The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
Gene Thomas II and three fellow Norfolk State football fans intended to join a Spartans tailgate party on the west side of Old Dominion's Foreman Field early Saturday afternoon.
They were detained as they walked on the east side, however, by the kindness of strangers - a gaggle of ODU fans offering pregame food, drinks and good-natured banter.
And so loyal Spartans stayed put among proud Monarchs as time ticked toward the so-called Crosstown Showdown, an NCAA playoff game at the Football Championship Subdivision level.
"Sportsmanship has arrived in Norfolk," said Thomas, a former NSU marching band member and a music teacher at Portsmouth's I.C. Norcom High.
A good sporting party arrived, at least. A festival of football, pep music and memories - NSU called Foreman Field home until 1997 - was set in a day of glorious weather.
It also was a special prelude to a six-game series set to begin in 2013.
"I heard there was a lot of negativity this week" between fans of both teams, said Ryan Rodgers, who was with Thomas. "But that is no more."
Nearby, ODU fan Mike Hicks, whose tailgate also fed NSU passers-by, explained, "We have to extend a little bit of friendship to the Spartan fans here. We want this to be a positive event for Norfolk State, ODU and the community."
That, too, was the pregame wish of ODU President John Broderick as he leaned on crutches from a recent knee surgery and surveyed a capacity gathering that grew to 19,818.
"I hope everything goes well," Broderick said. "It should. It's a football game."
So it was, and one that went much better for the Monarchs, 10th-ranked in the nation in the FCS, than the Spartans, 19th-ranked and champions of the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference. The Monarchs prevailed, 35-18.
Norfolk State did stun the stadium by opening its first possession with a 98-yard pass from Chris Walley to Derrick Demps for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Then the Spartans slowly collapsed under the weight of ODU's run-stuffing defense, two blocked field goals, two interceptions and 18 penalties, many of them false-start violations caused by the din of the crowd.
"We let (noise) bother us a little bit at West Virginia," said Walley of his team's September loss in front of nearly 52,000 Mountaineer fans. "Figuring a third of the crowd, we didn't think it would be as bad as it was. But the fans definitely showed up and made a bunch of noise today."
They resoundingly celebrated five touchdown passes by freshman quarterback Taylor Heinicke that propelled the Monarchs, in only the third season of their football rebirth, into a second-round playoff date Saturday at Georgia Southern.
"What an incredible atmosphere and crowd we had today," ODU head coach Bobby Wilder said. "All the fans from both teams, that was really impressive to see.... What was billed as one of the biggest sporting events in the history of the city of Norfolk, to see it go off as well was great."
A third-quarter skirmish in the ODU student section gave two fans a police escort out of the stadium. And there was an early report from a police dispatcher of counterfeit tickets - the real ones were quickly snapped up last week - appearing at the gates.
But inside and outside Foreman Field, it appeared to be a promising day of collegial good will, if not competitively equal football.
"We're going to have to listen to it now for probably two years, about 'We got you,' and they did," Norfolk State coach Pete Adrian said. "But that's the fun of college sports if you keep it in perspective.
"It's a great rival game, and it's only going to get better."
Tom Robinson, (757) 446-2518, tom.robinson@pilotonline.com
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GREAT JOB, NSU!
I am a season ticket holder for ODU football and a die-hard fan.
I thought the game was a great one, Saturday. Both coaches and teams were classy in how they handled some of the obvious challenges.
Thanks for that example. Can we just play football, already?
My seats Saturday were behind several sets of Norfolk State fans and we had a great time together. After that first 98 yard NSU touchdown we had a (sheepish) good laugh. After ODU's three unanswered touchdowns we had another.
After the phenomenal Spartan band left the field, we had yet another.
Here's one for ODU fans: when folks come to our house, they are our guests. I am proud of how most of us handled that. Let's get better at it.
Wood Selig ....
NSU and ODU should play in every sport where applicable. NSU made the jump to DIV I over a decade ago and this may have been the first meeting between them since. There must have been some that I am unaware of. That shouldn't be the case. ODU found it fit to play Va State, Savannah State and Chowan in football by schedule but not NSU? ODU plays Hampton twice by schedule but not NSU? One or both of the two schools obviously didn't want it. I'm glad that is starting to change. As an ODU grad, I hope Selig and Marty Miller get together and get this done in more than football. No wonder all of the positive/negative hype is in the media. Wood & Marty--- "Man Up"
Amazing that NSU would
Amazing that NSU would consider playing outside their minority conference. Some local high schools have a better program. ODU played their second and third string players most of the game not to run up the score.
Your idiocy is showing
For your information, NSU has played several schools outside of its "minority" conference, as have every other school in the MEAC. Off the top of my head: Rutgers, West Virginia, VMI, William and Mary. Perhaps you should consider using Google instead of spouting ignorance.
Kudos to ODU on the win...I look forward to seeing this rivalry take off, as well as the one between ODU and HU.
Response
Ga. Southern will show you how far you have to go. Also don't forget that majority of your players come from the "so-called" minority community.
This comment
Is bordering on racist. Why wouldnt NSU play other schools outside it conference? They have played better and bigger schools than ODU. Rutgers twice, Kentucky,and West Virginia. The NCAA deems that ODU and NSU are in the same division. Don't be so high and mighty until ODU steps up and plays FBS schools instead of two Div 2 schools on their schedule.
Not bordering...
It absolutely is racist (not even thinly veiled) and it very typical of the responses I've seen this person post before. But this plays right into the hand of the Pilot, this is what they thrive off of. I wouldnt be surprised if this cat was on their payroll. This mostly positive story with these very positive comments managed to only garner 1/3 the responses the pre-game day long front page story did. Someone had to stir the pot.
Eureka, I found it...
The ODU program isn't at the
The ODU program isn't at the point where they have to play an FBS school. Keep in mind ODU football is only in it's third year, but the days of scheduling D-II schools to pad their schedule are probably long gone.
ODU
did not play a Div 2 school this year, but NSU played one.
Tradition
It's tradition that NSU play Virginia State every Labor day. Matter fact, its called the Labor Day Classic. So don't don't say NSU schedule cupcakes all the time.