Howard Hewitt – MEADVILLE, Pa. – Odd thoughts while wandering Interstates 74, 70, 270, 71, 76, 77 and 80: (with apologies to former Indy Star sports editor Bob Collins!)
– The 7.5 hours of driving time makes the number of Wabash fans at the game here Saturday even more amazing than usual. More than 100 were louder than the entire, but noticably small, local Gator supporters.
– Northwest Pennsylvania is beautiful this time of year. Allegheny College is surrounded by lots of large trees in full fall colors. I hope you noticed that in the background of some of the photos on the sports story.
– The campus itself is also beautiful. Allegheny was founded in the early 1800s and has lots of older, interesting buildings. While wandering about with Bachelor editor Allen Chatt, I came across the more than 100-year-old gymnasium. Allegheny’s Director of Dance was there and told us a little about the building. She was very welcoming, a nice touch!
– Meadville is not a large city – 13,000 in the town and about 30,000 in the area. It’s best known former resident, according to a town website, is actress Sharon Stone.
– More than 30 Wabash men boarded a very nice bus for the ride to Meadville. History professor Rick Warner and his son accompanied the group. Many coming off the bus were Sphinx Club members. It’s too bad the other 20 seats were left empty. I would have to hope the lower than capacity turnout won’t dissuade future such efforts.
– And finally those crazy Wabash guys are fun. The students really gave the Gators a hard time during warm-ups. It was never mean, exactly, but creative and probably a bit irritating to our hosts. Good fun!
