Michigan State spring game: 5 things we learned

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Sep 20, 2014; East Lansing, MI, USA; Michigan State Spartans fans show team spirit during the second quarter against the Eastern Michigan Eagles at Spartan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Raj Mehta-USA TODAY Sports

1. The crowd was impressive

Michigan State set a school record with 48,000 fans at the spring game. Furthermore, the 48,000 strong was good enough to be 7^th overall in the country for spring game attendance. This crowd shows just how far Mark Dantonio has brought this program. It was hard for many Spartan fans to ever envision a 48,000 crowd for a spring game, but now it is fair to expect over 50K next year.

The numbers for the spring game may also show the way in which the Spartan fans will show up to games in the fall. Unlike previous years, there may be a strong contingency that travels to away games and matches the intensity of Ohio State, Nebraska, Iowa fans and others alike that travel far and passionately support their teams.

It is also fair to expect the student section to be more intimidating this year. During some games last year, it was embarrassing to be a student, and to look at pictures of the student section versus the rest of the stadium. When the rest of the stadium was filled, the student section would be at 75 percent capacity.

This should be a lot different this year judging on the way students reacted to the spring game. Many tailgated, took time off work and created room on their schedules in order to make it to the game.

If you combine all these factors together, one will observe the Dantonio effect. A winning program will lead to all kinds of passionate fans in the stands, no matter where the game is on Saturday.

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