If your copy of The OP looked different Saturday, you may have realized there was quite a bit more sports coverage than normal. An 18-page special section to mark the Final Four in Detroit accompanied a regular news section and an abbreviated sports section.
Sometimes our special sections can be hard to find, but this one was front and center, so we hoped you enjoyed it.
The fact MSU defied the odds to make the Final Four in their home state really helped make this section what it was, because a section with, say, Kansas, in place of the Spartans wouldn't be as large, interesting or, realistically (because this is a business after all), as interesting to purchase. Every one is getting into the spirit, but it really wouldn't be the same if the Spartans hadn't made it out of the Midwest Regional.
It's been a stretch for us to get the Spartans into the paper because they've had some late games in this tournament run, but Monday night is going to be the toughest, a national championship game which starts at 9:21. Rest assured we'll have it, front and center, win or lose.
It surely has been a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us to be able to follow the Spartans back to their home-away-from-home (Ford Field). Hopefully you kept your special section to commemorate, but if not, there may be another collector's item on your doorstep Tuesday morning.