Peot is one of hundreds of Spartan fans that made the trip out west for the No. 7 MSU-No. 3 Oregon showdown on Saturday, a game some fans consider even bigger than last year’s Rose Bowl victory over Stanford.

“I think this is even bigger then the Rose Bowl last year,” said Kamp Purdy, former MSU swimmer and alumna of 1996. “Early season game, (so) I think if we win this, it takes us to that next level.”

Fans of all ages and demographics can argue whether this is the biggest game in Spartan football history, but it definitely stands as an extremely important game to the MSU faithful based on the number of fans in attendance. During an alumni tailgate outside Autzen Stadium, an estimated 900 were expected to attend with many more Spartans tailgating in the area.

Friends of Peot and Purdy and former MSU swimmer Tom Munley wanted to make the trip to Eugene to see two great teams take the field at once.

Munley said he’s seen some of MSU’s greatest moments, such as last year’s 24-20 victory over Stanford in the Rose Bowl, and also seen the program fall flat on its face.He couldn’t pass up this opportunity.

“We’ve seen the best, (and) we’ve seen the worst so we wanted to come out and see them go toe-to-toe with the best,” Munley said.

Like Munley, Allen Park, Mich. residents Carol and Jim Shaw were intrigued to make the trip out to Oregon to see how their favorite team stacked up against the best of the west. However, the Shaw’s elected to make the MSU-Oregon game just the beginning of a longer stay across the country.

“We looked at the schedule, we had never been to Oregon so we decided to see if we could get tickets for the game and we’re going to spend another 10 days traveling around Oregon,” Jim Shaw said.

Like everyone else who made the trip out west, Jim and Carol Shaw had their thoughts on who would be victorious on Saturday. Jim said he was “on the fence” in this one while his wife was a little bit more confident. Carol Shaw, who graduated from MSU in 1971, has no doubt about this one and is riding her Sparty passion into her prediction of a MSU win.

“We’re going to win,” Carol Shaw said. “I’m going for the win.”

Former Sparty in attendance

There will be more than one Sparty in attendance for Saturday’s showdown between No.7 MSU and No. 3 Oregon — except one Sparty no longer sports the iconic suit.

MSU 2009 graduate Eric Palmer and his father Chuck Palmer made the journey out west to relive Eric’s glory days of cheering on the Spartans up and close. And while the Palmers are by no means the only Spartans who traveled to Eugene this weekend, none may be more unique than former Sparty mascot Eric Palmer.

Eric Palmer lived the mysterious life of wearing the coveted Sparty suit for a couple of years and considered it a life-altering experience.

“It was awesome, like it totally changed my college years,” Eric Palmer said. “My experience at Michigan State was so different from most people.”

Now living in Denver as a graphic designer for an advertising firm, Eric Palmer is still just as much of a Spartan fan as before. And it’s contagious, with his former status as Sparty converting his father into an MSU fan. 

Chuck Palmer admitted he grew up a Michigan  fan, but once his son became the face of MSU athletics he had no choice but to cash in his maize-and-blue apparel for some green and white.

Since becoming a Spartan fan, Chuck Palmer said he still follows the program closely, holding onto a pair of season tickets. Chuck Palmer said he attends two to three games a year and is excited for the big non-conference matchup at Oregon.

“It’s just a great time for us to have a father-son event,” Chuck Palmer said. “And of course he’s a huge fan, so it’s going to be a great weekend.”

Lucky for Eric Palmer, he won’t be the one wearing the suit on Saturday with the projected 90-plus degree forecast.

Eric Palmer said the Sparty suit on average would be 30-40 degrees warmer inside, making an already hot game day for fans and players even more toasty for the mascot-wearer.

“People like to ask if there’s a fan in there, there’s not," Eric Palmer said. No A.C. At one point, someone tried to use like an ice vest and it constricted their chest too much so they couldn’t move or something like that so you just have to deal with it.”

As one would expect, the former Sparty is confident in MSU pulling out the win this weekend on the road at Oregon. Eric Palmer is predicting a 24-17 win and is looking forward to the MSU’s defense up against Oregon’s explosive offense.

“Last week was one of the first opening games in a long time that I’ve seen where we didn’t drop the ball and screw up basic stuff that we should have gotten right,” Eric Palmer said. “So I’m feeling very hopeful … if we play well I think we can do it.”