IT IS LAND-GRANT WEEK!!!!

Michigan State is hosting No. 6 Penn State in a celebration of the government using profits from federal land sales to establish public universities in 1862 and 1890.

The annual matchup between the two land-grant universities has been properly designated as the Land-Grant Rivalry and the two play for the greatest trophy in all of sports, The Land-Grant Trophy:

Look at that beautiful piece of hardware. It is incredible in every sense of the word and is a worthy prize for an immensely important football game.

Well, for fans of these teams, this rivalry and this trophy, I have a special surprise for you. I was able to secure an interview with the Land-Grant Trophy through its incredible Twitter feed. (@LandGrantTrophy)

I was able to ask how the trophy is doing in East Lansing, about the excitement of the game and the trophy’s favorite rivalry memories.

Wil Hunter, SpartansWire – It’s rivalry week. You’re in East Lansing right now, how are you feeling?

Land-Grant Trophy – Excitement doesn’t begin to describe it, but also I’m heckin’ nervous. There will be a ton of people trying to touch me and I just got buffed and waxed.

The teams must be excited as well – since 2016, Penn State and Michigan State are a combined 2-6 in the weeks before the trophy game, and otherwise are a combined 56-22. With a rivalry this big, it’s just hard to focus on film study or practice the week before, I don’t know how they do it.

Keep a lookout for these @MSU_Football players looking to win their third straight #LandGrantTrophy and keep me in East Lansing! pic.twitter.com/8VQR4hWVkK — Land-Grant Trophy (@LandGrantTrophy) August 23, 2019

WH – What is your storage situation? Is MSU keeping you somewhere nice? Have you been cleaned and dusted off lately?

L-GT – The Spartan football equipment team has been a wonderful host and caretaker, but would it kill one of these guys to bring me something from the Dairy Store? I’m in the lobby of the Skandalaris Football Center with a great view and I’m enjoying the energy. I always love it when students stop by to take selfies. Did I mention the wax??

WH – You were injured last season by former Spartan Mufi Hill-Hunt. What happened? Are you OK?

L-GT – Well, it was a trophy win away from East Lansing as a double digit underdog, of course the celebration got a little twisted. I appreciate Mufi coming forward and taking responsibility for what happened. I couldn’t be more impressed with the professionalism of the Michigan State football program in getting me back into shape.

Mufi and I patched things up (literally, with the equipment team’s help), and I’m as strong as ever.

WH – Are you looking forward to getting some fresh air this weekend?

L-GT – Oh, of course. I made my debut in Spartan Stadium back in 1993, so any chance to get back is welcomed. If the weather is anything like last year, I hope they at least bring me a poncho.

Keep your 👀 on these Nittany Lions as @PennStateFball tries to bring me back to State College! #LandGrantTrophy pic.twitter.com/AchRuiO5sP — Land-Grant Trophy (@LandGrantTrophy) August 23, 2019

WH – What would you say is your best feature?

L-GT – Aside from the rich mahogany, everything. What’s not to love? Old Main and Beaumont Tower show off the beauty of the campuses, and The Spartan and Lion Shrine are beloved by all. Many may say my lasers are my most notable feature, but they’re just a byproduct of how excited I get for this game.

WH – What do you say to someone who might make fun of how you look?

L-GT – I’ve noticed that many of the haters are fans or alumni of schools that have simply never won the Land-Grant Trophy. Ohio State, Regular Michigan, Alabama, Texas, etc. These teams have one thing in common: none of them have ever won the most prestigious prize in college football. I understand how that must eat away at them.

#tbt to when Nick Saban competed for the Land-Grant Trophy and went 2-3. He then took an SEC job to escape the intense pressure. pic.twitter.com/w5pjzAQlK5 — Land-Grant Trophy (@LandGrantTrophy) November 2, 2017

WH – Do you have any favorite land-grant memories?

L-GT – I have too many to name, I’ll try to keep the lasers down as I recount just a few:

First off, one of my favorite annual traditions is the romantic candlelight dinner I have every year to celebrate the anniversary of the signing of the Morrill Act of 1862. We all wouldn’t be here without it.

But on the football field, the first game was one of the greats, November 27th 1993, two top ranked teams in a shootout with a massive comeback to win the inaugural me by just a single point.

Who could forget 2010? Coach Dantonio’s health had been at the top of the mind all season, but the Spartans won me and a share of the Big Ten title in Happy Valley. A very emotional time for us all.

In 2017, my renowned lasers got a bit out of control, and ended up delaying the game nearly three hours. Not my finest hour, but I couldn’t help it.

Then just last year, in anticipation of the game for me, Penn State threw me what they all kept calling a “Homecoming Parade.” They didn’t get their wish as I boarded the plane back to East Lansing, but I was beyond flattered they thought so highly of my return to State College.

WH – Who looks at you more longingly, Mark Dantonio or James Franklin?

L-GT – While Coach Dantonio has a clear lead in trophy wins – they say absence makes the heart grow fonder, so I’ll have to give this one to Coach Franklin. He once said in an interview that I’m “The most beautiful trophy in sports,” and I can only imagine how the distance is killing him.

With that win over Regular Michigan in the bag, it is now officially LAND GRANT TROPHY WEEK for both teams! #LandGrantTrophy — Land-Grant Trophy (@LandGrantTrophy) October 20, 2019

WH – You once called the Old Brass Spittoon “dumb and gross” do you care to evaluate other rivalry trophies?

L-GT – Jeweled Shillelagh (Notre Dame vs. USC) – Flashy, sure, but no substance or relevance to the national football scene. Oh, did you ask about the teams involved or the trophy?

But, in all seriousness, my publicist has asked me not to make further comments on other trophies.

WH – You’ve made a plea to return the land-grant game to rivalry week… care to elaborate on why?

L-GT – Lesser rivalries are formed on a foundation of hatred and refusing to use a letter of the alphabet or a word. Others, like this one, are formed on mutual respect for the rival program.

There’s no other trophy that so directly impacts the participants in the Big Ten Championship game, and there’s no other rivalry in the conference in which both teams have won in Indianapolis. Rivalry week is simply incomplete without me.

When Kevin Warren was announced as the new commissioner of the Big Ten, I was fortunate enough to attend the press conference and issue a statement. I think the fan consensus is clear on this issue.

WH – How do you feel about the fact that a fan submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to find out your weight?

L-GT – I am comfortable with my progress in the weight room with Ken Mannie. I like to think of nearly all of my 76 lbs as “good weight”, but it’s important for me to keep a watchful eye on this as I creep into my late 20s.

WH – Anything else interesting for you coming down the pipeline?

L-GT – I was hoping to be able to use this as a platform to announce HBO’s decision to shoot a Land Grant Trophy-centric 24/7 College Football episode, but I haven’t heard back from the production team.

WH – Thanks so much for your time.

L-GT – Thank you! To Michigan State I shout an enthusiastic “Go Green!” And to Penn State I say a hearty “We Are!”

AUTHOR’S NOTE: Here are some fun facts provided by the Lang-Grant Trophy that otherwise didn’t fit into this story. That trophy really knows its stuff. It came to the meeting with literal binders of information.