This past weekend, Stony Brook’s Homecoming game ended in spectacular fashion after Stony Brook blew a lead late in the fourth quarter and lost the game in overtime. Though the loss was heart-breaking, the atmosphere of the game was anything but that.
Stony Brook’s Homecoming game against William & Mary was the largest recorded crowd at the Kenneth P. LaValle stadium, with 11,301 Stony Brook faithful cheering on their beloved Seawolves. With this many people attending the game, it can be easily seen how Stony Brook’s “spirit” is quite a large entity, as the stands were literally shaking with people screaming and hollering for their beloved Seawolves.
The atmosphere of the game was intoxicating, both literally and figuratively: with alcohol freely flowing, people having a great time and free buffalo wings being handed out, it is hard to see how one could not have a good time.
Raymond Gallagher, a junior majoring in Health Sciences, said that, “[Homecoming] had a good atmosphere,” and that, “a lot of people showed up.”
Shannon Conley, a freshman history major who plays the mellophone in the marching band, stated, “I’ve never seen so many people on the campus,” while Megan Jackson, a freshman journalism major who plays the cymbals in the marching band, said, “It was weird to see so many people in the red zone,” adding that “…there was so much noise it was unnerving—but it in a good way.”
Stony Brook’s pride was also readily on display; one could walk around the campus and see only a sea of red. Naqiya Choonawala, a freshman majoring in psychology, said, “[I felt] like it was spread out, because in West Side everyone was wearing red, as well as everywhere else.”
Zach Torpie, a junior majoring in engineering sciences, said, “Everyone in Kelly was wearing red.” His friend, Manny Gonzalez, a junior majoring in mechanical engineering, pointed out that, “The campus pride was felt everywhere.”
The record attendance numbers should be anything but proof that Homecoming was absolutely crazy; it had the largest attendance of any Stony Brook game in the history of the school.
“It was the biggest crowd I have ever seen,” Julio Nunez, a junior majoring in Information Technology Systems who plays the trumpet in the marching band, said.
The crowd, as I am sure anyone who went to Homecoming can say, was nothing short of extraordinary. It looked as if seas of red engulfed the stands. Students were hollering and screaming for the home team while jeering and booing at the away team, and overall seemed to be having a good time.
Of course, this does not go for everyone. Francis Marino, an undeclared junior, said that this years’ Homecoming was, “…not as good as previous years.”
Obviously, this is extremely subjective: whether or not you have a good time falls on you. While many others felt like Homecoming was good and had a blast, some quads may have been left out from the pandemonium of Homecoming.
While walking to the game and passing through Roth Quad, it really did not feel like Homecoming, and in fact, it really just felt like another regular weekend at Stony Brook. This, of course, may also lie in the fact that the walk was taken an hour and a half before the game, but it also probably lies in part that many of the Homecoming festivities were centered in and around the stadium and Mendelsohn Quad.
“It should be in the parking lot,” Francis Marino, when asked about the tailgating, said. “It only makes sense it was there since the game was going to be played soon anyway.”
Regardless of the location of the festivities, the atmosphere was absolutely electrifying, and it seems, as a general consensus, that Homecoming was an absolute blast. Now if only the football team had won and not blown the lead, then the night would have been complete. Now, though, we can look forward to breaking the records set this year, and hopefully seeing the crowd rush onto the field after a triumphant Seawolves victory.
