Tailgating At RBC Games: A Gathering of Generations

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By Jay Cook
RED BANK – On a cool, crisp Friday evening, waves of green and gold sweatshirts, varsity jackets and baseball caps migrated towards the corner lot at Count Basie Field. An eight-burner propane grill, backed up against a white Chevy pickup, was on full blast.
The aroma of sliced prime rib sizzling on the grill top, alongside freshly diced peppers and onions permeated the gathering of nearly 75 Red Bank Catholic family members and friends for that night’s Caseys football game against crosstown rivals, the Red Bank Regional Buccaneers.
In what has become a growing tradition since RBC’s state championship win in 2014, one of the Shore’s most dedicated fan bases has created the premier tailgate in the area.
“I was doing this with a different group of dads two, three years ago and now it’s a whole other group here, and we’re still making it bigger and better each year,” said Chris Smith, the owner of Val’s Tavern in Rumson.
Smith, the man behind the scenes, puts the massive pre-game celebration together each week. With his background in the service industry, he would be just the guy to coordinate such an event.
He, along with a few other families of RBC players, threw their first major tailgate back in 2014, when the Caseys faced off and won against Delbarton School in the Non-Public Group 3 Championship at MetLife Stadium that December.
“We started it with parents saying, ‘bring your own, bring your own,’ and now we have cheesesteaks, we got grills, we’ve had music, bagpipers here,” said Tim O’Hara, whose son Colin is the Caseys’ starting left tackle.
Smith said the tailgates started out with just the parents of players on the varsity squad, but as the event evolved, he realized more people associated with the team should join the festivities.

Members of the RBC 1976 Championship team came to the tailgate to support this year's squad. From L to R- Mike Mazza, Tim Skinner, Lonnie Burgess, Mike Madsen, Richard Kelly, Drew Devine and Jimmy Lake.
Members of the RBC 1976 Championship team came to the tailgate to support this year’s squad. From L to R- Mike Mazza, Tim Skinner, Lonnie Burgess, Mike Madsen, Richard Kelly, Drew Devine and Jimmy Lake.

“We send out email chains throughout the week and we’ll have a theme – each week has a theme now,” he said. “Next week we’ll be doing soups and stews. This week it was cheesesteaks. It was Italian week last week.”
Starting a few hours before the 7 p.m. coin toss, the tailgates last until about 6:30 p.m., giving the grills enough time to cool down and the young ones time to gather the garbage from around the site.
Michael Griggs, father of Caseys center Michael, felt that he truly became part of the RBC community after coming to his first tailgate, the MetLife Stadium monstrosity.
His son was called up to dress for the game as a freshman and he felt it necessary to go and support the team as much as he could.
“I had no dog in the fight, because I knew my son wasn’t going to get in the game, but I just felt like part of a good family,” Griggs said.
As the night rolled on, the jackets tightened and those not wearing gloves dug through their cars in an effort to find a pair. Those fresh cheesesteaks were tossed on half Italian bread subs and handed out to anyone who wandered by the grill.
Varsity jackets, plastered across the back with a plethora of different graduating years, mingled through the crowd. A few cars over, huddled around the back of a Chevy Tahoe, were about a dozen men, their eyes glued to a television playing old back-and-white game footage.
“That’s us right there,” said Brielle resident and RBC alumnus Richard Kelly.
Along with six other of his teammates from the Caseys’ first championship in 1976, Kelly walked back and forth, making sure everybody had something to drink while they gazed upon their old playing days.
Former RBC running back and legend Lonnie Burgess stood alongside, adjusting the scarf around his neck. “Family, culture, tradition,” he said of why the tailgates are so successful. “A strong, strong family-oriented tradition.”
Burgess, who currently lives on Long Beach Island, makes his way north for a handful of games every year, and he was not going to miss the one against RBR, which held a deep significance to him.

 Tailgaters make their presence known by flying a large Red Bank Catholic flag.
Tailgaters make their presence known by flying a large Red Bank Catholic flag.

“I went to Red Bank Regional for one day,” said the West Side native. “All my brothers went to Red Bank Regional. We grew up in the projects with every kid that played on that team, and then I had to go across the tracks to go to Red Bank Catholic.”
Burgess was a key member of RBC’s first state championship team. That handful of players who surrounded the car watching their old highlights were then honored at halftime during the evening’s game for their accomplishments during that season. Fittingly, RBC won the game 35-0.
Having the ability to revisit his old stomping grounds to support this generation’s team meant a great deal to Burgess. It was a pay-it-forward kind of situation.
“We had people supporting us when we were in high school, from God knows when, and I think it’s okay to do the same thing,” he said.
With one definite home game remaining for RBC this year, when Manasquan High School comes to town, one more tailgate – maybe the last of the year – is already being planned.
Like Burgess said, these gatherings are a celebration of the Red Bank Catholic tradition.
“When I get here, and I see boys that my son learned from in the locker room every single day, and I see their parents, it just seems like a big family,” Griggs said.