By Dan FletcherThe Daily Northwestern
What two things did Stephen Colbert have in common with the freshman football players aboard the team float at Friday night’s Homecoming parade?
1. It was their first Northwestern Homecoming Parade.
“I never went to it once,” said Colbert, Communication ’86, host of “The Colbert Report” and grand marshal of the parade.
2. Both Colbert and the players expected a win in Saturday’s game against Michigan State.
“How high does the scoreboard go?” Colbert inquired, when asked to make a prediction. “Does it roll over to four digits?”
It seems even Colbert himself isn’t immune to his own “truthiness.” Although NU fell to Michigan State at Ryan Field Saturday, both Colbert and the players received a winner’s reception from the NU community – past and present – Friday night.
The crowd lined up and down Sheridan Road cheered enthusiastically as the parade floats passed.
“The parade was amazing, truly amazing,” said Sidney Stewart, a Weinberg freshman and a wide receiver for the team. “I mean that. There were a lot more people than I originally expected.”
The football float – a massive structure with bench seating and a giant arch covered in purple and white plastic flakes – held mostly freshman players because the starters were already in the team hotel before Saturday’s game.
“(Coach Pat) Fitzgerald asked us to ride,” said Mike Boyle, a Communication freshman and an offensive lineman. “It’s pretty much all the younger guys, all redshirt guys.”
This was the first year that the football team was a part of the parade. Homecoming Chair Amber Jones, a Medill junior, said she approached Fitzgerald about the possibility of some players participating.
“Half of Homecoming is about football, and we have never had them here before,” Jones said. “It’s absolutely fantastic that they are here. I’m tickled pink. If I could be pink, I would be.”
The football players were equally enthusiastic.
“I’d love to get up and jump around, but I’m pretty sure if I did I’d break this float,” said Keegan Grant, a Weinberg freshman and an offensive lineman.
The players had candy to throw to the crowd but were quickly informed that this was a violation of an Evanston city ordinance. Players remedied the situation by hopping on and off the float, handing candy to children along the parade route.
As the parade wound into the area behind the Sports Pavilion and Aquatics Center, the players were reluctant to let the night come to an end.
They rocked the float back and forth, in rhythm to the fight song playing from the speakers in the back.
As they hopped off to begin carrying equipment off the float, Stewart said that as much as he enjoyed the night, he would not be a part of the parade next year.
“I’ll be in the hotel, preparing for the game,” Stewart said.
Reach Dan Fletcher at [email protected].
