Well, I have done Michigan, getting my wolverine on in Ann Arbor, so for equal time, seems only right that I call on The Spartans of Michigan State (Lansing) today.
Right off the bat, I have to say that the Spartans have one of, if not the coolest logos, in college football, just this side of Marvin the Martian. Kidding, love the Spartan icon.
I saw plenty of the iconic, helmet warriors as I cruised around the football stadium, curious to see if the facility had a statue for a 1938-39 All-American Spartan … one Johnny Pingel … no relation to Johnny Football or Johnny Ping as far as we know. Note: that Ping went on to be drafted by Detroit in the NFL first round and he is the all-time NCAA punting leader for most yards in a season (4,138). After a short NFL career, JP went on to earn his stripes in the advertising world, so I would have loved to have asked him for pointers for the PingWi-Fi brand. Missed my chance, rest his soul.
Never had much dealing with Michigan State before. …Neither a Big 12, Southwest Conference or old Missouri Valley Conference foe … However, I did share a sideline with the Spartans a few years back when Texas Tech beat Michigan State in the 2010 Valero Alamo Bowl in San Antonio.*
(*Yes that was the infamous bowl game victory with Texas Tech’s winningest coach suspended and subsequently fired, just prior to that game. Also important to note, the game could have been called “The Suspension Bowl,” because 14 Spartans were not permitted to travel, nor play because of a dormitory brawl.)
Another logo has caught my eye here, albeit it not near as design-strong as the green helmets. It’s the orange B of Biggby Coffee. I have seen Biggby all over Detroit land, but the timing has never been right. Today, across the street from Walgreens where I snatched up some pain killers, jerky and Junior Mints, I saw “Biggy’s” across the way. Ha! It seemed easy enough to maneuver across the street. But then again, this is Michigan, the land of no left turns. Ever drive here? They say the U-Turn is also known as a “Michigan Turn.” You cannot make a left turn in an intersection … no where as far as I can tell. You have to go on by the place you want to turn, and then turn around. So … navigating to a new places is sort of like playing a chess match where you have to plan out your strategy about three moves in advance. I digress …
Ha … Biggby is playing Devo’s “Freedom of Choice” on the sons system. Nice. Is this symbolic of the choice between the big green giant coffee shop and local hero, Biggby? Who’s to say, but don’t answer, it was rhetorical.
The Wi-Fi is exceptional. Before jumping on, I asked the barista if there was a passcode. He said, no, but, “You will just have to agree to our terms.” I fired back, “Are they reasonable?” My snark was lost on him as he helped the next customer.
I glanced over the rules pretty quickly … no criminal activity, yada hada yada … and what’ this? A two-hour limit on Wi-Fi usage, at their discretion? Well now, that got my curiosity up … Gotta go over the limit to see if they deem me suitable to continue, or if I get blown out like a bad smell (as one of my advertising bosses used to always say).
So … gotta move fast before I get the axe. More on Biggby — The design looks like a revamped Starbucks, with the color scheme changed to be a little more bold. Interesting, especially since my new druggist at Walgreen’s across the street informed me Biggby was in this area long before the Spartan green Starbucks. I opted for a great banana/berry smoothy.
With the help of the all-knowing Internet, I learned that Biggby began in East Lansing, Mich., in 1995, and today there are more than 220 locations. Congrats.
Perfect seating per capita … enough available for the number of people wandering through on a rainy Sunday afternoon — not too crowded, not too empty. No trouble getting on the Wi-Fi, and so far I haven’t broken any of the rules — 6 pings. (Laugh at my joke Mr. Biggby barista and you could have had a 7.) Lastly … just saw the Biggby Nation sticker on the toilet paper dispenser in the men’s room … not unlike a helmet sticker for a great game … well played.
Woohoo … blog posted with 20 minutes left on the clock … good clock management team:)
Know what I sayin?
