Michigan State University Athletics
Fans Take Part In Fifth-Annual Spartan Football Fantasy Camp
6/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Football
June 17, 2010
EAST LANSING, Mich. - Every June, fans arrive on the campus of Michigan State to attend the annual Spartan Football Fantasy Camp. For the fifth-consecutive year, Spartan head coach Mark Dantonio and his coaching staff hosted its camp June 15-16 to allow fans a once in a lifetime opportunity to experience the life of a Spartan football player. Fans are given the chance to see exactly what the football team goes through from pre-game up through game time.
Attendees not only get a glimpse inside the program, but they also are able to interact with people of similar interests. As fifth-year attendee Tom Nihra of Warren, Mich., explains, this experience also allows fans to get to know others of similar interests.
"We keep in touch throughout the year," Nihra said. "These guys I would have never have met, and now we see each other all over - at road games, at basketball games - so we run into each other and it's great to renew friendships as we are at different things."
When asked what brings him back each and every year, Nihra said, "This is a great opportunity to see a real glimpse inside Spartan football besides what you see on a Saturday. It's just really an inside view, and to get to know the coaches and the staff as just regular guys, and not just as coaches."
For Paul Housey of Troy, Mich., his first time at camp was a memorable experience.
"This is unbelievable," said Housey. "I have already made calls to several of my friends to tell them they have to come next year. This is a blast."
As Housey was approaching the field in Spartan Stadium through the tunnel for the first time, he made sure he was recording the experience via his FlipCam to remember it forever.
"It's just so much fun," he said. "To get a glimpse of what the players go through, to walk through that tunnel and feel what they feel walking to the stadium and the way they walk to the stadium, I know this is probably corny, but for me, I have been a fan my whole life and I have been to all of the games, to see what it's like from the other side has been a once in a lifetime adventure."
Housey even feels that this camp has allowed him the chance to get an inside scoop with those he has grown accustomed watching don the Green and White uniform.
"You feel a little bit like an old man, and then you are walking around with Herb Haygood and Courtney Hawkins and they are kind of laughing at you going through these (drills)," Housey said.
For several of the former players, this allows them a chance to give back to those who have supported them throughout all of the years.
"I enjoy the guys here," said Haygood, a former wide receiver who also earned All-America honors as a kick returner in 2001. "I enjoy coming back and seeing all of the guys pretty much trying to go through what we did, a smaller version of it. Seeing a couple guys who have been here a few years now, it's always good coming to see them each year."
Asked if he would ever imagine being a part of a fantasy football camp at Michigan State, Hawkins said, "No, that would have been in my wildest dreams. But I am really honored to be here. It's always great to come back to be a part of Michigan State. This place has done so much for me throughout my career. Anything I can do to help, I'm here."
Another first-timer at Spartan Fantasy Football Camp was new running backs coach Brad Salem, who was hired in February.
"I think this is a neat thing," said Salem. "Obviously, it's guys living the dream. They grew up following MSU for most of their life. The repeat campers are guys who think this is the greatest thing ever. They get to meet the staff and run through drills, and also hang out with some of their sports heroes who played in Rose Bowls."
