By six days, "The Simpsons" beat Munn Ice Arena to No. 300.
Fox's famous animated sitcom aired its 300th episode Sunday. On Saturday, MSU's hockey rink will sell out its 300th straight regular-season game.
Although it finished second in the "race" to No. 300, MSU can take solace in knowing it started selling out hockey games several years before Homer, Marge and company hit the air.
Ever since Dec. 19, 1985, the Spartans have played in front of a full house for every regular-season game. The streak doesn't include exhibition contests or home playoff games, which have attracted less-than-capacity crowds in the past.
"The fans we have here are just crucial to our success," senior defenseman Brad Fast said. "Luckily for us, a majority of our games are sold out no matter where we go. But it definitely is different when the fans aren't there at some other place, because we know what it's like to play in front of a sold-out arena every night."
Munn's listed capacity rose to 6,470 after a small expansion completed in 2000. Before that, its capacity was 6,170 for 10 years. When Munn was built in 1974, it had 6,255 seats.
Factoring in standing-room only passes, the Spartans usually attract between 6,500 and 6,700 fans to games. Last weekend's 5-3 win over archrival Michigan drew 7,113 people - the third-largest crowd in MSU history.
The closest the Spartans came to not selling out a game this season was Nov. 8 against Niagara when 6,496 showed up - selling out by only 26 people.
And when the sellout crowd arrives Saturday, the Spartans (17-11-2 overall, 13-8-1 CCHA) will reach 300 against the same opponent with whom the streak started.
Northern Michigan beat MSU 3-2 on that December night in '85. This weekend, the Wildcats (15-13-2, 11-10-1) return to Munn for a two-game set that could go a long way toward determining the Spartans' postseason fate this year.
Oddly enough, first-year MSU head coach Rick Comley was Northern's bench boss the night the streak started. He said he doesn't remember that game at all, but he'll be glad to be part of the milestone on the Spartans' end this weekend.
"It's unbelievable," said Comley, who rarely drew sellout crowds at Northern. "It's a good product plus a good population base. Those are the two ingredients."
Perhaps those are the reasons why the streak has lasted so long. But it's tough to pinpoint exactly why it started in December 1985.
Former MSU head coach Ron Mason said there was nothing special about the Northern game in particular. Instead, Mason credits the gradual buildup of excitement about his exciting Spartan team, which went on to win the national championship later in the 1985-86 season.
"We actually started selling out consistently in '84-'85," Mason said. "That was probably the most talented team I've ever coached, and that started the big push.
"We have a great corps of hockey fans here and they've been treated to a lot of good games. Many of them have been sitting in the same seats for 20 years. I can pretty much look around and know where everyone sits."
The Spartans have used Munn to their advantage during the streak, going 220-52-26 (.782) at home since it started. Seven of those wins came at the expense of Northern, which hasn't won at Munn since the streak-starting game more than 17 years ago.
The Wildcats are 0-7-1 in East Lansing since then, and have had troubles on the road in general this season. Northern is 10-2-1 at the Berry Events Center - including a 10-4 win and 3-1 loss against MSU in October. But the 'Cats are 5-11-1 away from home.
Last week, Northern split with lowly Lake Superior State to drop its record to 1-3-1 in its last five games. During that stretch, the Wildcats are 0-for-19 on the power play.
But the Spartans don't care about any of that. They just remember the Northern team that posted 10 goals on them at the beginning of the season.
"Their seniors scare me, (goaltender Craig) Kowalski scares me," assistant coach Dave McAuliffe said. "Not that they're guys that can kill you. But they're guys that can beat you. We have to make Munn Ice Arena a very difficult place to play."
McAuliffe started his MSU career as a defenseman in 1986, meaning he has seen almost every sellout during the Munn streak. He didn't know No. 300 was coming up, but he wasn't surprised either.
"It's a credit to all of the fans that they can sustain that support for that long," McAuliffe said. "They support us through thick and thin. We've had some fourth-place years, and we've had some first-place years.
"We should give a tribute back to them by how hard we play to celebrate that type of a milestone this weekend."
