Now that I'm back in the states and am able to attend the games, I've seen some pretty disturbing things; the "you suck" chant (Just chant the damn Down Number, if we stuff them on 3rd down, chant "4TH DOWN!", if we stuff them on 4th down, chant "1ST DOWN!"), nearly losing to Akron, nearly losing to Uconn, actually losing to Penn St. But I do love football, so I'll try to get tickets to saturday's game in E. Lansing.  I must be a glutton for punishment. 

What that means is I won't be able to get on here and bitch about the game until several hours after it ends. So this diary is to get all my bitching out of the way beforehand.  I'm not a psychic and all predictions are guaranteed to be incorrect.  So if I betray any pessimism, consider it a chance for the team to prove me wrong. 

Things that will probably happen before the game:

1. I will have to ask about 20 people before I can get a good price on a ticket. 

2. Someone will bring up Dickhead Gholston. Which doesn't matter much since he's long gone. 

3. Someone will bring up Dickhead Narduzzi's quote about "60 Minutes of unnecessary roughness". Which does matter because that's how his defense plays. 

4. MSU's Band will bring out their fake wolverine mascot.  

5. MSU fans will be annoying. Conveniently forgetting anything that happened earlier than 5 years ago. 

6. I might refer to the Sparty mascot being gay, not that there's anything wrong with that, and how if he wants to marry Brutus, they could elope during the Rutgers game. 

Things that will probably happen during the game: 

1. We will not be able to run conventionally. Period. Unfortunately, Max Bullough seems to be the real deal.  Remember 27 yards on 27 attempts?  This game could be that bad, at least on a yards-per-carry basis.  Hopefully we won't have as many attempts.  I'd be ecstatic if we threw the ball 60 times and rushed 15.  That ain't gonna happen. 

2. Denard Devin will be good for at least 3 turnovers, probably two picks and one fumble. And he'll have two or three sacks, at least one of which is caused by his reverse spin and loses 15+ yards.  

3. Funchess will make an amazing play, and then we'll be frustrated the rest of the game as he mysteriously disappears.  

4. The Sparty defense will be jumping our snap count and we'll take major tackles for loss because of it. 

5. Devin will rush for at least 80 yards and two TD's. 

6. Gallon will get 100 yards receiving. 

7. Spartan players will take cheap shots that aren't flagged. 

8. One of our offensive linemen will get injured. 

9. MSU will put together annoyingly long drives because we won't be able to stall their running game on 3rd down. 

10. MSU fans will be annoying.  Some fat idiot will yell "CHEATERS" whenever a flag is thrown.  A brazenly foulmouthed pre-teen will get dangerously close to being slapped by me. That's just how they raise their kids. 

11. Jake Ryan will save the day. 

Things that will probably happen after the game: 

1. Bipolar coordinator love will swing to the defensive side, Mattison will again be a genius and Borges will be on the hot seat. This will of course have everything to do with playing MSU instead of Indiana and not actual merit.  (But yes, if we can UPGRADE Borges after the season, we should.)

2. Both fan bases will be upset with the referees.  MSU will have about 4 pass interference penalties called against them, 3 of which spartans will think are ridiculous. Meanwhile I'll be able to freeze-frame 8 other instances that should have been called P.I. or defensive holding but weren't. 

3. MSU fans will argue that any personal fouls called on them or other dirty plays that weren't flagged were somehow justified.  Insert your own non-sequitur here. I'm partial to the idea that you should always beat up frat boys while wearing ski masks, because you know, "they had it coming". 

4. If MSU wins, they'll probably win the division.  If we win, I'll complain about how the division title is determined by conference record instead of division record since we'll probably lose to Ohio and have our only two losses being to the other division.  

5. Win or Lose, something will be set on fire in E. Lansing. 

6. MSU fans will be annoying. 

Points of Quantum Uncertainty:

(aka, things that will swing the game)

1. Weather.  The forecast calls for 40% chance of rain.  With our dependence on the passing game and pass blocking, I'm guessing the more moisture, the worse for us.

2. Connor Cook's passing.  Somewhere between 3.5 yards per attempt and whatever the hell that was last week will probably determine the game. 

3. Al Borges the mad magician vs. Al Borges the stubborn coach looking for a new job. Self explanatory. (If you see Fitz catching wide open swings and screens, it could be a good day.)

4. The refs.  THROW THE DAMN FLAG. 

5. MSU Defensive scoring.  We'll probably turn the ball over a few times.  But will those be turned directly into TD's or will Mattison get a chance to make Connor Cook look like Andrew Maxwell? 

ETC:

1. Our basketball team looks good. 

2. I hate cold weather. 

3. I hope they didn't screw up Ender's Game. 

4. I'm gonna do a Native American dance for sunshine and clear skies on Saturday. So like, an 'anti-rain-rain dance'.