Richmond fans celebrate Spider victory in Chattanooga

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. -- Two hours before kick-off of the National Championship game Friday, Dec. 19, University of Richmond football fans lined Finley Stadium's entryway for the last Spider Walk of the season. Students, alumni and parents, some with their faces painted, others carrying signs, cheered as the football team made its way into the stadium.

One fan wore a football helmet and carried a stuffed Spiderman on his shoulders. Some carried young children clad in Spider football jerseys and cheerleading uniforms. Others wore Spider stickers on their cheeks and snapped pictures as the team passed by.

They all had one question: Would Richmond win it?

Hours later, the same fans poured from the stands onto the field as the final second ticked off the clock during the Spiders' first National Championship victory.

Face paint had been smeared. Signs had been discarded. The stuffed Spiderman lay face-down on the sideline. Fans cheered, hugged and high-fived as first-year head coach Mike London, a Richmond alumnus and former football player, hoisted the championship trophy and thanked them for their devotion as confetti littered the field and fireworks exploded in the sky.

It had been a long day for many Spider fans, some of whom had been at the stadium since parking lots opened at 2 p.m. to tailgate or attend a university-sponsored pre-game celebration, and many had spent much of the day traveling to Chattanooga for the game.

Dan Welsch, a 2008 graduate, said he had picked up a rental car at 5:30 a.m., and that he and fellow '08 graduate Lauren Napolitano had left Richmond for the game at 7 a.m. Welsch and Napolitano, who both live in Richmond, tailgated with Wes Boling who made an hour-and-a-half drive from Knoxville, Tenn., and John Rosato, who flew to Chattanooga from Connecticut for the game. Boling and Rosato are both 2007 graduates.

Welsch and Napolitano said they had attended several home games this season, including the Homecoming game.

"I think we're much better fans now that we're out [of the university]," Napolitano said. "You have more time with no work and no finals, and you just appreciate it more."

Welsch said his favorite thing about tailgating was that it brought people together.

"It's like merging cultures," he said.

To illustrate his point, Welsch pointed across the parking lot to where Joe Kroger -- a 1980 graduate who was an offensive lineman on the football team at the same time London played defense -- cooked pork and hot dogs on a charcoal grille and lounged on lawn chairs with fellow football alumni and their families. Kroger said he had traveled from his home in Arlington, Va., to Roanoake, Va., on Thursday and made the rest of the trip on Friday.

When asked whether he had ever thought he would see Richmond in the National Championship, Kroger said he hadn't.

"Not that they wouldn't be a competitive team," he said, "but you look at the Delawares, the Madisons, the Montanas -- it takes something special. London's brought that."

London had encouraged alumni involvement in the football program, Kroger said, and his enthusiasm had encouraged more alumni to attend the game.

"He's bringing everybody back in," he said.

Attendance among alumni was high, but they were not the only ones who turned out in droves for the game.

Richmond students -- often cited for their low numbers at home games -- also boasted a strong presence, despite the distance to the game and its overlap with winter break.

Senior Jeff Kent, who donned a red wig and red and white checkered face paint, said attending the game was important to sports fans and to the entire university.

"This football team put its heart and soul into every game, so I want to be here for each and every down, each and every second," said Kent, who attended every home game this season along with an early-season game at the University of Virginia and the quarterfinal playoff win at Appalachian State University.

Kent said he had traveled to the game with a group of current students and alumni.

"It's representative of the great fan base Richmond has," Kent said.

He had paid $250 for a roundtrip flight to Richmond from his home in Massachusetts before driving to the game, he said.

Said Kent: "It was really worth it."

Contact staff writer Emily Baltz at emily.baltz@richmond.edu