Tom Izzo gave the Breslin Center crowd a special shoutout after the Senior Night win over Northwestern on Wednesday.
Michigan State did what its always does and recorded the win on Senior Night. This makes 12 straight wins on Senior Night for Tom Izzo and Michigan State after their 53-49 win against Northwestern.
As is normal for the Senior Night game, the team held a ceremony and celebration honoring the senior class after the fame. Tom Izzo also usually addresses the crowd, which he did again on Wednesday. Izzo is always appreciative of our fanbase, but he seemed even more appreciative than normal on Wednesday night as he spoke to the Breslin Center crowd.
Izzo gives a special shoutout to the Breslin Center crowd
Tom Izzo began his speech by saying, “And for you to stick around, it means the world to me.”
The Breslin Center was still packed during this video, which came at the end of the Senior Night celebration. The game ran longer than normal and it was a week night versus a weekend. So the entire crowd staying this late after the game just shows how amazing the fanbase is.
Izzo went on to give the fans some credit for the win by saying, “You won us the game tonight.”
Now I think that’s a bit of a stretch, but the crowd definitely helped. The team got off to a sluggish start, scoring only 20 first-half points. But the crowd never gave up on the team, and they were ready to explode (and did) once the Spartans got hot in the second half.
The best thing Izzo said
Izzo ended his speech with one of the best statements about our fanbase I’ve ever heard. Here is how Izzo finished his speech.
“You’ve done things in years when we were really good, and you’ve done things in years when we weren’t as good.”
This to me is the sign of an elite fanbase. It’s easy to cheer for a team when they’re really good, and us Spartan fans know how to cheer for a good team. But a fanbase becomes elite when they support their team just as much even when they aren’t so good. That’s exactly what we have at Michigan State. The last few years have been rough, and many fans haven’t been happy with the product on the court. But that hasn’t stopped us from supporting the team.
You see teams all around the country who can’t fill their arena when their team is bad. That has never happened at Michigan State. Tom Izzo knows how special this program and fanbase is, and this season more than any has proven that to him.
The Spartans wrap up regular-season play at Indiana on Sunday before the Big Ten Tournament begins. There is still so much to play for this year, and Izzo knows more than anyone that the fanbase will be there to support the team every step of the way.
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