Spartan Fan?!?

My friend Ange asked me the other night if I'd like to go the MSU - PSU basketball game. I'm certain I must've looked at her like she was nuts. Now, mind you, I used to be a sports fan, which is to say I used to watch Michigan football religiously, would watch the Lions when I could bear to, loved the Pistons back in the days of Bill Laimbeer and Ricky Mahorn (yes, I even had the Bad Boys! poster - my mom was jealous), and would avidly watch the Wings during play-offs and sometimes during regular season. However, during the last several years, I changed from a rabid Michigan fan to a casual observer who would cheer for any Big Ten school - even OSU - if they were in a bowl game. But I was never, ever, a college hoops fan. Not ever. It used to drive Kirk nuts, as he was an even more die hard fan of MSU than I was of UM. We would watch the football games together, and I would gleefully watch the Wolverines saunter off to yet another bowl game (this past season being the only exception). But as soon as basketball rolled around, I had no interest whatsoever - of course, the one sport where UM didn't have a chance in hell of beating State. I swear it wasn't planned - I just thought it was kind of boring.

So, my puzzled look had Ange a bit confused perhaps, but only because she didn't know the back story. I told her I would go unless she had any other takers that would be more interested than me (I was setting the bar low, you see). She said she hadn't, and we made arrangements to meet up and head to the game.

Sunday was beautiful. We had a decent walk to the Breslin Center, complete with sunshine and melting snow. We walked in, found that our section was right across from the entrance, eventually found our seats and settled in just in time for the anthem. I always love hearing the national anthem at the beginning of sporting events. I'm sure it's because it takes me back to my days of swimming, where we always had the anthem or the pledge of allegiance to start the meets, or maybe it has a bit to do with a trip to Washington DC when I went the the Supreme Court building, the Capitol and the Tax Court (we got kicked out of there - you apparently have to have official business to visit...who knew?), along with the other monuments and museums, that has really given me a sense of nostalgia and patriotism when I hear either tribute to the United States.

Anyway, I started looking around and noticed the Izzone surrounding the court. The only other basketball game I had been to was a Pistons game at the Palace - sitting in the upper bowl, which made me a bit queasy and made the Pistons look like mini people akin to Homies running around the teeny court. This wasn't the case with the location of our seats at the State game - lower bowl, behind the band, where we could see and hear everything. I have to say, the experience, despite how poorly the team played, kind of turned me into a bit of a Spartan basketball fan. I know I enjoyed it because I started to feel a bit nauseated at the end of the game when the score was so close... that only happens when I really get into the mood, and I was surprised that I had that reaction. In terms of the ambiance, the sound was deafening, the Izzone was hilarious (even the ones way at the top of the upper bowl, which Ange pointed out to me about halfway through the game), the fans were fun to watch, we were indoors (I still hate the cold), and I reconnected with sports, which is something I haven't done as a spectator in a long, long time. Needless to say, if Ange asks me if I want to go to another game with her, she won't get such a perplexed look!