Sitting rinkside behind the glass at center ice of Munn Ice Arena, Peter Clay watches Michigan State score their ninth goal of the game in a Jan. 24 matchup against Minnesota.
Clay, the Public Address announcer for MSU hockey, football, and Spartan Marching Band, turns to his left and right to work with the off-ice officials to confirm MSU’s Patrick Geary as the goal scorer, while the goal horn blares and 6,555 fans cheer, making the arena nearly deafening.
He leans into the mic and announces Geary as the goal scorer, with assists credited to Maxim Štrbák and Mikey DeAngelo. After a brief pause to gather himself, he leans in once more to deliver his signature call – “Go Green” nine times in a row for each goal scored — each time met with a “Go White” from the crowd. By the end of the night, he had said it 45 times.
https://youtu.be/CsUGUHB6_8Y?si=fMQQ7IhVPNqC5-8s
Spartan Marching Band: Halftime | 10.21.2023 - MSU vs. Michigan.
“I think the first time I had to do it that many times was also against Minnesota,” Clay said. “When I first started doing the repeating, it was always just saying ‘Go Green’ after the goal announcement, and then the students would say ‘Go White’ and then start their chant.
“I was like, ‘What if I said “Go Green” for every score like how teams do push-ups for scores’... It rarely is that (high amount of times), but it was so much fun.”
MSU fans like to say they bleed green and white. For Clay, he doesn’t just say it; he lives and breathes it.
Clay’s roots with MSU run deep, dating back to his childhood in nearby Okemos, where he frequently attended Spartan basketball, football, and hockey games. In 1995, he made the quick trip down Grand River, enrolling at MSU to study music education after graduating from Williamston High.
https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZP8jwRf7h/
Peter Clay performs Braverman’s signature “It’s a beautiful day for football!” call during the Michigan State - Iowa 2021 football game.
Clay joined the Spartan Marching Band (SMB) his freshman year and became part of the tuba section, earning the nickname “Broadway”. His life would change course his sophomore year, when he received a phone call.
“I got a call from WITL Radio, the country station that my sister had worked for,” Clay said. “They said, ‘Hey, your sister mentioned that you might want to get into radio.’ So I went in for an interview, and I started there by running network shows like American Country Countdown. Then I’d do the weather once an hour, then people got sick, and all of a sudden I was thrown onto an on-air shift being a DJ with no training.”
Clay’s new role at WILT forced him to leave the SMB before his junior year. Instead of feeling discouraged, he embraced it as a chance to pursue an opportunity in another passion: announcing.
“I had always wanted to do announcing,” Clay said. “ I used to listen to the MSU marching band CDs and tapes, and imitate Tim Skubick, who did it forever… (I) kind of always wanted to do the SMB and that opportunity surprisingly came along a lot earlier than I ever thought (it would).”
Clay approached then-band director John T. Madden and told him that he wanted to announce for the SMB. Madden suggested that Clay submit a demo, so he rented a studio and recorded one of himself announcing for the band.
Heading into his senior year, Clay was offered the position. He’d announce for the SMB for one season before having to step down after graduating with a telecommunications degree and securing a job in Asheville, North Carolina.
Clay spent six years doing a variety of radio work, including hosting a sports talk show and providing play-by-play and color commentary for high school games. He returned to Michigan in 2006, moving back to the Lansing area. He reached out to Madden once he settled in.
“I just said, ‘If you ever need anyone to fill in, I’m back,’” Clay said. “About a year later, he called and said, ‘Hey, I want to switch back to you.’”
Clay returned to the SMB in 2008, stepping back into the PA announcer role he had held 10 years earlier.
“That was enough for me,” Clay chuckled. “Honestly, I love doing it. I’m very passionate about the band.”
Clay has seen a change in band directors since returning to being the voice of the SMB. In 2017, Dr. David Thornton was appointed the new director. Since then, Clay and Thornton have worked together to ensure that the SMB are coordinated on the field and in the press box.
Thornton has noticed that Clay brings an extra level of passion when announcing for the SMB.
“He obviously loves the band,” Thornton said. “He was in the band, he loves MSU, and so his passion certainly comes through the microphone.”
MSU Athletics, pleased with Clay’s work with the SMB, approached him with a new opportunity in 2015: PA announcer for MSU men’s hockey.
“I thought it’d be fun,” Clay said. “I hadn’t really watched a lot of hockey in recent years, but I (told myself that I) can do this.”
Clay’s presence behind the mic has added to the fan experience at Munn. This past season, a few fans in the student section, known as the Munnsters, created their own “Peter Fan Club”. Clay could often be seen on the video board in a split-screen with the students and their Peter Fan Club posters.
“I love it,” Clay said with a smile on his face. “I went down there and gave them all game pucks at the end of the season. I told them, ‘You guys are awesome.’”
In 2018, three years into his role as MSU’s hockey PA announcer, Clay began hearing that longtime football PA announcer Terry Braverman was nearing retirement. He emailed Scot Schlesinger, MSU’s Director of Events and Fan Experience, expressing his interest in being considered for the position whenever Braverman chose to step down.
“I was really respectful about it,” Clay said. “I said (to Scot), ‘Hey, I don’t know what’s happening with this. I know Terry is nearing that point, but when that point comes, I’d love to be considered.’”
Clay would get his chance during a unique situation: an empty Spartan Stadium during the COVID-shortened 2020 football season in a game against Northwestern.
“There was no one there to laugh at me if I screwed up,” Clay said. “It was such a surreal but valuable experience to try it (in that environment) for the first time.”
MSU offered Clay the football PA announcer position following the 2020 season. For Clay, it was a full-circle moment. Filled with excitement, Clay wanted to ensure that he respected those who held the position before him.
“I didn’t in any way want to supersede Terry,” Clay said. “I wanted to carry on what he did. . . I’ve always wanted to respect the people that did it (before me). I wanted to carry on their traditions and how they said things.”
Clay chose to honor Braverman by continuing his tradition of delivering the iconic six-word phrase before every game: “It’s a beautiful day for football!”
On game days, Clay sits on the eighth floor of Spartan Stadium’s west tower. He works closely with his brother, Andy, who is his spotter, and Meagan Hogan, MSU’s Assistant Athletics Director of Marketing and Fan Engagement.
Andy assists his brother by spotting the players who were responsible for each play, while Hogan ensures that Clay reads off every element from the game script. She says working with Clay has been a pleasure.
“I think Peter goes above and beyond in every event we do,” Hogan said. “He brings an energy (to the environment) and he is a great team player to us, the fans, to everyone who interacts with him on a game-by-game basis. . . I think the fans have really latched onto him and he’s done a great job with that.”
https://www.facebook.com/share/v/1AbS7z5rNn/
Terry Braverman’s last time performing his “It’s a beautiful day for football!” call on the microphone.
Clay leads a life that is just as full and passionate outside of working for MSU Athletics. Whether he’s spending time with his family or being the lead singer in the Black Barn Band alongside his friends, he does everything in life with the same amount of passion, energy, and intent.
From approaching Madden as a junior at MSU to becoming the voice of Spartan Stadium and Munn Ice Arena, Clay could’ve never imagined that he’d be able to do what he loves at the capacity he’s doing it at.
“I think it was my lifelong dream, but I never thought it was possible,” Clay said.” I thought it was something that I wouldn’t get to do, but here I am, doing football, hockey, and the band. It’s probably the best side hustle I could’ve ever imagined.”