As Spartan football comes to a close…let’s reminisce

Let’s set the scene. The year was 2016, the fall season in full swing, wild tailgates every Saturday and the ever-victorious and historically talented Spartan football team…

…lost. A lot. Too much.

However, we cannot dwell on this unfortunate truth. With the final home game against Ohio State University approaching, and with our valuable defensive lineman Malik McDowell possibly still out with an injury for this rival game, our Spartans need us now more than ever.

So don’t let your spirit dwindle, even as you’re reminded of our 3-7 overall record (sorry), 1-6 Big Ten record (sorry again), and seven consecutive losses (I’m really sorry)…but not all hope is lost! If the Spartans win these last two games, they have a shot at a bowl bid. Therefore, we should still shout our heinous, yet totally humorous chants – you all know what I’m talking about – in the stands, louder now than ever before.

Let’s reminisce a bit. How about we talk about this year’s game against our rivals, the Wolverines. Let’s go over the positives first. It wasn’t a total blowout as some skeptical Spartans feared (and overzealous Wolverines hoped). This was progress. Another important thing for us Spartans to keep in mind is that this was only our second loss to them in our past eight rival games, so we still reign (generally) victorious.

So what if Michigan is ranked first in East Division? At least we don’t have to wear maize and blue. So who’s really winning here? Go green (screw blue)!

Okay, so there are definitely some positives. But if we’re being real with ourselves, we need to acknowledge that this season hasn’t been our best – or even close to our best. Let’s discuss the losing streak.

Prior to this season, the Spartans had only suffered five losses within the last three years. Now, that record changes to seven losses in just one season – surprising and upsetting. While there’s still slight hope (emphasis on the slight) for another win, it’s painful realizing how far the Spartans have fallen. All we can hope is for a bright future, and successful upcoming seasons. I still have a few years here, so fingers crossed.

Hey, remember when we were winning our homecoming game early in against Northwestern? Ah, so naive, so cheerful

Here’s a recent high point: we may not be doing that well overall, but it could always be worse. At least we’re better than Rutgers! With our last game being a 49-0 blowout against them, some Spartan pride was definitely regained. We finally got a long-awaited, much needed win. With three touchdown passes from O’Connor in the first half, the Spartans started strong and were able to eradicate their painful losing streak.

So, guess what? We’re not in last place. I guess that’s something to celebrate…right?

So, what have we learned today? Well, we’ve established that this hasn’t really been our season. However, we still have pride in our team – it’s just not as strong as usual.

An important thing to remember is no matter how many games we lose, no matter how many passes are incomplete, no matter how many Wolverines brag about their win, we will never, ever lose the tailgate.

And judging by this season, tailgates at Michigan State have shown that our sense of Spartan spirit has not dwindled one bit. Go green!