And they played football too

I took a trip across the Hudson to Giants Stadium in New Jersey Saturday, to see the New York Urban League’s Whitney M. Young Classic, the annual college football game between two historically Black colleges.

I don’t know how many years this game has been a regular fall event in the New York area, but it has been at least since I was a kid (and that was ages ago). It used to be played at Yankee Stadium between Grambling State University and Morgan State University, but years ago other schools started getting involved. The location moved to Giants Stadium when George Steinbrenner stopped allowing football to be played on his baseball field while the Yankees were still in playoff contention.

This year, like last, Hampton University from Virginia faced the Morgan State squad out of Baltimore. I don’t know how many alumni the schools have in this area but there was a significant turnout, not all of who came to see the game. For the uninitiated, a Black college football game is really an excuse to tailgate in the parking lot before and after the game, and a chance to see a “battle of the bands.”

A friend of mine invited me to attend this event. The company he works for has a luxury box at the stadium, so we saw the game the way the high rollers do. But before the game we caught up with his family and their tailgate party out in the lot. By comparison, theirs was a very modest affair. Just a simple grill and some lounge chairs. Some of the other folks out in the parking lot were taking no prisoners.

Across from us were some folks with their entire setup under a large, screened-in canopy. In another direction was a guy with two large kettle shaped barbecue pits. Others had packed their supplies in U-haul trailers, pickups, SUV’s and RVs. And there were several places where guys had brought their dj equipment and set up large turntables and humongous speakers (you know Black folks). But the funniest sight, as we were driving around looking for his family, was of two brothas sitting in huge living room style recliners. Those little fold-up lounge chairs weren’t good enough apparently. Big-ass La-Z-Boy loungers. Lawd geezus!

Through most of the first half the stadium was barely full (it never filled up completely), but as it got closer to halftime, people started drifting in from the tailgate parties.

The battle of the bands was actually between three bands. Hampton, Morgan State and a local group of middle and high school students, the Brooklyn Steppers. Just as they did in the football game, Hampton appeared to be the winner, but the Brooklyn Steppers took second in my opinion, with Morgan State a polite third. They gave a pedestrian performance in this reviewer’s opinion.

After the game—Hampton won easily, 26-7—their band put on a show in the parking lot on the way from the stadium to their bus. It must be wonderful to be that young and full of energy because those kids worked their butts off all day, playing before the game, during the game, at halftime and then afterwards.

I’ve posted a few pictures here.