When MSU football head coach Mark Dantonio took the podium Tuesday evening at the “Meet the Spartans,”, talk of going to the Rose Bowl was on the tip of his tongue.
“We continue to raise our goals as we move forward,” he said to the crowd. “With 22 wins in the last two years, onward and upward, that’s what we have to do.”
After introducing the senior members of the team, Dantonio was very appreciative of all the fans that were in attendance.
“I just want to thank everybody for coming and being a part of this today,” he said. “This is a great experience for our young people and hopefully your young people as well.”
Many people have traditions that center around Spartan football, but most aren’t as extreme as that of “The Bird.”
Spartan super fan Merrill Shelden has been wearing his Rose Bowl bib overalls to many Spartan football, hockey and basketball events since he watched the football team win the Rose Bowl against Southern California in 1988.
Shelden was at the event Tuesday evening and was enthusiastic when asked whether he was excited for the upcoming season.
“Oh you know it,” he said. “Especially with our home schedule.”
Shelden said he has been attending the event for years and that he has no plans of stopping.
For first time attendee, Dennis O’Rourke, getting Dantonio to sign his Nike Pro Combat replica helmet was his main goal.
“It’s a classic game and it’s a classic helmet design and I just thought this would be a cool one for the collection,” he said. “I’ll put the ticket stub next to it too.”
As a graduate of MSU in 1988, O’Rourke said he heard about the event from an email from the school.
Head strength and conditioning coach, Ken Mannie, said the MSU football team really looked forward to this event every year.
“It’s a nice way for our guys to give back to the community a little bit, especially the children and the young people,” Mannie said. “It’s more than just 75,000 people just yelling and screaming in the stands, they get a little one-on-one face time.”
Mannie added that it also lets the players know that kickoff against Boise State is right around the corner and that they know the importance of being contributing members of the community.
“We’re always talking about how we’re members of this community,” he said. “We have to reach out and to the community more than just Saturdays at Spartan Stadium.”
Still, for Dantonio, winning is the most important thing.
“We will set our bar high as we go forward, and do the very best we can,” he said.
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
