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On a brisk, fall morning in Syracuse, the gentle hum of an air pump floated through the air as a giant inflatable Otto the Orange began to take shape. Fans unloaded their cornhole, grills, speakers and orange garb from backseats, trunks and truck beds and assumed their usual positions in the Stadium Lot.

The Syracuse Orange were preparing to take on Wagner on homecoming weekend. It may have been several hours before the game, but that didn’t matter to some fans. It’s game day in Syracuse and to them, that means one thing — tailgating.

“I’ve been tailgating for over 30 years. I only missed one game since 1981 because I had to go to a wedding. And my wife and I seriously almost got a divorce over it, all because I missed that game,” Ron Benderski said. “She was inside talking to people, and I was in the car listening to the game. What can I say? I’m a diehard Orange fan.”

Benderski is a giant among the Orange tailgate community, as everyone knows where to go to say hello and play a round of orange cornhole. His pickup truck is always parked right next to Stadium Place with an inflatable Otto in the truck bed.

Next to the truck sits an orange tent filled with food that Benderski and his wife, Kristin Lovecchio, share with anyone who walks by. In 2014, Benderski and Lovecchio cooked an entire pig roast at the tailgate and shared their meal with around 200 people.

“I don’t view a football game as three hours — I view it as a whole day when I can come set up here with my family and friends,” Benderski said. “ (I) see my friends here, drink a beer, eat some good food and cheer on the team that has been a part of my whole life.”

Growing up locally, Benderski came to Syracuse games with his father. He said he cherished that time not only with him but the football family he made being on the hill for game days. He always knew he wanted his own family to experience that and that he wanted to carry on the tradition.

Benderski’s nephew, Mike Benderski, is a staple in the Syracuse tailgate scene now, too. “Big Mike,” as he’s known among fellow tailgaters, fell in love with the community atmosphere and family feel his uncle introduced to him when he’d bring him to games. Now, he even travels to away games and sets up there, whether it’s UConn, Clemson or Florida State, and has tailgated when the temperatures were nearly below zero.

“I have been coming here since I was a kid, because SU is home. I didn’t go here — I went to St. John Fisher — but there’s just something about being at SU on a game day,” Mike Benderski said. “I see all these people I love united for a common goal, and I just feel like I am home again.”

Despite its loyal fans, the Orange tailgate scene isn’t cliquey or exclusionary. It’s meant to be a big family that is always growing and welcoming, Mike Benderski said. If you’re a football fan, you’re welcomed with open arms and offered a burger and a beer.

Matt Stangle experienced that first-hand this season, his first coming to Syracuse games and tailgates. Stangle’s son, Ethan, is a freshman long snapper for the Orange, and Matt and his wife have made the drive for every game from their hometown in Maryland.

On his first game day, Stangle said he was nervous pulling into the parking lot because he didn’t want to unknowingly take someone’s usual spot — a cardinal sin in the world of tailgating. Instead, Stangle became the newest member of the Syracuse tailgating family and fell in love with the camaraderie and pride of the Orange from day one.

“There’s something about Syracuse, the pride, and the community up here. I love driving up from Maryland and going into Wegmans on game day and seeing everyone decked out in orange,” Stangle said. “You don’t see that in Maryland — you don’t see University of Maryland everywhere. Yet you see Syracuse University everywhere. I love the connection, I’ve met so many people.”

The family connection is the heartbeat of tailgating for Stangle, not the sport. In a time when the world is in constant motion, Stangle said tailgating offers him the time to slow down and spend uninterrupted time with his family.

To Stangle, tailgating has nothing to do with the school or the number of wins and losses, it’s just the power of cheering on a common goal, he said. Though the energy surrounding the football team’s 5-0 winning streak is palpable, that isn’t what keeps him making the almost 6-hour drive each week.

“Tailgating brings you together. It’s just a special time,” Stangle said. “I could be here tailgating for dodgeball but you’re here with your family and there’s no distractions, and that’s really what it’s about for me.”

Now, Stangle has a whole new group of friends he’s made from tailgating. They’re in Facebook groups together and have exchanged phone numbers. Stangle said he just finished planning his trip to Clemson with Mike Benderski.

Stangle isn’t nervous to wear his Syracuse Orange best to South Carolina when the team plays at Clemson. Though he’ll be cheering on the opposing team, Stangle said that family and community are a pillar of college football, which makes it unique from the NFL.

“It’s not mean-spirited. You say ‘oh you’re going to get beat, want a beer? Come in and have something to eat,’” Stangle said. “You respect the other team. Because we’re all here for football, and football is family.”

Ron Benderski echoed Stangle’s sentiment — in the 30 years he’s spent cheering on the Orange, he’s felt a tremendous amount of loyalty to his team, to college sports and to the orange-blooded fan base he calls family, Ron said.

He said he will keep showing up, park along Stadium Place with his Otto in the truck, and share space with his football family as long as he can until he passes the torch to someone he loves.

“I do this for the people, for my friends, for college football… I’d be here if we’re 12-0 or 0-12. It’s about spending time with people I love, and meeting new people I love too,” Ron Benderski said. “I bring my grandkids to this, and I look over at them, and I just think about how they could bring their children here one day. And for me, that’s why I keep showing up. For family.”

Published on October 2, 2022 at 11:49 pm