Students attend Final Four, mixed reaction
Campus reaction mixed as Tar Heel fans triumph and Spartan fans return disappointed
Mark Hensch
Issue date: 4/9/09 Section: Sports
Junior Michelle Ashdown had a disheartening Monday night. A native of East Lansing, Mich., Ashdown grew up four houses away from Michigan State University's head basketball coach Tom Izzo. As a long-time fan of the MSU Spartans, Ashdown hoped the team would win its first NCAA Division I championship since 2000 once they made this year's finals against the University of North Carolina.
As she watched in Detroit's Ford Field alongside 72,921 other fans, however, her dream - as well as that of many other MSU fans - was crushed when UNC bested MSU 89-72.
"I was excited going into the game to see MSU win the NCAA again," she said. "UNC ended up 15 or 20 points ahead the whole game, and it was upsetting."
Back at Hillsdale College's campus, junior Kelsey Berlin experienced a similar feeling watching the game at the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house. She said though she's a native of Nebraska, she has loved the Spartans like a true Spartan since her sister married a Michigan native. As the squad moved deeper and deeper into March Madness, she said, she hoped the team would win it all so soon after her conversion. Sadly, it was not to be.
"Watching the game I felt like MSU beat themselves with as many turnovers as they had," Berlin said. "I thought they were uncomfortable in the speed of the game, and it seemed like they were rushing things."
As the point deficit grew ever higher on televisions in East Lansing, students like MSU sophomore Ashley Hufnagel said they lost hope in a Spartan comeback. UNC was so dominant, she said, that the outcome seemed set early.
"I was ready for the game to be over, it was that hard to watch the whole thing," Hufnagel said. "It was a mess of a game and very frustrating."
Not everyone in the state of Michigan was so doom and gloom, however. Hillsdale Assistant Professor of History Harold Siegel - who graduated from UNC in 1992 - said he was not only happy with the final score but expected it all along.
"I do not think MSU's talent level is as high as UNC," Siegel said. "North Carolina has flat-out better-skilled players."
As sad as the ending was for Ashdown, she said she would support the team again next year. Outside of the game's outcome, she said, the experience was actually pretty fun.
"All the fans were standing up for the majority of the game cheering their team on," Ashdown said. "I felt like a part of history being there, and it was a great experience."
As she watched in Detroit's Ford Field alongside 72,921 other fans, however, her dream - as well as that of many other MSU fans - was crushed when UNC bested MSU 89-72.
"I was excited going into the game to see MSU win the NCAA again," she said. "UNC ended up 15 or 20 points ahead the whole game, and it was upsetting."
Back at Hillsdale College's campus, junior Kelsey Berlin experienced a similar feeling watching the game at the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house. She said though she's a native of Nebraska, she has loved the Spartans like a true Spartan since her sister married a Michigan native. As the squad moved deeper and deeper into March Madness, she said, she hoped the team would win it all so soon after her conversion. Sadly, it was not to be.
"Watching the game I felt like MSU beat themselves with as many turnovers as they had," Berlin said. "I thought they were uncomfortable in the speed of the game, and it seemed like they were rushing things."
As the point deficit grew ever higher on televisions in East Lansing, students like MSU sophomore Ashley Hufnagel said they lost hope in a Spartan comeback. UNC was so dominant, she said, that the outcome seemed set early.
"I was ready for the game to be over, it was that hard to watch the whole thing," Hufnagel said. "It was a mess of a game and very frustrating."
Not everyone in the state of Michigan was so doom and gloom, however. Hillsdale Assistant Professor of History Harold Siegel - who graduated from UNC in 1992 - said he was not only happy with the final score but expected it all along.
"I do not think MSU's talent level is as high as UNC," Siegel said. "North Carolina has flat-out better-skilled players."
As sad as the ending was for Ashdown, she said she would support the team again next year. Outside of the game's outcome, she said, the experience was actually pretty fun.
"All the fans were standing up for the majority of the game cheering their team on," Ashdown said. "I felt like a part of history being there, and it was a great experience."
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