(Photographed by Volunteer Writer Connor Sullivan)
Volunteer Writer: Connor Sullivan
Email: csullivan14@umassd.edu
Over the past year, a group of committed parents has spearheaded a new tailgating community, quickly becoming a core component of the campus’ athletic culture.
At every home game, they set up a group of canopy tents on the grassy walkway that divides parking lots five and six. They pull out coolers, tables, and grills from the back of their cars, listen to music, share quality food, and talk with new friends for hours before and after the game.
This tight-knit community formed on a Facebook page entitled “UMass Dartmouth Football Families.” Here, many found a diverse community of people who shared two traits: They all had family playing for UMass Dartmouth’s Corsairs and wanted to support them however they could.
These fans coalesced into a movement to share their football spirit and home-cooked meals with family and friends, whether for their sons, nephews, or even a niece’s boyfriend.
A key figure in this movement has been a man named Adam Barros. Adam, the father of Corsair Defensive Back Matthais Barros, is considered a leader among other community members.
“I do kind of organize this,” said Adam, “I tell them every week, ‘Hey guys, game time’s at 4, I’m out here at 11,’ and we’ll set up.”
According to Adam, these gatherings have been a recent phenomenon for the campus. He recalls that previously, “Everybody kind of had their own thing. We didn’t have a community space to talk about it.”
It was on the Football Families Facebook page where “We started saying ‘hey, there’s a bunch of people that are tailgating, a bunch of people that are into it.’ So we decided that maybe we could make it more uniform.” He added, “This is the first year we’re doing it. It’s kind of a bigger deal here, with more people.”
Standing amid a crowd of over a dozen, he talked of how he was initially unsure how many would match his enthusiasm.
“I thought I was the only crazy one that would come every week,” he said, “but I’m not as you can see.”
His son Matthias recalls a similar history: “I don’t think we even tailgated last season, and if we did, it was probably just one tent, like one family or something like that.”
He claims the community started picking up steam “after the first home game.” After this, “all the parents started getting more and more involved.”
From there, the community experienced rapid growth, which made it all the more impressive given the weather they’d had to endure.
“This year’s been really rough. It’s been raining every Saturday we’ve been coming,” according to Adam.
The worst came on October 21st when the Corsairs were scheduled to play against Fitchburg State. It started raining before morning that day and didn’t stop until sunset. The walkway between the upperclassmen’s dorms ran with an ankle-deep stream, and the rapid winds threatened to blow the umbrella right from your hands.
Still, by noon, trucks and tents were all positioned in the same spot right on that grassy divider.
This weather did have a dampening effect on attendance.
As Adam put it, “When we had a sunny weekend, we had this lot full. So some people wouldn’t want to do it with the rain.” He looked past his shoulder and raised his chin towards a group of intertwined families, “but as you can see, we have some die-hards. They’re here.”
The devotion of these die-hards was made apparent in their demographics.
“We got a unique group of people coming from all over the place,” said Adam, “These folks are from New York. They’re from Florida. There’s a bunch of folks from Providence and stuff. There’s some Connecticut folks over there.” The level of devotion that brings people across state lines has kept the community’s flame lit throughout the consistent downpours.
“I always say this is our extended family, cause they received our son like one, and they’re always looking out for him,” said Claudia Romero Gonzalez, a mother who regularly flies from Florida to attend her son’s games and the tailgates.
She feels that the team has adopted her son as family and that she has likewise adopted the members of the team. “So, I’m gonna come back here next year just to see her son play,” referencing another woman nearby. “I’m coming back to support them and some of the other kids. They’re like my boys now.”
The community has kept itself open to anyone who wishes to participate, aiding its continual growth. When UMass Dartmouth held its official tailgate on October 7th, at the same time as the parent’s tailgate, they made it clear that anyone who wished could drop by.
“We did make a comment like ‘Hey, listen, guys, if you’re over there, you can feel free to come over to ours,’” said Adam, stressing that “This isn’t like an exclusive thing. Anybody can come here and set up a table.”
The community extends this invitation to anyone interested in these tailgates, whether or not you’re related to the team. As Adam said, “Come here, hang out for a few minutes. If you don’t like the atmosphere, the vibe, you can leave, we won’t be offended.”
Adam recalls one encounter with a new family in particular, “They were on a visit. They came up to see what we do here. We coaxed them into eating and hanging out with us for a bit, and they decided to commit to this school because they had a good time here and liked the atmosphere and the vibe. Not telling you that’s the only reason; I’m just telling you that it didn’t hurt.”
Another element that has grown the community is increased attendance from team members thanks to the effort of Adam’s son Matthias.
Matthias explained, “Like my father, I just love seeing everybody get together all the time.” He wants to ensure everyone knows what’s being offered here and can experience it. Part of this has been informing the other members of his team about when these tailgates occur and how they should join in.
He said, “I try to force people to come to this, bro!” His efforts have paid off, as more and more of the team have become enamored with these events.
“This is one of the most fun things that the team has done together,” said Doug Chicca, senior year linebacker, “Definitely think it brings the team together to bond after the game.”
One aspect that has set this community apart is that the school has allowed them to organize and promote themselves. This is a stark contrast to the tailgating cultures on other campuses.
“They all have their own rules and regulations,” said Adam, “we can have alcohol here. Some schools don’t allow that. Some don’t have any area where you can tailgate. If they do, it’s a designated area, and they charge you to be there.”
In comparison, Adam claims that at UMass Dartmouth, “They give us a lot of leeway. We appreciate it. We try to make sure we stay on top of things so we don’t abuse the leeway they give us. And they’ve been extremely supportive.” He added, “They could’ve told us, ‘We don’t want you guys doing that.’ Instead, they embraced us.”
This embrace has included officials from the Corsairs regularly attending these tailgates, including Assistant Coach and Recruiting Coordinator Ryan McCormack.
The community continued hosting tailgates every home game up to the last one on November 10th. That day, the Corsairs were set to face off against Plymouth State at noon on a long-awaited clear, sunny day.
The crowd for this tailgate was easily the largest, with over half a dozen tables, each surrounded by a family or two. In addition, many student-athletes were present to celebrate their formidable 9-1 season record.
To celebrate this achievement and to commemorate the seniors who just played the last home game of their college careers, some of the parents got them a special vanilla sheet cake. It was decorated to look like a football field with plastic players mimicking passes to one another. One of the parents gathered the players around a corner of Adam’s station, where the cake sat, to address the team directly.
“Thank you from every parent here,” he said. “We love y’all. We are so incredibly proud of every single one of you boys. Y’all are family, we love you, and this is a small celebration and appreciation for every Corsair on sight.”
Among the tailgate attendees was Director of Athletic and Recreation Lori Hendricks. It wasn’t long before she was chatting with the partygoers and trying the food offered by several tables.
A few days after the event, she provided the following comment on the community:
“Our athletics mantra for the year is ‘A Rising Tide Lifts All Corsairs.’ We know that our success is contagious and has spread from team to team and from family to family. I love seeing how our football parents’ tailgate and their overall engagement have grown. It truly represents our culture of care, community, and championships. I have no doubt that we will be well-represented at next Saturday’s Bowl Game, wherever we land!”
Despite this record-smashing attendance, some still dream of bigger for this community. Lynette Barros, Matthias’s mother, is still pressing her son to spread the word to the team, which he’s happy to oblige.
“We want to get this whole area filled,” she said, gesturing to the grassy walkway between lots 5 and 6. Adam is confident that the community can keep the momentum going into the next semester.
“Everybody chips in,” he said, “so it shouldn’t be a problem.”