On Being Green

We were on the way to our cousins' house, who happen to be Michigan fans, when Mason declared that he shall henceforth be shouting "Go Blue!" He idolizes their boys, so neither of us were surprised. As irksome as this was to Adam and I, we're trying to be good sports and allow our children to determine their own rooting interests. Still, I paused to remind Mason that he owes his life to "Go Green" and should really reconsider who he's rooting for.

I wasn't exaggerating with that statement. Adam and I met at MSU as most people know by now. Just how deeply the green runs through my veins has been something I've wanted to write about for some time. Given Mason's recent declaration, it seems like the right moment to do so.

*****

I might ruffle a few feathers by saying this - being a Spartan is like a second religion for me. I'm often overcome with school spirit, so much so that I'm brought to tears. Hype videos? Talking to my kids about campus? Just walking around the river in the fall? Yes, all these things can turn my eyes into little Spartan waterfalls. So here's the story of how I ended up a Spartan...

For those of you that don't know, my dad is an MSU alumnus. Me, being a daddy's girl, loved everything that my dad did and so I, too, loved MSU. When we were kids, we'd take trips to East Lansing and have lunch at Hobie's, feed the ducks along the Red Cedar River and usually stop into the MSU Bookstore too. You won't be surprised to hear that the bookstore was always the highlight of my trip - you cannot imagine my excitement at the aisles of pens. (And you got to test them out!!!) You also shouldn't be surprised that I was a Spartan cheerleader for Halloween one year.

My first real memory of Spartan athletics was somewhere in middle school during the early '90's. My best friend was a Michigan fan and one year MSU finally beat Michigan in football. I must have already had the Spartan chip on my shoulder, even with little knowledge of the history of that rivalry. After that win, I threw on my dad's MSU coat and grabbed the MSU flag from our front yard. My dad drove me over to my friend's house where I promptly rang the door bell and ran around her yard with the flag. In retrospect, I was a poor winner that year. As most Spartan's know, "act like you've been there before" only really works when you've been there before and to my little self it must've seemed like we'd never been there before.

Fast forward a few years and it's time to apply to college. There was really only one choice for me - I was going to be a Spartan. I didn't need an official campus visit since I'd been there dozens of times. I didn't even apply anywhere else. My application essay talked about how I was born in green and white diapers. I went into the dorms blind and ended up with the best roommate and introvert like me could ask for. We stuck to ourselves all year until March Madness came around. Of course the games were held elsewhere, but they were live-streamed on the Breslin Center jumbotron so we headed over to watch with some other girls from our floor in Rather Hall. When we beat Kentucky in the Elite Eight game, we followed along with the rest of the students over to Cedar Village for the "celebration." When we walked past the gorgeous Phillips Hall, we decided that's where we wanted to live next year. (Side note, we did not participate in the subsequent "riots" that occurred after losing our next game to Duke.)

Sophomore year began in Phillips Hall, but my fabulous roommate did not end up coming back to MSU. Instead I had a roommate that was not what an introvert like me would ask for, but it was a blessing in disguise as it forced me to meet other people in the dorms. Which finally leads to Adam making an appearance in this story. Adam and I met the day of the MSU-Oregon football game in 1999. A couple of the girls from my floor knew a couple of the guys from the floor above us, so they all kind of hung out together. That game was the first time I ventured up to the second floor. Adam had season tickets that year, but came back to the dorm at halftime and watched with us. The first floor girls and second floor guys were inseparable from that point on. When it was time to figure out housing for the next year, Adam and his friend asked another girl and I to be roommates in the fabulous Haslett Arms Apartments.

It was in those apartments that I was moping around about boy problems when Adam, trying to be nice, said in a few less words that if we weren't roommates, we'd make a good couple. (I know, how could you say that in a few less words. If you know Adam, that's certainly possible.) It was an idea that gnawed at the back of my mind for months and then thanks to what I refer to as "the summer of weddings" - we actually did turn into a couple. Fun facts - the first wedding was of the Michigan-fan cousins from the start of this post and the second wedding was in Ann Arbor. I hate to admit it, but it's possible that Michigan brought us together. Actually, I'm not willing to admit that.

A few summers later, we graduated and moved to Battle Creek so Adam could go to the police academy in Kalamazoo while I kept working for the MSU Libraries. We both knew that it would be harder for him to find a job as a police officer than it would be for me as an accountant so it made sense for me to stick with my job until he found his.

We ended up staying put in BC when Adam was hired by Calhoun County, and so it was up to me truly being my career. Finally, I decided to take my talents two buildings over and have been in the Administration Building ever since. In spite of the commute, I can't imagine ever being anywhere else. MSU is home to me, even though I now live an hour away.

*****

Our enthusiasm for Spartan basketball and football is just the result of our love for MSU, and now we're passing that down to our kids. Mason's birth marked the beginning of an unprecedented run by MSU football - they're 7-1 since the year he was born. His godparents are the very Michigan-fan cousins we were on our way to visit at the beginning of this post, and whose wedding started Adam and I down this path. We get together with them every fall for the Michigan-Michigan State game.

The circle continues - now we're the ones taking our kids on trips to East Lansing. Sometimes we meet up with my parents. Mason and Mya love feeding the ducks and stopping in at the Dairy Store. And hopefully the Spartan love will continue on for another generation.

And so, very long story short, being a Spartan is truly woven into the story of my life. And my dear Mason, it really is the story of how you came to have yours.

Go Green. Go White. Go State. Forever.