The Michigan State basketball team may have just arrived in Spain, but they are already enjoying their trip to the fullest.
After arriving in Madrid on Wednesday, the team toured the city, visiting all the hotspots Madrid has to offer. This tour continued ahead of their first match on Thursday morning, when the team visited the Metropolitano Stadium, home of one of Europe’s biggest football clubs, Atlético Madrid.
This organization is not to be confused with Real Madrid, which most of you have probably heard of. But even though Atlético is the “smaller” Madrid club, it is still considered one of the top clubs in Spain and Europe as a whole.
During the stadium visit, Michigan State got the opportunity to tour Atlético’s locker room and were surprised upon entering with one of the coolest gifts I have ever seen.
Great experience and a special surprise this morning at the Metropolitano Stadium ⚽️
So @Atleti❕ pic.twitter.com/He12y1edOg
— Michigan State Men’s Basketball (@MSU_Basketball) 15 August 2024
As if MSU was getting ready for a football game today, they all went into their locker room and saw that each player had their own Atlético jersey hanging in the lockers. Each player had their name on the back of their jersey, which is a very special and cool gift that they can hang in their home forever.
But Tom Izzo had by far the best jersey of all, as Atlético gave him the only green and white goalkeeper jersey with Izzo on the back.
As a huge soccer nerd, I’m very jealous that I won’t get one of those jerseys with my name on it. I may not be an Atlético fan myself (and I’d be surprised if many Michigan State fans are), but I think there’s a high chance we’ll all become fans of their team after this game.
Who knows, maybe one day Michigan State can return the gesture, welcome them to East Lansing and give their team some basketball jerseys.
