“Michigan State University, come on down. You’re the next contestant on 'The Price is Right!'”
A group of Spartan alumni living in Los Angeles played in the College Rivals Special of "The Price is Right" on Feb. 12 to represent MSU on a whole new stage. For roughly seven hours, the group played primarily against two Big Ten rivals: Ohio State University and University of Michigan.
Scott Westerman, the associate vice president for alumni relations, said the Los Angeles Spartans is a group of notably active alumni who work through the MSU Alumni Association.
Instead of the standard way of playing with four contestants lined up to bid, each school's group played its rival.
Class of 1986 alumna and club president Anne Marie Lasher said she was in complete shock when she was chosen to play because she was fairly confident she was not going to be called.
Having a practically nonexistent pre-show interview, Lasher said she attributes her success to having worn her “spirit fingers” gloves.
Despite it being the rivalry edition of the show, Lasher said all of the colleges that participated were supportive and enthusiastic.
“They always say when you go to a taping of a show (that) they want the enthusiastic crowd and I think we all just felt so enthusiastic for everybody,” she said.
Lasher was not alone at the game show — she had 12 other alumni supporting her.
“Once you get called, you’re so wrapped up in in the hoopla of everything that’s going on that she said that your brain just goes to mush,” said class of 1985 alumna and club vice president Libby DuBay. “You really do turn to your people in the audience and you’re asking for help because you become a blank slate up there.”
Westerman said what he likes the most about the Los Angeles Spartans is that they epitomize the “Spartans helping Spartans” mantra the Alumni Association encompasses.
“It’s been great fun to watch them become among the most successful people out there in Los Angeles, and along the way they’ve also found a way to have an awful lot of fun,” he said.
While withstanding the pre-show process of interviews and paperwork, the group took to watching several episodes of the show to strategize and learn game rules. DuBay researched common cars and made a list of what prices they typically go for, she said.
The group was unable to reveal how far they got in the game or if any prizes were won, but the show is set to air on March 31.
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