Prior to Bucknell’s 3:30pm football game against Virginia Military Institute last Saturday, Sept. 13, families, friends and Bucknell students gathered outside the Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium for a tailgate event.
Darius Day ’28, who plays safety for the Bison, was busy warming up for the game, but his mom Christine was gathered with Amy, mom of Liam Rooney ’29 who plays defensive line, under their tailgating tent, along with a few other family members. Rooney’s family came all the way from Chicago to see him play. They truly value the camaraderie of a tailgate— Mrs. Rooney’s tailgate must-bring is “a friend who has everything,” and on top of the energy that friendship carries, Mrs. Day finds that “the pretzels” are “definitely” another necessity. Both mothers hoped to see “a win” at the game— and they got one, with a decisive final score of 35-28 in Bucknell’s favor. “Especially for our first home game,” Day said, she loves to see “a big win.”
Finn Sposato ’26, a safety on the team, was similarly busy before the game; his dad, Tony, and assembled friends and family were in attendance, though, and had an extensive tailgating setup attached to their van. “We love two things” at tailgates, Mr. Sposato explained. “A jello syringe, so instead of a jello shot, it’s in a syringe and we make an orange version and a blue version, and sandwiches on a stick”— which is what they brought to Saturday’s game. “That’s meats and cheeses and a pickle on a stick; there’s no bread,” he said, and he stands by that, even as his wife argues that the snack can’t truly be a sandwich without bread. To Mr. Sposato, “wins are not as important as seeing the boys come out healthy at the end of the day,” but really, he and Sposato’s gathered supporters “just want to see our boy play.” Mr. Sposato couldn’t emphasize enough how proud he is of his son: “Education is the most important thing,” he said. “Finn is an engineering student and a teaching assistant for engineering, so he’s crushing it— Patriot League Academic [Honor Roll].” He and Sposato’s friends and family were excited to be out and “supporting the Bucknell community.”
Josh Gary ’26, a wide receiver for the Orange and Blue, had his godfather in attendance, among other friends and family, at the tailgate as well. His godfather was “just happy to be [at Bucknell] for the day,” as it was “a gorgeous day, a great day for football,” of which he is “a big fan.” At a tailgate, his requirement is “hamburgers, hot dogs and some sausages,” just as “the bare minimum,” plus “anything else that complements that.” When the Bucknellian interviewed him, he was cooking all three on his portable grill.
“Bucknell Bob,” aka Bobby Marks ’67, quarterback and defensive back from ’64 to ’66 and a member of the team that won the Lambert Cup and Middle Atlantic Conference championships, was in attendance at Saturday’s tailgate and game. Three of his children also attended Bucknell, one of whom was also present at the game with Marks. Marks was tailgating with the Brown and Stauffer families, whose son Ty Brown-Stauffer ’29 was set to play in the game; his contribution to the tailgate was “two bottles of wine,” but the group at large had “burgers and dogs” with appropriate condiments and sides. He, too, hoped to see “a win” at the game: “I don’t care what the score is, so long as it’s one more than [VMI] has.” Marks was expecting several old Bucknell friends to arrive to attend the game later in the day, including Bentley Elliot ’66, who was Ronald Reagan’s director of speechwriting for the duration of his first term, and Gerald Commerford, former associate dean of students who retired in 2010.
The Bucknellian was also able to interview Bucky, the costumed mascot, as he was present at the tailgate to represent his classic school spirit. To the question, “Are you a big football fan?,” he gave a resounding “yes!”— or at least, as much of a “yes” as a mute bison can.
