EAST LANSING, Mich. – It’s the golden anniversary of the gold standard in Michigan State football.
When the No. 12 Spartans visit No. 18 Notre Dame Saturday night, they will commemorate, celebrate and try to tap into the tradition established by their MSU forefathers in the 1966 game against the Fighting Irish, which by most accounts remains the most famous tie in American sports history.
10-10.
When No. 1 Notre Dame and No. 2 Michigan State put their equally unblemished records on the line in Spartan Stadium that dreary 19th of November, they not only rattled each other down to the marrow in their bones, they caused a seismic shift in the way sports were: hyped (the pre-game buildup was unprecedented), covered (more than 700 reporters from across the nation packed the press box) and viewed on television (33 million tuned in).