The Question — Wedding or MSU-UM Football Game?

The shriek that echoed through the newsroom said something was wrong. It was the same pitched scream that could be heard the day Heath Ledger died.

It came from a crowd surrounding a computer who found out that our Faces and Places reporter, Sarah Harbison, had set the date of her wedding next year on Saturday, Oct. 3, 2009.

This date wasn’t really news since it had been set before Sunday. What was news was that some sporting event that people in these parts take kind of seriously also is slated for Oct. 3, 2009.

Yes, a State News reporter and her future husband, former State News sports reporter and editor Eric Fish (known only as “Fish” to friends), scheduled their wedding on the same day as next year’s Michigan-MSU football game.

So this week’s question: What would you do if you had scheduled your wedding day on the same day as the state’s biggest football rivalry?

I’ve been told by Sarah that thousands of dollars in reservations have already been made in advance of one year from now (and believe me, I worked with Sarah this summer, so I’ve heard enough details to know it’s true).

There’s no going back from this, so if I was in their positions, some changes would have to be made:

There would be a big screen TV directly above the altar on silent showing the game (cheering only allowed on MSU touchdowns and the wedding’s end).

The priest would pause when MSU was in the U-M red zone so fans could watch the Spartans go right through the Wolverines.

The reception would be half wedding-related and half post-game tailgate. Brats would be served.

Fish would wear a Spartans jersey over his tuxedo.

And finally, a plastic Sparty would be on top of the wedding cake.

(Sarah says none of these suggestions would fly, Fish was cool with a jersey over the tuxedo in nonpicture situations and would “absolutely” put Sparty on top of the cake, adding the bridal party could run out of the church like it was the Spartan Stadium tunnel.)

These suggestions are the least they could do for those in attendance.

Or at least the ones who care about them enough to show up.