GO GREEN, GO WHITE” reverberated from all corners of the stadium, and hands were out galloping the Spartanesque song by the band. Getting around the stadium inside was kind of tight and reminded me of a hockey arena. Overall, a great atmosphere from a passionate fan base.
After the game we went right back to the tailgate spot. This time though, the tennis courts literally looked like a twister came through, with not many people around, and the fields just absolutely littered – it was a bit of a shame really.
About an hour and a half after the game, the traffic was still quite heavy. The popular destination would be Grand River Ave, just east of Abbott road, which includes sports bars such as Harrison Roadhouse and Buffalo Wild Wings.
All in all, a great experience for a great rivalry – or any Fall Saturday game for that matter.
Posts
