On the Banks of the Old Raritan

This afternoon I was a crazy person running errands and took a few minutes respite at my brother's house. On the spur of the moment, Luke and I thought we would go find a Rutgers banner for my 5:00 picture. Sarah decided to come along and we ended up not only finding a great banner for our photo but getting visitor parking just outside the new football stadium. I was in shock; parking has always been difficult enough at Rutgers but to see 8 spaces specially designated just outside the stadium for cars without RU permits was unbelievable! Suddenly the banner on a stockade fence was out done by the possibilities that awaited us inside the Center. Its greeting lobby is a shrine to the birthplace of college football. Rutgers won that first game against Princeton 6-4 which was played in New Brunswick on November 6, 1869. Until their break out season three and a half years ago, the joke was Rutgers didn't do much winning after that.

The lobby was very inviting and Luke was quite proud that he could jump into the middle of the R without touching any red. Accomplishing such tasks as a four year old is a big deal.

Student athletes done with their workouts pointed out a few attractions that we didn't see tucked in the corners of the lobby panels.

Introducing new recruit Sarah!

And Luke!

When I was in school here tailgating lasted throughout the game and you only wandered into the stadium during the third quarter if the home team was winning. Real football was played on Sunday afternoon when the professionals took the field in the NFL. When I went to seminary in Kentucky ten years ago, I not only received a theological education, but was schooled in college sports and what it meant to people from Kentucky, Michigan, Tennessee, Texas, Alabama, Georgia and Florida. Living in North Carolina and Virginia since then has only broadened my education. Then, four years ago, Greg Schiano brought the team out of obscurity and suddenly Rutgers paraphernalia is marketable in New Jersey.

We really had fun but it is the missed photo opportunity that has me feeling a bit chagrined right now. As the kids were posing by the mural, Coach Schiano came around the corner with his young daughter. He said hi and shook my hand on his way out as Sarah was bouncing on one foot near the elevator to make it look like she was running with the team on the field. I was so surprised to see him that it wasn't until he was out the door and into the parking lot before I realized I could have asked him to pose with the kids. Argh. Maybe next time!

I'm including the RU alma mater for fun - only the chorus reflects inclusive language since in 1766, when Rutgers was founded, women weren't typical candidates for higher education. My how things have changed.

My father sent me to old Rutgers,
And resolv'd that I should be a man;
And so I settled down,
In that noisy college town,
On the banks of the old Raritan.

(Chorus)

On the banks of the old Raritan (my friends)
Where old Rutgers evermore shall stand,
For has she not stood
Since the time of the flood,
On the banks of the old Raritan.


Then sing aloud to Alma Mater
And keep the scarlet in the van'
For with her motto high
Rutgers' name shall never die
On the banks of the old Raritan.

(Chorus)

On the banks of the old Raritan (my friends)
Where old Rutgers evermore shall stand,
For has she not stood
Since the time of the flood,
On the banks of the old Raritan.