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11:35 a.m., Aug. 21, 2003--Despite an afternoon-long series of thunderstorms, about 30 True Blue football fans showed up at the Bob Carpenter Sports/Convocation Center on Saturday, Aug. 16, to meet the 2003 Fightin’ Blue Hens and get autographs and photos taken with their favorite football players.

The event, Football Media Day, brings together players and coaches with sports reporters and photographers, as well as fans who want to get a preseason look at the players they will be cheering for this fall.

“We invite all the local media that cover us during the season to come out and meet the players and the coaches, to conduct interviews and take photos,” Scott Selheimer, sports information associate, intercollegiate athletics program, said. “It’s a good chance to get everyone together at one place and time. It also helps the media generate story ideas that will help them in their coverage during the season.”

Football Media Day also is a great opportunity for fans to get to know the team, get autographs and take a few snapshots of their favorite players, Selheimer said.

Although the weather pushed the event from a sodden Tubby Raymond Field to a bright and dry Frank Acierno Arena, the rain failed to dampen the enthusiasm of the fans or the team.

While the fans waited patiently, UD photographers Eric Crossan and Duane Perry held light meters and perched precariously atop a tall stepladder to photograph the team, which stretched 11 members wide and 11 rows deep in the west wing bench section.

Among those waiting to meet the players and coaches was Newark resident Bing Streets, who has been attending Blue Hen football games since 1946, when the games were played at Frazer Field, now the site of the recreational softball fields adjacent to Carpenter Sports Building and Taylor Hall.

“I usually come out to see how many other people come out,” Streets said. “I usually catch all the home games and most of the away games. I guess I have only missed about a dozen games in the last 30 years.”

Streets said that, although the crowds were much smaller at Frazer Field, there was a lot of spirit and fans always appreciated the quality brand of football under College Football Hall of Fame coaches William Murray (1941-51), David M. Nelson (1952-65) and Harold “Tubby” Raymond (1966-2001).

“I’ve always loved football,” Streets said. “At UD, you see a good team one year, and you hope the next year will be even better.”

Jim Croney, a lifelong resident of the First State and a 1981 graduate with a degree in accounting, has been coming to UD football games since 1962 and has been a season ticket holder since 1971.

“I like the excitement and the family atmosphere in the section where we sit,” Croney said. “It’s a quality program, and you know you are going to see a good game each week.”

Croney also said that the people off the field, like the attendants and the people in the season ticket office, are always helpful in making UD football a fun experience for the whole family. He also said he appreciates the chance to meet the players and coaches before the season heats up.

“I think Football Media Day is great,” Croney said. “It’s a great way to meet the people that you will be cheering for.”

Kathi Diaz, who grew up in Newark, has been coming to UD games since she was 3 years old. Her father, Otto Fad, was a two-way lineman under Coach Nelson for Delaware from 1958-60, and her uncle, Bruce Fad, was a member of the Fightin’ Blue Hens under Coach Raymond from 1968-70.

“My son, Justin, wanted to come and meet the players,” Diaz said. “It’s a real neat thing for him. He is in seventh heaven, and I’m having a good time.”

Diaz said that for Justin, who was born the day before a play-off game and has been coming to UD games since he was 9 months old, Football Media Day is a way to put a face on the numbers he sees from the stands.

“I’m hoping for some wonderful things this year, and I hope we are still coming to games in December,” Diaz said. “I just love Delaware football. It’s a great program—it’s our life.”

Although former Blue Hen and current head coach K.C. Keeler was not offering predictions about the coming season, he said he did appreciate the chance to meet with the fans and sign some autographs.

“I am conscious of the legacy of the football program here at UD,” Keeler said. “Anytime that we can connect with the fans and reach out to them, it’s a good thing.”

Article by Jerry Rhodes
Photo by Eric Crossan