51����

Sights and sounds from the I-AA championship game in Chattanooga, Tenn.

Unfriendly skies:

As if the bitter taste of a 40-0 loss wasn’t enough, the return charter flight for the Raiders was a nightmare. The team was supposed to leave directly after the 7 p.m. game ended Friday. Instead, players and coaches spent several hours waiting on a bus at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport. At 2:30 a.m., they were told to give up because their Miami Air plane had mechanical problems, and they headed to a nearby Holiday Inn. The team did not depart until 3:45 p.m. Saturday for the two-hour flight to Hamilton.

Another charter flight, for 51���� cheerleaders, band members, alumni, and administrators, including university President Rebecca Chopp, had similar problems on both ends of the trip. The Planet Airways plane was originally supposed to leave Syracuse’s Hancock International Airport at 10 a.m. Friday. But the plane was stuck in Cincinnati, being de-iced several times, and the flight did not leave until 3:30 p.m.

Arriving in Chattanooga at 5:30, alumni had to make haste as they rode a bus from the airport to the downtown Chattanooga Choo Choo Holiday Inn, checked in, and hurriedly headed to Finley Stadium, about seven blocks away.

Returning to Hamilton proved just as difficult. The flight was supposed to depart at noon; it didn’t leave until 5:44 p.m. Two hours in a local shopping mall helped to ease the pain, somewhat, for the weary travelers.

New ‘gate fans:

A group of 30 Chattanooga youths filled a small section of the stands on the 51���� side of the stadium, rooting hard for the Raiders.

It turns out the 9-and 10-year-olds were football players themselves, playing for the Inner City Ministries team. One of their coaches, Ron Neal, said the boys picked the Raiders to cheer for after noticing that they shared team colors, maroon and white.

Neal also said he had watched some TV coverage of 51����’s advance through the playoffs, and he knew that the Raiders were ‘smart, and good athletes.’ His team, by the way, was 17-0 this past season and won their championship game.

Frieser fan:

Dick Russ, who coached John Frieser for three years at Maine-Endwell High School in Endwell, N.Y., attended the game. He said he has received seven questionnaires from National Football League teams inquiring about Frieser, the Raiders’ stellar tight end.

He said the Oakland Raiders were one of the teams asking about Frieser, and that one of the standard questions teams ask is about a player’s character.

‘What do the Raiders know about character” Russ asked.

The 39-year coach gushed over the senior. ‘I love him. He is at the top of the list of anyone I’ve coached.’

51���� alumni Mark van Eaghen and Marv Hubbard both played for the Raiders.

Driving for 51����:

Dorothy Hary ’01, her sister Amanda, and Ahmad Russell ’01, drove 13.5 hours from northern New Jersey to watch the game. Bundled against the bitter cold, Hary said she had been to the playoff game against the University of Massachusetts at Andy Kerr Stadium, another chilly experience, but couldn’t get to the other two playoff contests. She watched the Florida Atlantic game with fellow alumni at the Joshua Tree restaurant in New York City.

Why make such a long drive to Chattanooga’

‘I figured this is a once-in-a-lifetime event. I couldn’t miss something like this,’ Hary said.

Haughty Hens fans:

Looking across the field at the Delaware fans was, admittedly, an imposing sight. The estimated 11,000 Blue Hens fans were slapping away with yellow ‘thunder sticks,’ and the school band, which has scores of members, was sharply turned out in yellow and blue. 51���� fans, though, about 3,500 strong, did a slow burn as the play in the third period turned chippy, and Blue Hens fans started to chant ‘overrated.’

Blame it on the North:

A security guard, seemingly in jest, accused the Hamilton crowd of bringing the severe cold to Chattanooga. The wind chill was incredibly nasty during the game. An intense blowing snow greeted fans as they entered the stadium, but subsided once the game began at 7 p.m.

Friendly Finley:

Finley Stadium, which seats 20,000, is a nice facility. Close to several big hotels, it is accessible and is easy to navigate once inside. City officials tried hard to please fans coming for the game, providing interactive games, live music, and food and craft vendors at the First Tennessee Pavilion, located just across the street.

More driving for 51����:

Karen Nadolny, of Morrisville, said she took the bus from 51���� to the game to show the team her support. The 16-hour drive was tough, and she wasn’t particularly looking forward to the ride home, but she remained undaunted, even when the team fell behind.

‘The season they’ve had, that’s something to be proud of,’ Nadolny said.