Sports fans proved Saturday that weather, time and even sporting genre don’t matter when universities put on their game faces.
The only thing that does matter is rivalry.
“I don’t care if they’re playing Tiddlywinks, this is MSU versus U of M,” said Tom Ludwig, a resident of Chelsea who began tailgating at 2:30 p.m.
“You can watch this on TV tomorrow, but there’s no replacement for seeing this live.”
Spartan and Wolverine fans alike packed campus for “The Cold War”, the record-breaking hockey game between U-M and MSU in Spartan Stadium.
With temperatures hovering just a few degrees above freezing at their coldest, the number of tailgaters entering campus just as the sun began to shine were down from the average football game.
But by noon, the hockey Saturday looked just like a football Saturday.
Most lots normally designated for alumni donors were open to the public, giving students and hockey fans a chance to feel the thrills and chills of tailgating and rivalry for their sport of choice.
And there were chills for hockey tailgaters to match the ice crystallized over Spartan Stadium’s turf.
“We’re beyond freezing,” said telecommunication senior Miranda Dietrich, who had been hopping up and down for warmth at her tailgating spot, near the tennis courts on Wilson Road, since 9:30 a.m.
“We’ve got layers and layers. We’ve already been through the snow.”
But fans had to wait longer to huddle for warmth with 74,554 other sports fans.
Unlike most football games, “The Cold War” didn’t begin until 7:05 p.m., leaving more time for temperatures to drop.
Doug Hovey, a Wolverine fan from Ann Arbor, said he would have been parked out at Munn Field when tailgating lots opened at 7 a.m. - but the potato salad wasn’t quite done yet.
And oh yeah, he said - it was cold too.
Decked in his maize and blue winter gear, his U-M colored pompon flying in the wind, Hovey saw everything from friendly waves to not-so-friendly waves.
“I would have been here if I could,” he said. “I like tailgating with the Spartans. They know what they’re doing. This is a one-time thing.”
Chase Winsman, a 2000 MSU alumnus, said he drove in from Rochester for the game and couldn’t stay away from a tailgate spot near the tennis courts.
“It brings back nostalgia, but we do miss Munn,” he said. “This is something new. You work all week then come here to bring back those old college memories. It feels like a football game, except we got here at 2 p.m. and it feels like we’re late.
“We just made sure to pack warmer clothing this time.”
Jamie Gumbrecht can be reached at gumbrec1@msu.edu.
