The 2011 season opener for the Michigan State basketball team didn’t end the way they hoped, but it’s certainly a game they will never forget.
Friday evening, with the setting an aircraft carrier in San Diego and President Obama in attendance the Spartans fell to #1 North Carolina 67-55 having unable to complete a late rally.
The Spartans entered the 2011 season, younger and anxious to put last season’s disappointments behind them. They even came out looking very strong opening up a 15-8 lead on the much more experienced Tar Heels are entered the 2011 season themselves ranked #1 and the odds on favorites to win the NCAA Championship.
In the end the records will indicate that Michigan State lost and North Carolina won. However the true winners of the game were the crew of the USS Carl Vinson and every veteran on a very special veterans day in San Diego.
Ref: Detroit News, Images: Detroit News, Detroit Free Press, AP, Getty