Houston — In a sea of burnt orange T-shirts and hats, every so often refreshing waves of green would splash onto the humid streets of Houston.
The MSU fan base extended further than just Reliant Stadium — it found itself in nooks and crannies all across the city, in Houston bars, restaurants, convenience stores, stadiums, hotel lobbies and many other locations.
“We flew in this morning and hit the (Sam) Houston Race Park,” Rich Rychcik said on Friday, an Orchard Lake resident and assistant principal of Saint Mary’s Prepatory, where MSU men’s basketball freshman guard Kalin Lucas attended high school. “We were going to go to the (Detroit) Tigers game, watch batting practice and catch an inning or two because they were in town but ended up at the track betting on some horses instead and won $30 apiece.”
Rychcik flew into Houston with friends Kevin Kosco and Todd Covert, who also work at the school as basketball coaches and guided Lucas just one year ago.
“He’s a wonderful kid — of the best to ever come through Saint Mary’s,” Covert said. “I’ve known him for years and it’s great to see what he’s accomplished so far. He’s going to be unbelievable.”
But for Lansing residents Tom Vancamp and Jeff Bush, missing a Tigers game with the club in town at Minute Maid Park against the Houston Astros just didn’t make sense.
Once obtaining a price-saving package with a hotel and tickets to the Sweet 16, they immediately began planning a to-do list.
“We’re big Tigers fans — when they’re good at least,” Vancamp said with a laugh, understanding he comes off as a fair-weather fan. “We’ll be there (Saturday). It’s perfect to be able to have things to do while here, like supporting a Detroit team and watching the Drews (Neitzel and Naymick) play some of their last college basketball. We’ll visit the team at the team hotel, too.”
When human biology junior Kyle Lewis, his father Greg and younger brother Patrick snagged tickets to the regional semifinal at Ford Field in Detroit before the brackets were announced on CBS, they were thrilled.
But after the Spartans were placed in the South region, their moods quickly changed.
“We love the tournament but it really didn’t excite us to go watch Wisconsin play,” Greg Lewis said. “We exchanged the tickets, purchased airline and game tickets for here in Houston and didn’t look back.”
Kyle, a three-year Izzone member, said although he only would be in Texas for about 24 hours, he looked forward to exploring the city and making the most of his quick trip.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
