Your vote for the most gut-wrenching loss to Sparty

I'd say it was last year's. I was such a proponent of RR's offense, and I want so badly for it carve up that MSU defense, to shut them up, and to shut up everyone else who said it couldn't work in the B1G.

I guess I also knew our defense was terribad, and that made the loss and Sparty's salt-rubbing all the worse.

As a rule, I only remember the wins. Life is more awesome that way.

2001, mostly because thats the only one of the three i can remember ( i was 6 years old in 1990).

I would also choose last year if it was an option.

I would nominate 2009, though it's not probably an obvious one. Had the team won it would have gotten to a bowl game, which might have helped in anticipation of 2010. Maybe pulling out that game would have provided the springboard to finish off games against Iowa, Illinois and Purdue in 2009 that were lost in close/unfathomable circumstances. A 9 win season in 2009 really would have changed things with recruiting too (Parker, Grimes, Knight?)

The Michigan fanbase wouldn't be concerned about 4 losses in a row right now. Rich Rod would probably still be around.

And most importantly, THAT hit by Brandon Graham would be talked about during the broadcast tomorrow. Those TDs by Roundtree and Stonum would be the focus as part of an epic Michigan comeback.

This may just be because I was not born/3months old for the other two, but I feel like it's Spartan Bob, and it's not even close.  It's not just the way they won, but the way that most State fans refuse to acknowledge what happened.  They act like there's no clear replay that shows the manipulation of the clock.  Also, TJ Duckett is one of my least favorite all-time Spartans, so that doesn't help either.

Last year's is definitely it for me.  The team got badly exposed and you could almost feel the entire stadium deflate in regards to hopes and expectations for the rest of the year.  In terms of pure soul killing, I think it's the king.

I was out for most of the day and came back in time for the fourth quarter. I almost punched a hole in my parents' house when Michigan State scored the winning touchdown. 

I will say that 1990 was pivotal for me because that's what made me a Michigan fan for life. After that game, my dad gleefully said he was happy Michigan lost, that he rooted for MSU (he got a certificate from one of their satellite managment education centers--not exactly legit, but in his mind it was), and that he was never a fan of Bo (although he was retired by this point). So what does a good son do? Root for the team Dad despises. I'd it's paid off well the past 20+ years.

Sitting in the Spartan Sports Den (I can't help my wife's poor choice in college affiliations), seeing those extra seconds, watching the game end that way... The "don't be a crybaby Wolverine" guffaws when I mentioned the clock... It galls me to this day.

it doesn't happen tomorrow, I'm fine with it.

Have to echo the sentiment about last year.  Really wanted to see the Spread and Shred rule the day and was mega-high off the 5-0 start.  Being dismantled by them and then being summarily dismantled by the rest of the B1G top tier the rest of the season, was not good very general happiness.  Hoping we don't get our hearts broken again this year.

You've selected the three best choices, for sure.

For me, 1990 was the worst.  We were Number 1.  And I disagree that we got outplayed that day by so much.  MSU got a bunch of good calls; not just the Eddie Brown no-call.  That was the one time I sat in a row immediately adjacent to the tunnel, and I almost went over the railing at the refs went they exited after the game.  They looked very scared and confused as they left; rightfully so.  I hope they were scared.  By the way; the interference no-call wasn' the only bad call on that one play!  The fact was, Desmond caught that ball even though he was tripped, and it popped out after his shoulder hit the ground.  I'd contend that he had posession, was down by virtue of his lower boddy hitting the deck, and then the ground caused the fumble.

The Spartan Bob clock game comes next.  And it was a close second.  That's how bad that clock deal was.  It was in their building, and they knew that they stole that one.  That was like a tall glass of vomit.

The least offensive one to me (because it was such a good Spartan team) was the '78 game.  I think that was one of the better football games I witnessed, even though it wasn't overtime like Braylonfest.

Gotta be Sparty Bob

I don't want to do this.  Fridays are supposed to be fun man. 

I was in the student section for that game with some of my buddies from school and it sucked... However, late that night in a drunken anger I managed to whizz all over Sparty, so that somehow helps me cope to this day... 

The worst though to me, was by far 1990.  Desmond was raped in the end zone, and I was 9 at the time.  Some of my dad's side of the family are Sparty supporters and they literally started taunting me as I screamed in anger.  And that my friends was the day my hatred for Sparty really took hold. 

It's one thing to lose on the field, it sucks yea, but to have the game extended due to a timekeeper was not right. And wasn't the B1G rules changed on timekeepers becasue of that game?

I have always thought it was 1990 - tripping Desmond. Then you drop this:

"Little known fact - the ref who ate his flag that day in the end zone was the high school coach the year before of the MSU defender who DIDN'T interfere with Desmond on the two point conversation attempt."

I did not know that. That makes for much more controversy than Spartan Bob IMO.

There has never been a sporting contest that made me so angry for so long.  It was over 20 years ago, and I'm still angry about it.  I'm not sure how you can be more blatant about a pass-interference than grabbing the ankle of the receiver as the ball is approaching.  The no-call was unforgivable.

Losing fair and square to Sparty (or any team for that matter) is bad and 2009 and 2010, although difficult to swallow were at least legit losses --- but losing because of a no-call pass interference or a manipulated clock is not what "settling it on the field" is all about.

Those two losses - 1990 and 2001 - were devastating because they weren't fair and weren't settled on the field or even by playing football.  They were settled by a ref's blind mistake and a blatant h mismanagement by an MSU employee.

2001, because I thought he dropped the ball. I went from excitement to disbelief when I found out it was a TD and saw the replay.

I was 13. We were at my Uncle's house on White Lake and I was so down afterwards that my Father busted a brand new dozen Pro Staff out of his golf bag and let me whack away my emotions into the lake.

Clock gate was awful, but by then my Dad had died and I realized that footbal wasn't the be all end all.

Both were determined by incompetence and outright fraud perpetrated by officials/timekeepers.

I was at the '78 game, and Sparty just beat us fair and square that day. Like last year, our loss that day was also heavily influenced by our own poor QB play. Rick Leach went 5-15 for 98 yards in passing, and threw three INTs.

MSU's QB Eddie Smith, by contrast, just went off on us, and we never could catch up. I can attest to the fact that literally everybody in the stadium was stunned, even Sparty fans. We were 4-0 and ranked #5 nationally, while Sparty was 1-3 and seemingly going nowhere.

What is it with all you people in wanting to relive painful losses? That's the absolute opposite of everything I've been trying to do with my YouTube account the last 4 years. 

Now, can we please start a favorite victories over Sparty thread?  We've got a hell of a lot more games to choose from with wins than losses.   

***DOUBLE POST***  Disregard.

4 years ago I changed jobs and now work in Owosso, which has a pretty healthy Spartan backing. Each loss the past three years has gotten progressively harder to take so that last one particularly stung; the INTs in the endzone, the big runs we allowed,  the way they held on to the ball at the end, the way I had to go back to work...that one really sucked.

nominate the 1987 game...when D. Brown (I think?) threw something like seven interceptions and yet Michigan still only lost by 6.  That was tough one to take.

i still saw a lot of spartan fans then and was still young enough to take the loss personally.

1990 & 2001 [wasn't alive in '78]

2001 infuriated me, not only did the D shoot itself in the foot .... the clock at the end was a JOKE!

1990 was for a National Championship .... so that one really hurts.....

I guess if i have to fall off a long i'd says 1990 just because the stakes were a bit higher....

Came in from Chicago.  Watched the game high atop the South endzone.  Whole stadium goes crazy-nuts after the touchdown.  We all watched the two point conversion develop - watched Desmond come off the line - watched the trip by State and then waited for the call.  It never came.  The stadium went silent and the walk back to the car was creepy quiet.