Why was I wearing an Eddie Bauer fleece vest this weekend and listening to songs like “Far Behind” by Candlebox? Well, it was because this past weekend I had the opportunity to go to a basketball game at my alma mater – Mount Saint Mary’s University in the bustling metropolis of Emmitsburg, Maryland. And since I still can’t really let go of college even after almost thirteen years after graduating, this was a very special occasion to me. It was just what I needed, another reason to get outrageously nostalgic.  

Sometimes I feel like college was the apex of my life. Sort of how I feel that Gene Wilder was put on earth to be Willy Wonka, Chris Farley was put on earth to play Tommy Boy, and Snoop Dogg was put on earth to make the album “Doggystyle”. Not to say I was put on earth to go to the Mount, but I feel like it was the most exciting time of my life, I felt so comfortable there and felt like I was capable of anything. I met a million amazing people, I went to Ireland, I had a radio show, I drove my parent’s Grand Marquis through a tunnel meant for walking, and I dressed up in a pink gorilla costume and served as a secondary mascot at basketball games. (Disclaimer – my son Jack’s birth was the apex of my life, and the reason I was put on earth, but because of my Irish nerves, enjoying it was overshadowed by worry of a safe and healthy childbirth!)  

I, and the many alums I know and are friends with, have a different sort of love and relationship with our school. If you didn’t go to the Mount, you just can’t understand this. It’s such a special place. I beep at cars on the road when I see they have a Mount sticker on their car. And once, my girlfriend (who went to Monmouth, a Mount conference rival) was mortified when I stopped an older guy in the supermarket who had a Mount hat on. She asked “what the hell are you doing” and I replied almost incredulously “Cailin- the guy had a Mount hat on, I HAD to talk to him!” Last year, I went to a carnival and talked to a guy with a Mount sweatshirt on who sent three of his kids there. I ended up meeting two of the “kids” and their families. It’s what I love about being a Mount grad, I’d bet my life that graduates of monstrously large schools don’t do that. Again, you have to be a Mount grad to truly understand it.

I realize and appreciate this more and more when I talk to and meet students here at Drexel where I work. I had to work a weekend event and basically had to sit in a dorm lobby for three hours and direct people around. There were six student ambassadors there doing the same thing. I was pounding them with questions about student life, what they do for fun, and how they like it. None of the kids were particularly friendly, and watching students pass in and out, they didn’t acknowledge each other at all! (Maybe they were just texting each other, because God knows kids don’t seem to actually speak to each other anymore!) Granted, Drexel has a few thousand more students and it’s in a gritty area of Philly, but this is not what I was used to. At the Mount, everyone said hello to each other, and even though there were cliques everyone could enjoy events, parties, dances, and games together.  

So when I was asked by a friend to come down and go to a game, I jumped at the chance. My liver starting quivering, and if I had a tail, it would have started wagging.  Even though my sister lives about 30 minutes away, I hadn’t been on campus for about two years. However, just as exciting as visiting the Mount was the prospect of visiting the Ott House, the main bar for students, and home to the friendliest staff, outlandishly affordable menu, and most importantly – the best buffalo wings I have ever had in my life. I was counting the days, and exercising furiously, so I could enjoy an order of their mild wings. You simply cannot go to Ott’s and not get wings, that would be like going to the Sistine Chapel and not looking up.  

I made the trip down to my friend Matt’s in suburban Baltimore all giddy and enthusiastic. In my head were all my jokes and references I love about Maryland. It is the land of townhomes and developments, I don’t think I have ever seen a house built earlier than 1987. They love referring to their counties and they love their state flag. I sometimes forget what county I live in and couldn’t tell you what Jersey’s state flag looks like. The streets are lined with Old Bay seasoning and pit beef. And if you play lacrosse in Maryland, you look exactly like every other kid that plays lacrosse in Maryland.     

Me, Matt, and Tony hit the road for the Mount at four, so we had time to get Ott’s before the game. Taking the trip was so odd. I did it eight million times for so many years, but now, hadn’t done it in more than five years. Seeing the sites that changed, areas that built up, new stores, closed stores, cows, hillbillies, and lush farmland was like a trip in a DeLorean because so many memories came pouring back in. We got to Emmitsburg, paid a quarter in the meter to park for two hours so we wouldn’t get a two dollar parking ticket, and made our way into Ott’s.

Walking into Ott’s was awesome. It hasn’t changed one bit since I was in college. The place looks the same, the menu is the same, and the prices are roughly the same. For me, that made me feel so good. And unlike back in college, I actually have some money in the bank. Not much, but a little more than in college. I got a hug from Susie, one of owners, and felt welcome and like it was 1998. We all ordered wings, and marveled at how good they are, and how you can’t get anything like them anywhere else in the world. It was very hard for us to leave!

Keeping in touch with our former college selves, we decided to go to Paul’s Pit Stop, our old liquor store, and pick up some tallies for the game and old time’s sake. In there, the first glaring difference of times changed jumped out at us. Students no longer drink Milwaukee’s Best there, which we affectionately referred to as “Beast”. Beast was eight dollars for a case when I was in school, and while I was never strong in mathematics, I was a whiz in “Mount Math”. That is the ability to divide any number by 8. We would collect money for parties, and know to divide that number by 8 to see how many cases of Beast we could get. According to the guy working there, they drink Keystone Light and Natural Light – which are both about 16 bucks a case there! Seems like inflation has hit the Mount student’s wallets and livers!   

We got to the parking lot, knocked down our beers, and laughed about all the old stories and memories. It was here that I confessed to my friends that I was secretly hoping that we would somehow get caught up a movie script-like situation and have all these wild things happen and be “forced” to stay on campus. Matt and Tony laughed nervously because I think they know I am both capable and willing for that to happen. I laughed when Matt commented that a group of guy students looked like a bunch of “D-bags” because I would imagine older guys would say that about us when we went to games since I would wear Hawaiian shirts.   

Going into the game, we were dismayed to see that we missed the entire first half, and also were down by 20 points. Undeterred we made our way to the seats and bumped into our friend Tara and her husband Jim. It was awesome to see not only an alum of the same year, but a friend! There were other things that made me feel good – they still have a Mount Maniacs sign behind the student bleachers, my friend Scott’s dad made us one freshman year and we hung it so it is nice to know that tradition is still there that we started 16 years later. The student section was weak though, I was almost pissed off to see how empty it was. It was about 30 kids with one girl dancing to “Hey Ya” by Outkast all by herself at one point in an empty section of bleachers. It was one of the most depressing sights of the weekend. I wanted to go over and mix it up with these kids, show ‘em how it was done, and cheer on the Mount. But I realized that would have been creepy, and just as depressing as the girl dancing by herself. Besides, I was sitting in style in the twelve dollars seats that have arm rests. Never did I dream I would sit in this high class section normally reserved for distinguished and respected silvery haired alums.

I found myself cheering like a maniac. I have an intense passion for the basketball team there, along with my high school’s basketball team, more than any other sport I watch, more than the Phillies, Flyers, Eagles, or Sixers. Because millions of other knuckleheads root for those teams – I equate it to going to a really big college with a major program. You can’t make a difference at a big school, you are just a number, and there are millions more just like you. With the Mount, it’s a family, a community, and I feel like a part of it. It’s also why I tend to like bands that aren’t mainstream, I feel more attached to them, and more a part of it. The Mount will never win a national championship, and will probably never even win a NCAA tournament game. But I am OK with that. I am happy enough with the fact that we have the opportunity to get there.        

We lost, but that was almost an afterthought. It was good to see my friends. It was good to see the Mount. And it was awesome to get Ott’s wings. I look forward to the days I can bring my son Jack there and tell him heavily censored and edited stories of my days at the Mount.

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