By Mike Kruzman / news@whmi.com


The results are in for the VINA Tailgate fundraiser to determine whether local Spartan or Wolverine fans are more charitable.

It’s a sweep for the Michigan State Spartans this year, with their football team upsetting the Michigan Wolverines on the gridiron, and their fans locally donating more to the VINA Dental Clinic during the yearly Tailgate fundraiser contest. This year’s Tailgate, like so much else in the world because of COVID, looked different and took place over 3 weeks, entirely online. One hundred bidders and more than 50 sponsors participated in the event which featured a silent auction and mini-contests, throughout. In the end, less than $500 separated the two fanbases.

For winning, a Spartans canopy will be put up outside of the clinic’s main entrance to shield volunteers, staff and patients, while also rubbing a little salt in the wounds of Wolverine fans, during the clinic’s outdoor winter COVID screening process.

Donations from both sides will be pooled for the event’s main beneficiaries- the roughly 1,500 Livingston County patients on limited finances that VINA serves.

This Tailgate win was the 2nd in a row for the Spartans, and they now lead the all- time series 7 to 5.

(Photo- VINAdental.org canopy rendering)