“I don’t know if it was the weather or what,” Bell said. “Or the fact the team isn’t the greatest it’s been in the past few years … I think people were excited, but not as pumped up as years past.”

When the Spartan football team heads to Ann Arbor, typically a large number of excited Spartans head to East Lansing bars to watch the showdown, but this year, bar staff said the lackluster season leading up to the game tainted the feeling during the Michigan game this past weekend, which made for a different atmosphere and a less committed crowd.

Although the Spartan Hall of Fame Cafe, 1601 W. Lake Lansing Road, had a full bar for the game, Director of Operations Dan Kirby said the restaurant cleared out faster than usual after the 12-10 loss to the Wolverines.

“After a loss like that in the last few seconds, everybody kind of said, ‘Check, please,’ and headed out,” Kirby said. “That was disappointing. After 7 (p.m.) last night, it was slower than a typical Saturday … (People) don’t want to hang out and party, they don’t want to go out to eat — they want to drown their sorrows.”

The football team’s fresh Homecoming loss to Iowa made for a disappointed fan base for the rivalry game as well, Buffalo Wild Wings, 360 Albert Ave., general manager Aaron Weiner said — which also contributed to the atmosphere in the bars throughout East Lansing.

For typical 3:30 p.m. games, crowds usually stake out a seat at the bar hours in advance.

For this game, one of the biggest of the team’s season, fans came in about a half hour before, Weiner said.

Although the lack of anticipation prior to the game has been abnormal this season, Weiner said he didn’t notice any differences between other seasons, even though other bars felt disappointment in the air.

Music performance sophomore Jordan Lulloff said he chose to go to the bar for the game because the atmosphere typically is better there, with a wide range of ages and common hopes for a Spartan victory.

Crunchy’s general manager Mike Krueger said because the bar, located at 254 W. Grand River Ave., was full despite the season, the bar’s packed crowd shows a lot about the character of fans.

“Even though they still come out to support and watch the game … there’s still going to be that feeling of frustration (when) watching the game,” he said. “It shows the resilience of the fans, even though the team might not be doing so spectacular, people still believe in green and white and want to support the team regardless.”