Winter 2006: The Grunge Report |
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Wash U is a great school, but on this day, 新澳门六合彩开奖直播鈥檚 Little Giants鈥攂efore, during and after the game鈥攈ad the upper hand. It was a good football game鈥斝掳拿帕喜士敝辈モ�檚 defense played exceptionally well and the offense was good enough for a solid win against a good football team. But that isn鈥檛 what impressed me on September 17. What impressed me was the spirit and camaraderie of the entire 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 family: alumni, parents, and friends.
Before the game, it was tailgating. Several of us who work at the College have become good friends with the 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 football parents, and that makes these events even more special. Laura and Rick Roop (Brandon Roop #10) and Doug and Heather Fields (Hunter Fields #51) organize the tailgates, but everyone helps. These gatherings have become as comfortable as your favorite recliner. They just feel right. Everyone is welcome, everyone pitches in, and there鈥檚 always plenty to go around.
At the game, the number of 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 fans equaled the Wash U fans, and we clearly out-noised them! I felt bad for the Wash U football team sitting right in front of us. But I came away very proud of our fans and our football team. I thought back to the Mount Union-新澳门六合彩开奖直播 game in 2002 and how, even though we were behind, our team never stopped giving it their all and our fans never stopped cheering. Mount Union fans simply could not believe the 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 spirit, and on September 17, Wash U fans saw it first-hand.
Driving home, I thought about two excellent schools with strong reputations; two schools with long and distinguished histories of producing world-changing leaders. The difference? 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 Always Fights! We persevere not only on the field, the diamond or the court, but also in honoring and maintaining the connections and values that make us the 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 family.
For me, that makes every game a home game.
鈥擳om Runge 鈥�71, Director of Alumni Affairs; runget@wabash.edu
Photo above: Professor Rick Warner and 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 students and alums cheer for the Little Giants at Allegheny.
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On September 17, my wife, Carol, and I had our first opportunity to visit Washington University in St. Louis鈥攁 nationally recognized educational powerhouse. The previous day鈥檚 rain had cleared and the sky was a cloudless, deep blue. The campus was alive鈥攚e must have seen 25 student groups touring the campus. A great early fall day at Washington University. But Saturday wasn鈥檛 about Wash U鈥攊t was about 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 football, and we were there to make sure the Bears finished second to the Little Giants!
The neatest thing is how this spirit quickly envelopes new attendees. It鈥檚 been awhile since we played a football game in St. Louis and, naturally, we had a number of 新澳门六合彩开奖直播 family members from that area at the tailgate. Local leaders like Charlie Raiser 鈥�69 and Mike Kelley 鈥�70 helped bring out a crowd. Judy and Dudley Burgess 鈥�64 drove down from the Chicago area to attend the game and to see son Andy鈥檚 (新澳门六合彩开奖直播 鈥�90) family! In not more than a handful of minutes, the day was like a family reunion.