(from a Greyhound bus and BART train in SF Bay area on Christmas Day 2014)
Dear Coach Dantonio and Spartan football team,
This letter is a couple of years late, but all of the sudden I felt the need to write and share it anyway. My name is Steph, and although I’m originally from the NW suburbs of Detroit and love MSU, I didn’t go to college there. I actually felt my soul break a little when I declined my admission to State back in 2007. Ultimately the University of Alaska Fairbanks claimed me for its own. Regardless, anyone who knows me will tell you I love the Spartans. Even when UAF and MSU hockey were part of the CCHA, I couldn’t commit to supporting one team over the other – a fact that amused my friends.
I went to college in Alaska to study wildlife, and life has taken me many places since graduation. All I have up in Fairbanks these days is a storage unit, along with friends who have couches. (One of those friends unfortunately supports the Buckeyes, but we still manage to get along.)
After graduation in 2011, I took a volunteer position working with North Island brown kiwi in New Zealand for 10 months. I had a schedule that kept me working on an island in the Hauraki Gulf for 2 weeks at a time with 2 weeks off in-between. During football season I always checked The Detroit News for my Spartans’ scores and to read stories about the games. Without internet access on the island, I sometimes needed to wait for scores.
There was one score that I couldn’t wait for: the result of the U of M – MSU game. Typically I avoided using my international phone card with my NZ cell because it ate through minutes. Learning the outcome of the game was no choice, though; I had to know.
With an 18 hour time difference between NZ and Michigan, I had to take game time and day of the week into account. While hiking out with my telemetry gear and heading off to search my gullies for kiwi that Sunday (in NZ), only the game was on my mind. I’m one of those fans who gets really nervous no matter which teams are playing. Just picture Sheryl from “Remember the Titans.”
Since I was working in forested gullies with steep hillsides, I had no cell reception most of the time. Fortunately my work was split between 2 gullies, meaning I needed to climb up a ridge to drop down into the second gully.
By the time I was up there, I figured the game must have ended. With trembling hands I dialed home to Michigan, unsure of whether I’d end up joyful or disappointed.
“Hello, Steph?” answered my mom.
“Do I want to know?” That was all I asked. With my mom not being one to necessarily pay attention to sports, all I could do was hope she knew her daughter well enough to know what I was calling about.
“Do you want to know? … ohh. For the 4th year in a row, the Michigan State Spartans defeated the Michigan Wolverines! 28-14.”
“Thanks, Mom!! That’s all I was calling about. You just made my day.”
For the rest of the day I carried a ridiculous smile on my face. I even had to share the news with my fellow workers – although they could tell I had heard good news when I walked in the door.
I’ve returned to the US since then and tend to spend most of my time in Alaska, but no matter where I am, I’m a Spartan fan. I greet anyone wearing green and white with a smile! This year I’ll be rooting for my Spartans on New Year’s Day from California.
Although you already know this, there are Spartan fans around the world cheering you on. Sometimes we can’t actually watch games, but we’re anxiously waiting to read of good news. On January 1, go after Baylor with all of the class and strength of Spartans!
Go Green!
Sincerely,
Steph