Michael Crossley 20’
The Holy Cross Tigers and the Jesuit Blue Jays always host their annual tailgate before the big rivalry game starts. Holy Cross has their own side and Jesuit has theirs, where they each serve their own food. It’s all free to the fans and everyone can get all the food and drinks they want ranging from burgers, to hot dogs, to jambalaya, and snowballs. This year, each school had tents and chairs fill up the entire neutral ground on the Roosevelt St. side of the stadium. This location provided so much space, grass, and shade making the annual tailgate much more enjoyable and hassle free. It was an exciting time, and everyone seemed to enjoy themselves listening and dancing to the music. It was also great because this was the 100th time Holy Cross and Jesuit played against each other. More alumni, students, and parents showed up than ever before and all seemed to really enjoy being together and celebrating such a momentous occasion. Both schools had their bands, cheerleaders, and dance teams to parade and perform during the tailgate, and the drum lines faced off against each other adding even more excitement to the evening. When asking Cabrini’s Senior Class president and fellow tailgater Mea Morrell about the event, she said, “The rivalry tailgate is always a fun experience for me. I’ve been going since freshman year. It’s one of my favorite parts of the football season because there is so much food and its always so good.” At the tailgate it’s not just all about getting to eat the good food, it’s also about interacting with other fans and having a great time before the game starts. Cydney St. Junior, another Tiger fan and tailgater, said “My favorite part of the tailgate is to see all my friends and get to spend time with them, while eating free food.” The tailgate brings everyone together and is always a great way to start the big football game. HC Primary parent, Courtney Hoover recounts, "It was such a fun day with family, friends, and great food. The days instills tradition in my 5th generation son. We celebrated with my grandfather, uncle, son, and tons of classmates." This particular tailgate was flooded with much tradition and emotion as our Tigers made their way into the game of the century! We are HC!