East Lansing — Even in the rain, they’ve been guarding the campus icons this week.
Michigan State is hosting its bitter rival on Saturday night, and one of the biggest traditions during Rivalry Week is to protect your school’s beloved icon so that the other school can’t deface it.
On the MSU campus in East Lansing, that icon is the Sparty statue just north of Spartan Stadium. Officially known as “The Spartan,” the original terra cotta statue was unveiled in 1945 and a bronze replica was created in 2005 and placed at its current location.
On the U-M campus in Ann Arbor, meanwhile, that icon is the bronze “M” that sits in the middle of the Diag in the center of the campus. That’s been there since 1953, and part of the legend and lore at Michigan is that if a freshman steps on the “M” before they take their first exam, they’ll fail it.
So the challenge during Rivalry Week is for the U-M faithful to paint Sparty maize and blue, while the Spartans try to paint the bronze “M” green.
To prevent that from happening, it’s become tradition to provide around-the-clock protection of both targets.
In East Lansing, members of the MSU Marching Band protect the Sparty statue. Michigan Enjoyer stopped by during the pouring rain on Wednesday and a single band member was proudly standing guard, drenched but steadfast.
In Ann Arbor, members of the Theta XI fraternity have been guarding the bronze “M” for years. They go all out, setting up a tent right on top of the “M” and hauling couches and chairs there for the brothers to hang out. When Michigan Enjoyer checked in on Wednesday, they were inside the tent, shielded from the rain as they protected the “M”.
The vandals have had some success in the past. In some cases, the vandalism has taken place outside of Rivalry Week, which has to be considered a bit cowardly because nobody is there guarding it. If you want to strike at your rival, the attack needs to be during Rivalry Week.
In 2013, some Michigan supporters painted the block “M” on Sparty, but that crime happened in April. Doesn’t count. In 2018, though, some Wolverine fans got close enough to the Sparty statue during Rivalry Week to paint a blue “M” on the sidewalk nearby. The attack took place at 4 a.m., and the Spartans were not happy.
Over in Ann Arbor, meanwhile, there have several successful attempts during Rivalry Week to deface the Block “M” on the U-M Diag. It happened in 2014, when vandals painted the “M” green and then added the white letters “SU” after it. And it happened again in 2018, when they painted the “M” green again.
Time will tell whether we make it to game time on Saturday night without Sparty turning blue or the “M” turning green, but the guards are in place.
Lottie Moorehouse is a senior at Michigan State University majoring in digital storytelling and broadcasting. Buddy Moorehouse contributed reporting.
