| |
The following is a part of D3football.com's Around the Mid-Atlantic column for Oct. 16
 The folks at Stone Station, Bridgewater’s well-known tailgating crew, welcomed a special visitor during the Homecoming game this past weekend against Guilford. Bridgewaterfootball.com owner Matt Barnhart – with an assist from fan Hal Duff – tells us all about it in their words:
Imagine for moment that, prior to the 2007 college football season, you could choose, and attend, any Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (formerly called Division I-A) game that you wanted. A dream for any college football fan, right? Well, Andrew Reed is living that dream, and then some.
Over 14 weeks, and 16 games, his plan is to drive across the country to fully penetrate and examine the college football culture in different locales. Through his blog (Road Games) and Sports Illustrated’s On Campus, he will report not on the games. Instead, his focus will be on the college football fans, their love of the sport and how it relates to their social, political, geographic and religious attitudes. He will discuss with them their feelings on the current changes facing the sport, and how their fandom is entwined with their day-to-day life, among other things. To learn more about his big plan -- which includes writing a book -- click here.
Now for the really cool part. In the interest of full disclosure, Andrew decided he wanted to attend one small college game. After selecting the Division I FBS slate, there was an open window between the Texas-Oklahoma game on Oct. 6 and the October 18 game in New Jersey matching South Florida and Rutgers. Bridgewater was hosting Guilford on Oct. 13 and the drive from Texas to New Jersey brought him through Virginia’s Shenandoah Valley and, lucky for us, he chose Bridgewater.
He contacted me after stumbling upon Bridgewaterfootball.com, and I did all I could to show him what Division III is all about. Up to that point, his travels had taken him to the football meccas; Notre Dame, two Death Valleys (Clemson & LSU), Seas of Red in Nebraska and Wisconsin, the Pac 10 in Washington, and the State Fair in Dallas for the Texas-Oklahoma game. I jokingly warned him about the smaller town, smaller school, smaller crowd and smaller tailgates, however, those differences actually turned out to work in his (and our) favor. He met with the President of Bridgewater on Wednesday, and on Friday, had breakfast at the home of Bridgewater head coach Mike Clark. Yes, at his house. I doubt that he had muffins and juice with coaches Weis, Miles or Stoops! He also arranged interviews with a handful of Bridgewater super fans prior to Saturday’s main event, the famous Stone Station tailgate.
Once again, the Stone Station crew brought their “A” game. Saturday’s Homecoming menus included barbecued chicken quarters, homemade Maryland crab soup, a low country boil, grilled tuna bites, beef brisket, homemade dumpling soup, a deep fried turkey, fried mahi-mahi, homemade chili and grilled shrimp wrapped in bacon. (I won’t bore you with all the side items and desserts, but they were plentiful and tasty). Most important were the fans, parents, former players and alumni who all took part in the tailgating festivities and many of whom were able to share their experiences with Andrew, who seemingly made time for anyone willing to talk. He saw a little bit of everything!
After leaving Bridgewater, in a thank you e-mail to one of Bridgewater’s super fans, Andrew commented, "I really feel like I lucked out in choosing your school for my D-III destination. I can't wait to write about the whole experience."
Although I am glad that Bridgewater was chosen, I am confident that the true Division III tailgating spirit would have been on display wherever he ended up.
Road Games blog entry (about Bridgewater):
http://roadgames07.blogspot.com/2007/10/sail-on-silvergirl.html
SI On Campus column (about Bridgewater):
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/sioncampus/10/26/tailgate.bridgewater/index.html
Road Games blog entry (about the Stagg Bowl):
http://roadgames07.blogspot.com/2007/12/stagg-party.html
SI On Campus column (Tailgate Awards):
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/sioncampus/01/02/tailgate.awards/index.html
Talk about this story on Bridgewaterfootball.com's message forum: click here
|
|
|
|
|
