It’s been a pretty eventful week off the field for Michigan State head coach Mark Dantonio since it was announced that his Spartans were on their way to the Holiday Bowl in San Diego later this month.
Dantonio also found himself roped into a social media sparring match with Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh, after the media approached Dantonio with a question on whether or not MSU got “jumped” in the bowl selection process, to which Dantonio replied with something that caught Harbaugh’s attention.
The two have since then exchanged a back-and-forth affair that has been perceived ranging from hilariously awesome to an embarrassment and waste of time. More recently, Harbaugh said that he would prefer than Dantonio “not talk about” Michigan. Naturally, Dantonio was asked again about this whole social media saga and for anyone who has questioned the staying power of MSU, the Spartans head coach provided this.
“Michigan State is never going to go away,” Dantonio said Sunday. “They’re always going to be here, regardless of who is coaching here. And it is what it is.”
Dantonio also added that “in this day and age,” he was “not surprised” at how much buzz his Twitter tug-of-war with Harbaugh generated. In fact, he has provided plenty of clarification in the form of reassurance for Michigan State fans, as well as those who doubt the program’s ability to keep up moving forward.
TO BE CLEAR, my answer tonight was to a question about fan’s recent tweets in general, and not any particular one.
— Mark Dantonio (@DantonioMark) December 11, 2017
For all Spartans, “it’s not over, it’ll never be over, it’s just getting started” #SpartansWill
— Mark Dantonio (@DantonioMark) December 4, 2017
Despite how outsiders feel about the nature of this feud, both coaches seem to agree that the back-and-forth banter is “healthy” for the rivalry. Still, Dantonio seems to have a good idea that he’s in the minority when it comes to fandom in this state and understands that people will be quick to dismiss them with something goes awry.
Granted, when you turn in a 3-9 campaign following a year where you go to the College Football Playoff, it will raise a few eyebrows. Add in the subsequent offseason that was collective hot mess of player departures as well as the extreme, knee-jerk, opinionated society we live in today, and what you have is a program that will almost forever be lurking in the shadows.
Many, however, will believe that Dantonio’s track record at Michigan State will speak to his credibility when he says the Spartans are “not going to go away” any time soon.
