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Spartans fans flood Detroit with green, white

April 4, 2009

Detroit — As expected, the majority of people flowing into Detroit are Spartan fans.

There have been few Connecticut or Villanova fans around the city. UNC is the only other Final Four school making its presence known among its fans.

Cheli’s Chilli Bar is the designated bar for MSU fans and opened at 9 a.m. By 3 p.m., people in line were waiting an hour and a half to get in, the majority of whom were recent MSU graduates.

Hockeytown Cafe is the designated bar for UConn fans but the wait to get in was only 15 minutes. There was only scattered UConn fans in Hockeytown, with MSU fans overwhelmingly outnumbering them.

The few UConn fans reached out to each other from across the restaurant. But there wasn’t much trash talking between the rival Final Four schools.

Tonia Grimm, a 2002 MSU graduate, said the atmosphere is similar to the 2006 Super Bowl in Detroit.

“I came down for the Super Bowl and it’s fun,” she said. “It’s exciting for the city of Detroit and MSU.”

The entrance to Ford Field has a massive crowd, the majority of whom are wearing green and white.

For those without tickets, a large viewing party is taking place on the riverfront next to the Renaissance Center.

But no matter where you are in Detroit, the chants of “Go green, go white” are loud and clear.

For updates on this story, check back to statenews.com.

Originally posted 6 p.m.

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