Hopefully the handful of Spartan fans that traveled to South Bend, Ind., for the Notre Dame game learned something.
Perhaps they picked up on how to be a college football fan.
For those of you not lucky enough to bask in the tradition of Touchdown Jesus this weekend, allow me to fill you in on how a college football fan should and shouldn't act:
A college football fan doesn't leave with two minutes remaining in the game because he or she is bored.
Real sports fans know homefield advantage exists. It's provided by the atmosphere of the fans, not the physical field or court. If you leave the game, you're taking away from the team. So, how can you call yourself a fan if you're knowledgeably removing your team's advantage?
If you're not going to stand, or even sit, through an entire game, don't buy a ticket. The athletics department doesn't need your money and someone else can use your seat. And don't leave at halftime - check out the band or Zeke the Wonder Dog or whatever hardworking performer is in the house.
In Notre Dame Stadium, the entire student section sat, watched and, get this, cheered for the combined-band halftime extravaganza.
Maybe you've heard of Hurricane Isabel. It's been terrorizing the East Coast for a week. Did that stop Virginia Tech fans from attending the team's Thursday night game? No. Every seat in the house, all 65,115 at Lane Stadium in Blacksburg, Va., had a fan in it. Torrential rains and 30 mph winds didn't stop the dedicated Hokie fans to cheer on their team to a tough win over Texas A&M.
If a hurricane hit East Lansing on game day, the only people in the stands would be the visiting team's fans.
A college football fan does not get so drunk at a tailgate that he or she never makes it into the game. Sure, have some fun before the game. Tailgate a little with some food and drink. Engage in some pregame merriment. But why get trashed to the point where you don't know which team is yours or the direction of the stadium?
Still, the few fans who do make it in and stay for the majority of the game don't know what they're doing. Some don't know the words to the fight song or alma mater.
If you don't know the fight song, stop reading this and walk into traffic.
But here's what really gets me sick - the complete contrast between MSU football and basketball.
The Izzone makes Corner Blitz look like the cheering section from Hickory High School in "Hoosiers."
How can fans from the same school act so differently in two separate arenas representing the same school? So the basketball team has had more success. So what?
We've already gone over the fact that rowdy fans increase a team's homefield advantage - so shouldn't Spartans fans dedicate more effort to football games?
Do we need to start handing out samples of Viagra on game day to get fans excited and passionate about the game and their team?
I've got a lot of questions because that's all Spartan football fans seem to be good at attracting. Where did they go? Why did they leave? When do they cheer? How come they're sitting? Who are the remaining 20 fans that stayed? What are they staring at?
This football team will especially need some help from the stands when they open their Big Ten schedule this weekend with Iowa (4-0) on Saturday and close with Michigan and Penn State in November.
The team has done its job winning three games, including one alone on the road at Notre Dame. It's time for the fans to stand up for their end of the bargain.
On one last side note, watch the timing on doing "the wave." It's been brought to my attention that MSU fans do the wave at the wrong time. Each time they do it, the opposing team comes back to score. So hold off and use the wave to celebrate, not inspire the other team. Sure, it sounds funny, but it's true.
Jon Malavolti is a State News football reporter. Reach him at malavol2@msu.edu.
