Attend a Flyer Football Game with Gramp’s

You may have routines or traditions when attending a college sporting event but how ‘bout coming along with me to a UD football game as a “family member”? It’s a three day event minimum and will usually fill a heart with joy and excitement. It also can be brutally disappointing. One thing for sure, you never looked at things this way, a way you’ll be proud of the Flyers and the people you’ll meet.

Arrival

Park wherever you want for free at Welcome Stadium around 11:30am. Grandma wants to be closer to the entrance gate so grab a folding seat and we’ll walk over to the Flyers Club tailgate, an easy place to meet and there’s just enough room for a small beer and one dog in an already nervous stomach. The Club’s cook-out leaders have been very kind to me, watch, they’ll call out to us. We’ll take a photo or two of them and return with prints the next trip. That reminds me of the time ”Pete” excitedly hurried to catch my attention in the Campbell University parking lot a few years ago. He stayed at the team hotel and the previous evening a trainer asked him for a ride to a grocery store. He obliged and when the trainer came out Pete asked him what he bought. It was a jar of dill pickles! That’s when Pete learned that one WR drank the juice and a QB ate the pickles; both hoping to fend off cramping in the NC heat the next day.

More fans are arriving so let’s make the rounds to say hello and take a few pictures at other tailgates. When a family from nearby had two sons playing, their motor home was at all home games and I met them at games in North Carolina and Kentucky. Some of my UDPrider friends from Detroit, Bedford, Columbus, and Dayton area will stop for conversation. Nice folks, all of them and under the Flyers Club flag is the place we meet.

The walk-over

Keep an eye for the team walk from the arena dressing room to the field. Very convenient for the boys to have a practice field and game stadium so close to the lockers. Kickers, snappers, holders, returners go over first. Each walk-over moves something within my heart. There he is! The “kid” looks great in his red jersey, white pants and red helmet. Doesn’t he seem so small with all those bigger college players around him? He seemed normal size busting through the paper covered hoop before high school games. He seemed nice size running out from the tunnel during his introduction at Cleveland Browns Stadium. This is a thrill to watch! You see friend, that’s not just a player walking, there’s a blood line of football inside that uni. He’s talked with my brother who played on a very good John Carroll team. My cousin’s kid was a tight end for Marshall University & da- Bears and my dad played semi-pro for the Sandusky Maroons. My mother’s three brothers played for Bowling Green and Heidelberg before the big WWII. He is carrying tradition forward. I’m so proud! My next Grandson is a featured RB, active tackler at DB and punter on his Midget football team. I’ll have to be an octogenarian to see him play high school football.

Now I wonder about his ribs and side; did nightly ice packs help him sleep? Are the cuts on his arms and legs scabbed over and healed. What about that shoulder? Did the doctor have to rub the numbness from his hand and arm again? The elective off-season surgery to tighten the shoulder ligaments was a crucial decision. That’s when they found a partially torn labrum and inserting two screws enabled him to play two more years for Dayton! Much more to that “walk over” than you thought, hey?

Getting in the Mood

I remember when a Forum poster from Kansas City came to watch his Drake team and spent tailgate time with us. As we chatted, the Pride of Dayton marching band quietly marched up the drive to the tailgate area. When those drums suddenly struck, we all turned to look and my friend said, “Oh, you have a band too”. Yes, and majorettes, a flag team and cheerleaders. As we stood clapping to the music beat and watching the troops strut their stuff, I realized how wonderful the University of Dayton football experience is with a band. True, the public stadium is sterile of a University theme, but we have what many campus stadiums don’t have before, after and at halftime.
Friday Activity

One game our adventure started on a Thursday with 6 hours of driving which allowed a mid-day arrival on Friday in Dayton. That’s when I got to the team workout at what then was a new grass practice field back by the Budweiser Distributor. Friday, at home or on the road, is where you see the organization by coaches of all that needs to be reviewed in a short time. Coach Mike Kelly never said anything but he probably wondered what that old man with a camera was doing walking his track and climbing in the bleachers for better camera shots a day before the game. Usually we put Nipper in the kennel Friday morning and rely on adrenalin to make the 8 hour drive from Winston-Salem. Glad we’re still able to handle it.

Hard to be Recognized

Saturday morning starts with a big breakfast and perhaps a stop at the campus bookstore or Korporate Kasuals. I wear Dayton ballcaps and UD polos all around my city. During our week of winter weather I’m warm in a hooded Flyer coat. Have enough t-shirts to sleep in the rest of my life. You may be surprised where the large “Dayton Flyers” magnet on my car door has been recognized. No it wasn’t on an Ohio interstate or highway, nobody has ever beeped at me. But the first was the girl at the drive-thru window at Wendy’s in Ripley, WV. A second woman came to my car in the parking lot at the Buffalo Trace bourbon distillery in Frankfort, KY. There is a couple from Dayton at our church who always spot my sign every fall.

Now the red UD lapel pin is different. I wear one on my sport coat at church in Clemmons, NC. Many have asked about it, even some priests. The lady from Cinci who sits behind us keeps reminding that she has three college-age daughters who are single! Three years ago a young father came up after mass to introduce himself. Turns out he played UD football and was the winner of the John L. Macbeth Memorial Scholar-Athlete Award in 1997. I’ve never seen him again.

Take a Seat, but not just anywhere
Now keep an eye on the sidelines after the team runs on the field behind the cheerleaders with flags. The captains will gather and wait for a signal to head out for the coin toss.

Sitting in the parent’s area is interesting. Often the fathers can’t sit with their spouse. Some can’t sit with anybody. I sit a little but also take off for better views. After a replacement knee, I move around even more. Can’t have 200 photos from the same viewpoint! I’ve missed many plays because of that camera in my face. I’ve also missed some great shots because I was mesmerized by the action and didn’t raise the camera. My favorite setting is the Burst with continuous sequential shooting of 7 photos in 5 seconds. All this provides me with several days of editing fun and printing for my photo albums which can bore the heck out of friends.

Be aware that an exciting play for you may become ecstatic for a parent. An interception or fumble is not just “Aw Shucks”, its deep-felt sadness. All of us feel for a mother when her son lays injured on the field. There’s silence around and so much is racing through her mind. Everybody is looking for something positive to say. Look, he’s moving his arm, his leg. Oh good, he’s sitting up. He’s walking! Thank God! And may I say that a successful “Hail Mary” pass with one second to play can evoke tears running down the cheeks of so many parents! This is a special place to sit!
Meeting the Players

When the game is over the boys head for a brief meeting and ritual in the locker room under the stadium. The “kid” usually comes over to the railing first to hug family who came and he always “thanks” us for coming. Imagine that, he thanks us and you too! We look for minor visible injuries.

Friends and family have gathered near the stadium locker. This is a fun time. Newspaper and TV reporters want to interview the stars of the game. Youngsters’ eyes are huge as these football players come out. Usually some special-need students are there and players love to spend a minute with them. It’s picture time in a crowded space. I got to hold a helmet once! Now to find somebody to take my photo! Hey, I know those fans! They are teammates from his high school who came to every game. Time also to meet the new ‘girlfriend”! As the “kid” gets older, more parents know us and come by to say “hello”. This is probably the time of day that inner pride is the highest. These boys seem to say the right things, act the right way and forget that they are jocks or college kids. They act way more mature than previous years. That adds to my pride. That makes me happy about his attending UD. This is cool, hey?

Late Afternoon

It seems like we end up at an Italian place to eat after the game. We take off, get settled and with telephone input, we can order for the “kid” who may be delayed for some treatment. If it’s Millano’s, many stop by the table to say something to “our player”. Plays are relived with personal insight. Inside the huddle stuff comes outside. This is real fun, hey? By now we know the stats and scores from other games. Sometimes there is a stop to see “the house” where these footballers live. No key; doesn’t matter, just lift the front window and do a QB sneak through the opening. Nearing 75, Grandma and I pass on that entrance. But this is the time to unload the cookies or brownies and banana bread that she baked for “the house”. By dark the excitement has dulled but the pride remains as a tired couple say goodbye and head for a good nights sleep at the motel. Sunday it will be hard to go the full 8 hours but Cross Lanes, WV is the mid-point and the Casino there could relax Grandma very easy. Less traffic on the WV turnpike on Monday anyway. Nipper, we’re coming!

Next Week

Usually it takes a week to recover, not for the “kid” but for us. It might be an away game anyhow. But away is good. Away at Campbell or Davidson (three times) is like home. Morehead (twice) is 6 hours. We’ve been to Jacksonville, RMU and Duquesne, all 8 hour drives. How about grandparents going to San Diego, for a football game! It was a beautiful gift! But this is about going to a game at Welcome and thanks very much for coming along.