Supply chain management senior Rachel Reynolds and nursing senior Giulianna Ruffino set out on a mission when they started their freshman year at Michigan State. It was a mission shaped by growing up in MSU families and spending childhood days at Spartan Stadium.
“My dad said that if there’s one thing to do in your four years here, try to make it to one of every sporting event,” Reynolds said.
Starting in their freshman year, Reynolds and Ruffino attended events from every team on campus, from cross country to club water polo, while also attending nearly every football, basketball and hockey game. Now seniors, they have completed their checklist.
“Each year we’ve just tried to go to a few more,” Reynolds said. “We finally made it to every team.”
“We had no idea what we were getting ourselves into,” said Ruffino.
It was a mission that took them all the way to Holland on a Tuesday afternoon. Men’s golf had no home tournaments that year, so Reynolds and Ruffino drove out to support the team in order to cross it off their list.
“It was basically just us and the Michigan State team’s parents,” Reynolds said. “They loved it, because it seems like they don’t get as many fans.”
“We were just walking around aimlessly, and some of the parents actually asked us when we were teeing off,” Ruffino said. “They thought we were on the women’s team.”
As football season ticket holders and Izzone members, Reynolds and Ruffino know campus sports culture through and through. But with the additional commitment to not just the most popular of sports, they might just know it better than anyone.
Despite not knowing the rules or traditions associated with each sport, Reynolds and Ruffino brought their school spirit to the sidelines all four years.
“It’s fun to watch every single one, especially if we’re not familiar with the technicalities of every single sport,” Reynolds said. “It’s fun seeing them do their thing.”
Their enthusiasm for supporting their school stems from their time leading the charge themselves. Reynolds and Ruffino have known each other since sixth grade, and throughout high school, they did cheerleading together.
“We got to cheer at a bunch of different sporting events,” Ruffino said. “We loved that. Going into college, we both knew we’d want to do this.”
While they supported every sport on campus, football was always their first love. Despite a lack of success during their time in college, Reynolds and Ruffino’s connection remained strong.
“Because we both grew up as Spartan fans, there’s a certain type of love you have,” Reynolds said. “As much as the football team might have not been the strongest these last four years, it’s still fun to go because we have so many memories in that stadium.”
Reynolds said that one experience that stood out to her was being able to see the whole stadium and point out where they used to sit growing up.
But just because their time as students will end shortly, it doesn’t mean their support for MSU sports will waver. Ruffino said once they graduate, they will still come to games and keep up with MSU Football.
While their mission may have taken all four years to complete, Ruffino said more students should give it a try.
“It’s so easy,” Ruffino said. “A lot of kids don’t do it, but a lot of them have free admission and you can go whenever.”
Reynolds said the experience also helped them appreciate sports that don’t always draw large crowds.
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“It’s just nice to be able to support the different teams that people don’t go to as much,” Reynolds said.
