📌 Spartan Showdown: South Florida vs Michigan State 2013

East Lansing. The journey to East Lansing, better known as ‘E.L.’, began near & far for my crew of educated delinquents. Boston to Indianapolis, we gathered in Chicago to make the trip through Indiana & ‘Pure’ Michigan.

The trek also added an unexpected Spartan traveler in Tracy Daniels, who turned out to be our weekends personal Tiesto. Around midnight we finally arrived at the downtown Marriott, anxiously awaiting game day at the crack of dawn.

Saturday Arrived. On the walk to set up our tailgate Luigi had a little scuffle with a crack in the sidewalk… Let’s just say the sidewalk won:

After picking up the contents of our cooler & waving to the mass of Spartans applauding the blunder, we finally settled into a spot for pre-game festivities. We were immediately invited by a group of Spartan Fans to join in on some beer pong action, & later ended up hanging out with another group to wait out the rain storm that caused the weather delay. Not only did the group allow us to hide from the elements, they were refreshingly generous sharing food, beer & conversation.

Just before 10 O’clock our on site Spartan, the aforementioned cooler magician Luigi, led us to join the ’10 O’clock Shot’. We had no idea it would be so elaborate & quite frankly I was impressed:

Overall my experience in E.L. was amazing with the combination of the most friendly fan base I’ve ever encountered, a great stadium & beautiful campus. In the end, I must say the adventure to ‘Pure’ Michigan turned out to be one of my best experiences to date.

Special thanks to Luigi Prainito for being a great host & showing us an amazing time in E.L.’s bar scene. I cannot wait to return the kindness & hospitality in a few years when Michigan State travels to Tampa.

Ps. The crews’ Twitter handles are listed below in case you feel like adding your two cents.

by Matthew Manuri