The sun was shining on that Saturday morning. There was a crispness to the air familiar to all the fans who were used to making that early morning trek to the Memorial Stadium parking lot. The opportunities to gather as a community and celebrate in a tailgate setting are few and as precious to many of these people as oxygen.
Sizzling brats and smoking briskets provided both the sounds and the smells for the event. Revelers gathered around their themed corn-hole and ladder ball games. Moms and dads put plenty of air under the ball as they tossed the pigskins across the parking lots into the arms of kids decked out in team attire.