Still basking

It's been over a week since the Spartans defeated Ohio State for the Big Ten title and a trip to the Rose Bowl, and I'm still on cloud nine, with no sign of falling off anytime soon.
 

A 26 year wait will do that.

MSU played Oakland in basketball yesterday, and it barely registered a blip on my personal radar screen. Sure, I was a bit concerned with how the Spartans struggled--though to be fair, this wasn't too surprising considering the ten-day layoff between games and Harris, Costello, and Kaminski out of the lineup-but I've been so consumed with Spartan football that I barely felt any angst regarding the hoops team.

 

I don't know how many times I've watched the Big Ten Network's replay of the championship game. I've lost count, but I'd guess about four times. I can't get enough of it. Sometime before January 1, 2014, I'll have to snap out of this euphoric state in order to watch the Tournament of Roses Parade and the Rose Bowl game, though I know the second I see the Spartan Marching Band turn the corner on Colorado Boulevard, I will have tears streaming down my cheeks.

 

I feel a certain amount of vindication this season from a fan's perspective. I may have already mentioned this here, but my single biggest regret from college (besides obtaining my fairly useless liberal arts degree) is not purchasing season football tickets in 1987. I was so angry over the disappointing '86 Spartan football team that I decided to save my pennies in 1987.
 

Collossal mistake, and big failure as an MSU student and fan.

 

I only attended two football games in 1987, the two worst home games of the season: Florida State and Illinois. The only good that came out of the Florida State game was that it was a warm, sunny September day, and I can say I saw, in person, Deion Sanders play as a collegian. The Illinois game was Homecoming. A rainy, cruddy cold day in which John Langeloh's potentially winning field goal was blocked, resulting in a tie.

 

I missed the 17-11 win over Michigan, and the Rose Bowl-clinching victory against Indiana. (I had to settle for a mad dash from Shaw Hall to Spartan Stadium immediately after the game to join in the celebration).

 

This year, I enjoyed a warm, sunny Homecoming win over Indiana, and then the most electrifying atmosphere I've ever experienced at Spartan Stadium when MSU crushed Michigan, 29-6.
 

It only took me 26 years, but I got it right this time.