The Spring Game, part II

Finally getting back to this blog.

Well, if you're dying to know--I WAS at the Spring Game. My wife and I were among the 48,000 (or so) who heeded Mark Dantonio's call and showed our support for Michigan State Spartans football.

I will spare you my observations of what transpired on the field, because honestly I wasn't paying too much attention to the minutiae of the game. And, really, what can anyone glean from a spring game?

I'm still trying to get used to the notion that spring football games matter that much, or that the attendance to these affairs is any barometer of a football program's strength or popularity. However, the more I think about it, the more it makes sense given the way that television and social media dominate  our culture these days. In the era (pre-Big Ten Network) when these games were not televised and simply scrimmages. Nobody gave them much thought at all. And when MSU football was mediocre to just plain bad, I don't remember ever hearing anything about them.

Now, Mark Dantonio has taken Spartan football to heights not scaled since 1966. That, coupled with the modern age of 24-hour sports, social media, and the ever increasing popularity of college football (despite the recent concerns with concussions, etc.), the spring game is much more important and is approaching the level accorded Midnight Madness in basketball. Based on the flurry of commitments MSU received from recruits during and after the game, I'm willing to accept and embrace the spring game's new-found relevance.

The folks at MSU did a good job in making this more of an event. The pre-game youth clinic was a rousing success--and what better way to cultivate and encourage a young fan base then give these kids an opportunity to meet and mingle with the football players? Another nice touch was giving people the opportunity to take photos of  the (enormous) Cotton Bowl trophy and the (much smaller) Rose Bowl trophy.

Overall, the day was a big celebration of MSU football, and after how much this program has accomplished over the last six years and counting, it was appropriate. I was happy to see so many people come to the game and demonstrate how much they enjoy and support the renaissance of Spartan football.

The Spring Game

When did the Spring Game become such a big deal?

Until recently (I don't know exactly when--the last three or four years? The point at which BTN, etc. began televising the darn things) the annual intra-squad scrimmage that concluded spring football practice was exactly that: a scrimmage. A fairly low-key scrimmage that was open to the public, but with little promotion or expectations attached.

But like everything in college sports, it has now been given an importance that it doesn't deserve. Now, we have some local sports writers declaring that the attendance to this game is some sort of referendum on the program. We have the head coach imploring fans to come to the game and setting a goal of 50,000. Somehow, the number of people who show up to this game will have some profound affect on everything from recruiting to MSU's national perception.

Really?

I realize that the football program has reached heights not seen since the mid-1960s, and fans should be interested in celebrating the program and checking out how the team looks. For what it's worth, I plan on attending this year's spring game--it'll be the second consecutive spring game I have attended. The only previous spring game I had been to was in 1988, after MSU's 1987 Rose Bowl season.

I don't think it's fair that the number of people who show up for a spring football scrimmage should used as a barometer of program interest and passion. Tell the legions of fans who traveled to the Rose Bowl and the Cotton Bowl that Spartan Nation is indifferent to the football program.

I'm just getting tired of our fandom being constantly questioned. I've had it with some media folks writing and saying that we just aren't doing enough to prove our loyalty.

But, I have heeded Mark Dantonio's call and will be at Spartan Stadium on Saturday regardless of the weather. Nobody should question my loyalty to the football program. I hope that 50,000 people DO attend the spring game so that certain members of the media will get off our backs--at least temporarily.

I think I know Spartan Nation well enough to not question its fandom based on the number of butts in the seats at Spartan Stadium on April 25.