ANN ARBOR, MI - You can only imagine local police and firefighters collectively rolling their eyes when they heard Michigan and Michigan State were meeting in a night game on Saturday.
Actually, you don’t really have to imagine it.
Referring to the announcement, Ann Arbor’s police and fire departments shared the famous meme of actor Ben Affleck with a depressed look and a cigarette.
“Some memes are funny,” the Ann Arbor Police Department wrote on Facebook. “Some are childish. Some are wildly accurate.”
Read more: Rivalry reset: Your guide to Michigan-Michigan State week
With about 200,000 extra people expected to be in Ann Arbor for the game and surrounding tailgates, preparations for the Oct. 29 rivalry tilt are in full swing.
Beyond a police presence, University of Michigan and MSU safety officials are focusing on a public health approach to deter extreme alcohol consumption.
Read more: 30 fans ejected from Michigan Stadium in Wolverines’ win over Penn State
That approach includes education, outreach through events without alcohol, positive messaging and rules enforcement, said Mary Jo Desprez of Wolverine Wellness, a part of University Health Service.
“It’s not one magic thing that either campus does, but it’s really the use of evidence-based strategies to prevent harm,” Desprez said. “Not only for night games, not only for the Michigan-Michigan State game, we do this for anytime there’s a high-volume, high-risk event going on.”
The education component provides fans with material on alcohol harm reduction at the tailgates surrounding Michigan Stadium. One of the educational opportunities was a short video reminding fans to enjoy Saturday’s game responsibly.
This video was provided by UM to share with the public.
One of the key groups to reach are the “celebratory drinkers,” or people who only drink at big events, said Dennis Martell, chair of the MSU celebrations committee.
“Why we worry about those people is because there’s no repertoire,” Martell said. “They don’t know what their tolerance is. They don’t have any protective behaviors.”
To get these lessons out, UM hosts events that combine educational opportunities with something fun, such as a bagel giveaway at the Alumni Center, bringing a therapy dog around campus or giving out glow-in-the-dark shirts for the night game.
Desprez, Martell and their teams also stress their messaging is not to scare fans enjoying a drink at a tailgate. In fact, Desprez said, “fear” messaging is counter-productive.
“Yes, there’s high emotions for this game, but there’s a high responsibility for the majority of people to do the right thing,” Martell said.
Since most people doing the right thing does not mean all people do, police presence is an essential part of ensuring public safety at events like Saturday’s game, Desprez and Martell said. This need to bolster safety was made clear for last year’s game in East Lansing. While incidents were minimal around Spartan Stadium, people vandalized property in the surrounding neighborhoods.
“We had all our police in the stadium and we didn’t have enough police outside,” Martell said. “Always have a response because of the unexpected happens.”
Read more: MSU fans burn couches, tip over vehicle after Spartan victory in East Lansing
In addition, Grand Valley State University freshman Brendan Santo fell into the Red Cedar River the same weekend and died with high alcohol content in his blood and urine.
Read more: Brendan Santo died of accidental drowning, report shows
Ann Arbor police and the UM Division of Public Safety and Security are taking an “all hands on deck” approach to night game, said Lt. Mike Scherba and Deputy Chief Melissa Overton.
“Our most likely problem areas are going to be the areas that are typical, like downtown student areas,” Scherba said, referring to tailgates, Main Street and South University Avenue. “So we will have extra troops deployed in those areas just to monitor.”
There were more physical altercations during the last night game in Ann Arbor between Michigan and MSU in 2017 than an average football game, so police are ready this year, Scherba said,
“We hope it’s a quiet day and everyone enjoys themselves, but we’ll be ready if we need to be,” he said.
Overton also stressed people need to know their limits, drink plenty of water, always be with a friend, not accept drinks from anyone and calling 911 in case of medical emergency.
“Safety is everyone’s responsibility,” Overton said.
The goal for the weekend is just lowering the risk across the board, Desprez said, which she has confidence can be achieved.
“If we as a community and as a state really do our jobs as neighbors and friends and colleagues,” she said, that’s my best hope is that the best stories the next day are going to be all about the game.”
Read more on UM-MSU rivalry from MLive:
Michigan AND Michigan State? How in the world does a Michigander end up cheering for both?
Kickoff time, TV revealed for Michigan-Michigan State football game
Does Michigan play better at night? A history of night games at the Big House
Michigan out for revenge vs. Spartans: ‘We know we’re the better team’
Michigan football an early 3-TD betting favorite vs. Michigan State
Idle Michigan drops in coaches’ poll ahead of MSU showdown
After 2-year delay, ROTC cadets will run 66 miles with Michigan, MSU game ball