“Game day’s are huge. It kinda starts pretty much all week,” manager of Campus Street Sportswear Tom Tatum said about the time it takes to prepare for a game day.

Campus Street Sportswear is home to some of the more unique MSU apparel and memorabilia in East Lansing. Game day is chance for them to go full force on selling.

All the business agreed upon the same thing. The preparation can’t be done last minute, it’s a week long process of bringing out new products, taking inventory and throwing up posters on top of posters to attract as many people as they can. Game days mean a lot to a business and they’ll do as much as possible to bring in the cash. Even if it means working longer than normal.

“People are all excited about being here on game day, so we try to open the store early and stay open later. Everyone is staffed that day,” Tatum said.

With all hands on deck, game days are undoubtedly a big chance for these businesses to cash in.

“It means we are going to do triple maybe quadruple what we would do on a regular day of business,” Campus Corner manager Chad Freehauf said. “We’re going to be busy from start to finish. It can be difficult to fit all the customers in here sometimes.”

Campus Corner, home to the supposed 'world’s most famous MSU tee', is a lively spot on game days. The revenue they produce on the seven days of MSU football games is staggering, so much so that it makes up for what Freehauf calls the lean months.

Though the ability to turn a profit is the goal of every business, not all businesses see game day through dollar signs. For some, it’s the opportunity to see how much the impact of MSU’s athletic success has transcended generations.

“It’s crazy and fun," manager of Student Book Store Brad Ballein said. "It’s a big day in terms of sales for us. There’s only seven of them and they’re definitely worth being open for." 

Student Book Store is packed to the brim on game days and Ballein credits it to being a family tradition.

“We’ve been open 54 years here,” Ballein said. “We’re working on fourth/fifth generation Spartans who shop here now, whose great grandparents shopped here. For every one of these generations they’re going to Michigan State, it’s just what they do.”

Aside from the apparel, bars are as much a part of campus game day tradition as anything else. And for bars near campus, game days are all the more special.

“It’s a little more intense in terms of preparation," Michael Krueger, owner of Crunchy's said. "We get everyone from band members to students and professors. We have a pretty regular game day crowd that comes in of alumni and regulars who just come to Michigan State specifically for game days."

Crunchy’s is one of MSU’s most famous off-campus spots. It brings thousands of Spartans back year-after-year. It’s a bar, to Krueger, which features a game day atmosphere like no other.

"(It's) just a fun place to hangout and enjoy the atmosphere,” Krueger said. 

Perhaps the most unique place for the game day food can be found on campus. MSU’s Dairy Store, may be the stop to make on most game days, if you can get in.

“Game days are special," psychology junior and Dairy Store employee Hanna Norris said. "We have to stock extra ice cream, our lines extend out the door, to the street, around Anthony Hall and wrap around the block down Shaw Lane."

“Everyone kind of knows of it, and not every campus has something like this, so I think that sticks out," Norris said. 

MSU’s recent sports success has made the boom in local businesses even greater. Much of the merchandise found on shelves in the apparel shops wouldn’t have been possible with mediocre teams. It’s helped boost sales for every business, and has kept the outlook for the future bright.

Without game days, college wouldn’t be college for the people that keep the atmosphere alive.