By Gavin Lapaille
For most students, dressing up as a pirate for a University of Louisville football game begs the question of “why?”
For some, however, the question is “why not?”
At the last U of L home game against Syracuse University, a group of about 15-20 students dressed as pirates, complete with eye patches, hooks and bandanas. The group even used a homemade 28-foot pirate ship for the tailgating party.
Although most might think the group would have to be a well-organized club or a school-sponsored event, according to some of the members, that is simply not the case. They don’t even have an official name.
“We are not affiliated with any [Recognized Student Organization], fraternity or society,” senior civil engineering major and pirate Clint Mattingly said. “We are friends. We are fans. We are fun.”
The group dates back to their freshman year living in Miller Hall, but have only been hard-core tailgating for the last two seasons.
“We are just a group of people who love Cardinal football and having a good time, so a few of us decided to combine the two,” senior mechanical engineering major Chris Boelscher said. “Once we had the idea and put it in motion, the amount of people who wanted to join us was amazing.”
Tailgating is also a big part of the activities for the group. After laying out sand, building the ship and loading guns at Old Cardinal Stadium, the group can normally be found playing corn hole, eating and getting pumped for the game.
The cannons are used to shoot water balloons at any “merchant” ships in the area. Boelscher said they hit a target over 300 yards away at the Syracuse game.
Post game depends on the results of the game. A win leads the group to party on Fourth Street or Bardstown Road. A loss, and the pirates may be looking for someone to walk the plank.
After kickoff, however, is when the real fun started for the pirates.
“During the Syracuse game, we spent most of our time threatening the lives of nay-sayers in the student section,” Mattingly said. “Otherwise, we’re busy yelling and making noise to cheer on our team. D-FENSE and the simple “AHHHHHH” while the opponents have the ball are our specialty.”
Boelscher, Mattingly and the rest of their crew have done several other theme-tailgating parties in recent years. During the game against Miami University last season, the group did a beach tailgate with the tagline “Hurricane Season Ends Today.” They also did a golf-themed tailgate where they dressed up as golfers and built an entire putt-putt course.
The group said other students seem to like the themes.
“Students are for the most part cool with it,” senior physics major John Day said. “Who doesn’t like pirates?”
As far as plans for the match-up with the University of Utah, Boelscher wouldn’t reveal what the group had up their sleeves.
“The ship will sail back in for the Utah game, but that’s all we’re going to say,” Boelscher said. “Telling you our plans would be like handing you our treasure map, and a good pirate never shows his map to anyone.”
Despite early season struggles that saw losses to the University of Kentucky and Syracuse, Boelscher offered a simple explanation.
“A football team is just like any pirate ship,” Boelscher said. “Change the captain and it is going to take the crew awhile to get used to it.”
One thing is certain: the pirates are not giving up on U of L head coach Steve Kragthorpe and the Cards just yet.
“Our team had lofty expectations for this year that we just weren’t prepared to conquer,” Mattingly said.
“There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, but we have to be prepared to stick it out with our team when we don’t meet these goals.”
