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Offseason thoughts: What’s your favorite part of the MSU game day experience?

100 days until kicking has us daydreaming about game day in East Lansing

NCAA Football: Penn State at Michigan State Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

Guys, I’ve tried really hard to contain my excitement today.

Ahh heck, who am I kidding? With today marking 100 days until opening day for MSU football, my mind has strictly been on tailgating, the game day experience and “GO GREEN, GO WHITE” bellowing in Spartan Stadium. (If you’re a coworker of mine, just act like that read “my mind has strictly been on projects, reports and innovation or something like that.)

Let’s share the excitement with one another, and let’s not even make it hard. The question is simple – what’s your favorite part of the MSU game day experience you can’t wait to get back to?

NCAA Football: Michigan at Michigan State Mike Carter-USA TODAY Sports

For me, it’s the tailgating. There’s nothing like standing out in the sun with your family, friends or strangers-that-instantly-feel-like-family-and-friends and chatting. There’s nothing like enjoying a beverage or two or seven before watching the Spartans take the field. Or even in horrible weather, there’s nothing like huddling under a tent with your Spartan family and having a great time anyway.

Even more specifically, one of my favorite moments is reaching the campus border. We park in the neighborhoods north of campus (free parking > everything) and once we complete our half mile journey to the south end of Michigan Avenue, that’s the finish line. Or should I say starting line? Regardless, we all stop right at the curb, crack beers open and start drinking like we just wrapped up 40 days and 40 nights crossing a desert. It’s not because we have a problem (I swear we don’t) – it’s because that officially marks the beginning of tailgating and game day in East Lansing.

Reaching the border of campus > reaching the finish line of an IronMan Triathlon

NCAA Football: Notre Dame at Michigan State Matt Cashore-USA TODAY Sports

So, what’s yours? Is it something about tailgating? The team or band walking in? Something in the stadium? Come on gang, the more excitement around the 2018 season, the quicker these 100 days will fly by.