USF blogger takes in the game @ MSU and @ UM the same day

...this was a nice write up to get an outsider perspective of the game and atmosphere on Saturday.  Granted, it doesn't hurt that we were playing in a night time rivalry game but still a great recap:

The Relevant Section:

We left Lansing and headed to Ann Arbor for Notre Dame-Michigan. This was the non-USF portion of the trip so I'll try and keep the gushing to a minimum, but that game was a life-altering experience for a college football fan. The city itself was basically shut down. We went to the legendary golf course tailgate across the street from the Big House about 90 minutes before kickoff, and people told us they were in line at 8am to be ready when the gates opened at noon. I've been to a lot of college towns and watched a lot of college football, but I have never seen or felt anything like I did in Ann Arbor last night.

The crowd on 3rd downs and scoring plays made some of the loudest and most passionate sounds I've ever heard. We were in the 94th row, and every person sitting around us was glued to every single play. This was as much a religious experience for them as it was a football game.

Also the game presentation was literally flawless. The band played at exactly the right moments, the perfect music also played at the perfect time. The drum line was great. The intro videos were great. They honored their Final Four volleyball and men's basketball teams at the first two media timeouts, and as the crowd went bananas, the band played "Hail To The Victors" while the camera went along the line of the team showing them singing along.

They even made Seven Nation Army awesome, and I didn't know that was possible anymore.

As a program and a fan base, they get it on every single level. It was tathletic department that knows what it's doing, right down to the ushers being gentlemanly and polite when I got too close to the walkway railing to take pictures from midfield. Everyone had been trained to speak the same song the same way. The students have an app on their phones where they can check in at Olympic sports and earn points to get better football tickets. The inside of my collectors soda cup had a quote from Bo Schembechler. They had thought of everything, and had an answer for it all.

The other thing the former athletics employee in me noticed: They are not the Wolverines, they are Michigan Football. Besides the apparel stores being named The Den, there was literally not a single reference to Wolverines in the entire stadium, but the Block M was everywhere. They have branded themselves perfectly. It was beyond well done, and that was before the Beyonce-themed halftime show by the Michigan band where the lights got dimmed and Bey Bey herself was on the big screen introing the set.

It was also another reminder in how far USF has to go. We'll get there someday and hopefully in my lifetime, but the gap is just so massive. But it wouldn't hurt for us to take a few lessons from the big boys every once in a while. Sort of like dressing for the job you want, not the job you have. Oh, and they honored Dolphins owner Steven Ross for his $200 million gift to the Ross School of Business and Michigan Athletics. That doesn't hurt either.

The MSU portion of his trip wasn't bad.  He said the fans were really nice to him but their student section sucks.  

LINK: http://www.voodoofive.com/2013/9/6/4702024/live-from-michigan-state-we-are-there