By Jessica Geller, deputy sports editor
Tailgating at Gillette Stadium is no longer just for football. The New England Revolution is hosting its fifth annual College Night on Oct. 4 in Foxborough.
A $20 student-discounted ticket grants entry to the pre-game tailgate at 5 p.m. and the 7:30 p.m. soccer game. Free bus transportation from Boston to Foxborough is available to the first 100 students to sign up.
“We want young, wild, crazy kids at our games to make our atmosphere just that much better,” Kelyn Rowe, the third overall pick in the 2012 Major League Soccer (MLS) draft and Revolution’s midfielder, said. “I remember when I was in college [at UCLA] and would go down and see some of the DC Galaxy games. It was a great time, and they put on a great event.”
It’s not too often that college students get the opportunity to see a professional soccer team play at Gillette Stadium, also home to the New England Patriots. The pre-game tailgate includes food and drinks, a cornhole tournament, a giant Jenga set, soccer pong and other fun activities to get students riled up for the game against the Columbus Crew.
Michael Busack, in charge of media relations at Elevate Communications, the PR firm that works with the Revolution, said they are expecting 300 to 400 students at the tailgate.
Revolution Girls, the promotional team, will be at the tailgate picking a few students to represent their schools in the halftime activities.
“For college students, it’s a great night out to go see a professional team that you have locally,” Rowe said. “We played at Harvard last year and Brown this year – the atmosphere is a little different than it is with families and kids. You get the loud hecklers, and that’s what we are hoping the college kids can bring.”
The Revolution is currently in second place in the Eastern Conference with 45 points. With four games remaining, the team is likely to reach the playoffs with the top five teams in each conference moving on. Columbus (43 points) is in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Josh Brown, a Northeastern University sophomore journalism major, has been attending Revolution games for many years and has seen a spike in attendance the past two years.
“Between making the playoffs last year, having a championship contending team this season and, more importantly, the World Cup’s popularity this summer, soccer in Massachusetts has started to take off,” Brown said. “I think, especially this year, the Revolution having college night is going to attract a lot of people whose interest in soccer started to peak with the World Cup, especially for such a cheap price.”
There will be an opportunity to meet some of the MLS players after the game at their autograph alley.
For tickets, visitwww.revolutionsoccer.net/college-night-2014 and use promo code: revs14
Photo courtesy of Flickr
