By Pat Cummings
D3football.com
The Bridgewater fans have put on quite a tailgating
spread at past Stagg Bowls. Photo by Ryan Coleman, D3football.com |
So you are coming to Stagg Bowl XXXIV?
Since D3football.com first covered the Stagg Bowl with a live
webcast in 1999, Salem Stadium has become a unique meeting place,
connecting months of virtual encounters. On multiple occasions, the
webcast has ventured to the Salem Stadium parking lot to pose
questions and discuss the game with fans on the air.
In 2001, Bridgewater College's appearance in the national
championship led to the third-largest attendance in Stagg Bowl
history and the largest crowd to watch the Stagg Bowl in
Salem. A mere 100 miles on Interstate 81 connected
Bridgewater fans to Salem, and ever since, the Eagles' faithful
have hosted a constantly growing tailgate party open to all.
Welcome to Stone Station.
John Coleman, a 1991 Bridgewater graduate, had been setting up shop
with his Bridgewater tailgates across from the home of Bridgewater
president Phillip Stone. Coleman, who is better known on the
message board as "Skoaltrain," took the train idea a step further
and dubbed the tailgate location as Stone Station. The name
stuck, and fellow Bridgewater message board posters have gathered
at Stone Station for years.
"We just ran into people who were on D3football.com and the
tailgate that started as a few tables has really grown," Coleman
said. (He is not related to D3football.com publisher Pat
Coleman.)
Bo Morris (aka "Llamaguy"), a 1989 BC alum, has facilitated
expanding the tailgate even further and added a 4' x 6' stainless
steel grill mounted on a 10' trailer.
"As Bridgewater improved on the football field," Coleman said, "so
did our tailgate."
Stone Station feeds approximately 75-100 Bridgewater fans at all BC
home games and frequently hits the road with notable trips in 2006
to McDaniel, Guilford, Ferrum, Christopher Newport, and Wesley.
But CNU and Wesley didn't play Bridgewater this season. These guys
are so passionate about their D3 football, and their tailgating,
that this show hits the road through the postseason.
Bo Morris trekked to the CNU/Washington and Jefferson first-round
playoff game and joined forces with several CNU tailgaters.
Morris presided over a spread at the South Region final in Dover,
Delaware where Wesley defeated Mary Hardin-Baylor.
Expecting that Morris and the crew ran into just Wolverines and
Crusaders fans? Hardly. Aside from the D3football.com
broadcasters joining him, Morris sated the likes of some Rowan and
Wabash fans, and even a retired Mount Union coach who now resides
on the Virginia coast.
D3football.com helped bring them all together.
"People show up to our tailgates and ask: 'Where's Llama?'" Morris
said. "We actually find many people lurk (read the message
boards but do not post) and come by and say that they enjoy reading
the conversation and wanted to meet us."
As Stone Station's spread at Salem has grown, so too have the
number of posters who swing by. This year, Morris says that
they will be sure not to forget who stops by.
"We will have a sign-in poster this year so that random people or
message board posters can stop by and log in to tell us they were
at the tailgate."
Here are the marching orders for Stagg Bowl XXXIV:
"Come one, come all," Morris says. "One way or another, we're
for purple and black this year. It's hard for us to go
wrong."
Morris, Coleman, and the Stone Station regulars wish to invite all
fans coming to Salem to stop by Stone Station, introduce
themselves, and eat up.
The first load of chicken is due off of Morris' grill at noon and a
second batch should be ready to go after 2 p.m. Normally, 75
chicken quarters are prepared at one time, and a "first come, first
served" policy is in effect. The same goes for Bridgewater
professor Barbara Black. She tirelessly bakes hundreds of her
famous brownies for mass consumption, having prepared 30 pans for
last year's Stagg Bowl, including several pans for the
participants. A variety of other traditional tailgate fare
will be available as well.
"The Old Dominion Athletic Conference and Salem host the game, we,
the fans from the ODAC host the tailgate," Morris said. Fans
and posters of Bridgewater, Hampden-Sydney, Randolph-Macon, and
Guilford have acknowledged their plans to attend this year's Stone
Station at the Stagg Bowl, along with fans of other schools outside
the ODAC. Alumni, parents, current and former players from
all over have mentioned that they plan to stop by the
tailgate. The administrators, photographers, writers, and
broadcasters from D3football.com will make appearances as well.
Morris has some even larger plans. With the playing of the
Division I football championship, he's trying to organize the
masses to join fellow D-III fans to watch Massachusetts and
Appalachian State play on Friday evening. Morris and others
will be at Corned Beef & Co. in downtown Roanoke at 7 p.m.
Friday to enjoy another championship shared with the D-III
community.
If you plan to come to the Stagg Bowl, seek out the "Stone Station"
sign and the Bridgewater College flags. Red and gold clad
fans will be manning the grills, but they are planning to welcome
fans from all over D-III with their open arms, your appetite, and
some hearty discussions about football and all things D-III.