For those of you keeping track of JFC you’ll recognize a familiar ring of the “other-worldly” in the thoughts and muses I’ve shared with you to this juncture. Gliding west to Collegeville Saturday morning with chitlins firmly tucked in car seats, my astral body close at hand and Kenny Chesney playing slightly above what the Earth Mother would consider tolerable, a vision of Division III’s largest tailgate party abruptly but warmly entered my mind. With cool 52 degree temperatures registering on the thermometer and the crystal-clear blue skies of central Minnesota waiting ahead, the coffee I was enjoying in one of Bob and Steve’s plastic mugs began to work its magic!
Having experienced a moderate level of anxiety while missing the Johnnie home-opener vs. Marietta, the anticipation of traveling to campus and reveling in the Alumni Association’s newly expanded “Stiftungsfestivities”, was enough to move my mind to thoughts of grandeur. For Johnnie fans whose pregame activities are chiseled deep into their Stearns county psyche as a result of decades of ritual, consider throwing in with the “Stiftungs” group above the south end zone.
The largest tailgate party ever in Division III football and Johnnieland will one day take place in the open space noted above. The entire tarmac will be blocked off from the Hill Monastic Library to the north west corner of the Engel Science Center. The evenly dimensioned parking lot and locale will be an absolutely perfect setting for a celebration of our University, The Benedictine Tradition, The Football Sage John Gagliardi and life itself. On a stage looking from the front doors of Engel toward the St. John’s Bible, Kenny Chesney will be signing one of his ballads of left over pizza, keg beer, raspberry wine and a bygone college life experienced by most. I have a vision of thousands of CSB/SJU family and friends gathered across the entire Engel expanse beginning at nine o’clock in the morning frolicking under the crystal-clear blue sky in what will be “Collegeville’s Largest Tailgate Party Ever”.
I also have a vision of another undefeated 2007 Johnnie Football Season.
