Tuesday, March 19, 2024

Sparty Watch protects statue from weasels

Music education junior Shane Stecher, right, and mechanical engineering junior Paul Allen play Guitar Hero on Monday night at Sparty Watch.

Photo by Sam Ruiz | The State News

Every year they show up before the Michigan vs. MSU football game, standing vigilant to protect the sacred symbol of our university.

There they stand … playing video games?

The Sparty Watch isn’t exactly the flashlight-clad army of students portrayed in the popular Big Ten Network commercial.

“There’s a lot of thoughts of the heroic defending of Sparty,” said Ian McNabb, a packaging senior and drum major of the Spartan Marching Band. “For the most part we would just report that to the police.”

Sparty Watch, which is hosted by the band, fraternity and sorority, Kappa Kappa Psi and Tau Beta Sigma, is more about deterring possible attacks than actually defending the statue itself. Still, the event is run the week prior to the football game in anticipation of vandalism from MSU’s rivals in Ann Arbor.

“When I went to school here, I was walking past the statue on game day, and Sparty had on blue shorts and a yellow ‘M’ painted on its chest,” marching band director John Madden said.

“Maybe the protection wasn’t as good as it should have been,” he said. “The vigil is a tradition but it protects the statue.”

And though vandalism on the statue is less common, the people watching have never faltered.

“Last year, a pickup truck peeled out blasting ‘The Victors,’” McNabb said.

McNabb was one of a handful of band members to spend the night last year and plans to do the same this year. The members use what they can find to make themselves comfortable, most using cots and multiple sleeping bags to keep warm overnight.

The watchers in the BTN commercial are actors, not band members, but some members were still proud.

“It’s been a point of pride during Michigan week to stand guard,” Madden said. “I was proud, Michigan’s was about a parking problem.”

Outside of stopping vandalism, the watchers have plenty to do.

According to Mary Burleson, an interdisciplinary studies in social science junior who helped organize the event, the group has a full week of plans, including a movie night featuring “Ghost Busters” and “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” a Halloween costume contest and a party Thursday night complete with a DJ to kick off the rivalry weekend.

“The organization this year, they’ve done a tremendous job,” said Shane Stecher, a music education junior. “I’m really excited for how this week is going to turn out.”

A few of the students brought TVs and were playing popular video games such as “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock” and “Halo 3.”

“Its fun to be normal students and not students with instruments,” said Emma Ulrich, a sixth year family community services major.

Local vendors aren’t shy about helping the watchers out.

“Canada Dry donated Monster Energy drinks, Sparty’s donated food and coffee, Starbucks even dropped by,” Burleson said.

The students are even expecting a visit from the football coaches, but unsure when.

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The events come to a close each night with the band members singing the alma mater, “MSU Shadows,” and a special U-M week version of the fight song, in which they change a few lines to “Smash right through that line of blue,” and “Michigan is weakening.”

Still, after the majority of the band leaves for the night, for those that stay, the looming thought of Wolverines and paint crosses a few minds.

“The anticipation if something might happen is great,” McNabb said.

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