“There’s enough people-watching to do to make it keep us busy,” said Jared Powers, a 30-year-old former Lansing Community College student who had been standing in line for Cheli’s for 40 minutes. “I wasn’t planning on coming, really. It was more of a spur -of-the-moment thing — once in a lifetime. This ain’t gonna happen again. I figured it’d be more fun to be outside tonight for the game, being in Detroit.”

Lines at Cheli’s — the designated MSU bar — and other restaurants wrapped around blocks, tailgaters filled parking lots and street vendors pawned T-shirts, pennants, lanyards and tickets.

“Next time, they need a bigger bar than Cheli’s,” said Christina Zigulis, a 2003 MSU graduate and Westland, Mich. resident. “It’s standing room only. It looks like the whole city’s been taken over by Spartans.”

Zigulis, standing in line with friends, said the atmosphere in Detroit was electric, but nothing compared to being an MSU student at the time of a Final Four, as she was when the Spartans won the title in 2000.

“You still have the love here in Detroit,” she said, “but when you’re in East Lansing, it’s different.”

At The Big Dance outdoor watching party near the Renaissance Center on the riverfront, more than 5,000 people gathered in front of a huge outdoor screen to see the Spartans. When the game ended, the partisan crowd cheered loudly and danced in the street.

“It’s the best place to watch other than Ford Field — big screen, large crowd,” said Amy Ring, a 2008 MSU grad.

Some of the cheapest tickets to get in to the game were going for hundreds of dollars apiece, so many fans opted to set up a grill in a nearby parking lot and watch the game on a big screen.

Rob Haener, of Brownstown, Mich., was tailgating near Comerica Park in the place he usually tailgates with his family for Detroit Tigers games. He said he wasn’t originally planning on coming for the game, but decided at the last minute.

“I was feeling some pressure from my dad,” he said. “I expected a lot more tailgaters. We come downtown for Opening Day and it’s packed. I thought the parking lot would be more full.”

At The Big Dance event, concerts throughout the day from performers such as the Pussycat Dolls and Gavin Degraw drew fans away from the field. Saturday ended with the game broadcast on the largest screen, with the crowd clearing before the North Carolina-Villanova nightcap.

It was a strange sight for local venues such as the Fox Theatre and Comerica Park marquees to read messages such as “Go Huskies,” “Congratulations Villanova Wildcats,” and “Welcome UNC Fans, Go Tarheels!” But such was the attempted neutral environment at the Final Four site.

Regardless, it was likely an easier and more enjoyable journey for MSU fans, whose team will head into Monday’s championship game as one of the last two standing.

“As soon as they beat Louisville last week, the gears started turning,” Chicago resident and 1992 MSU graduate Sean Girardin said of his Final Four plans. “You can play in plenty of Final Fours, but not in Detroit.”