Residents offer rock-solid support for SRU football
The Rock hosts No. 4 Minnesota State at 12:30 p.m. Saturday in Division II semifinal football action.
Taking their seats before the action starts as they have for countless football games before will be two longtime and well-known Slippery Rock University football boosters Don Fairhead and Bob Lutz.
One a former athlete at the university and the other a longtime SRU employee, they both have spent decades going to Slippery Rock football games both home and away.
Lutz is a former worker in the university's printing services department who started attending games in 1967.
“Tomorrow (Saturday's game) will be the 525th game that I've attended since 1969. I've always liked college football,” he said. “I'm right here in town so I can walk to all the games.”
Lutz said he started in 1967 and 1968 attending home games, but by 1969 he was traveling to all the games.
“College football, I've always loved it,” Lutz said. “I remember my father would take me to games at Pitt Stadium on 'cardiac hill.'”
Lutz said retired history professor Duane “D” Rose would always travel with him until recently. “For 40 years, we would travel together and sit together. I used to get history lessons on the way to away games all the time,” he said. Advanced age took Rose off the road, but Lutz travels on.
Funnily enough, Fairhead played soccer, not football, when he attended Slippery Rock. He made captain of the soccer team before his graduation in 1970.
Fairhead said he started going to games because he was good friends with longtime Rocket football coach George Mihalik, who coached from 1988 to 2015.Before he retired as a teacher in Levittown, N.Y, he worked recruiting players for Mihalik's teams. He moved back to Slippery Rock six years ago.“35 years ago, I used to go to New York to scout and recruit and through doing that Coach Mihalik and I became friends over time. We still keep in touch. I see him two, three times a week,” Fairhead said.“I worked college tours on Long Island,” Fairhead said. “I would find someone who was interested in football and I would refer them to the coach. We got some players that way.”He also wound up traveling to Slippery Rock football games with a group of friends every season.“I'm pretty dedicated to the school. There's some close-knit friends that I hang out with and go to the games with,” Fairhead said.“I'd travel 800 miles if I needed. I went to most of the home games and a lot of the away games, too. It was hard on my cars,” he said.“I've seen 212 victories by Slippery Rock,” Fairhead said. But he hasn't gotten jaded.This year's campaign has been a blast for him.“This is fun as far as they've gotten,” he said.
Kelly Bailey, director of alumni engagement at SRU, said the two boosters are well known to her office.“They are both very passionate about supporting Rock athletics,” Bailey said. “It's always great to have our alumni come back and cheer for the student athletes.”Bailey said she sees Fairhead frequently on campus.Erin Bryer, assistant director of development, annual giving, for the Slippery Rock Foundation, met the two super fans through the Rock Athletic Club, a fundraising program.She said both men have made donations to athletic scholarships and both are longtime members of the athletic club.Bailey said, “There has been a lot of support online for the upcoming game. A lot of alumni are streaming it on the ESPN app.”But Fairhead and Lutz both said they will be in the stadium to witness what they hope will be a victory for the home squad.“I will be in totally all green and white for the game like I am at all football games,” Lutz said. “I'll be on the 50-yard line beneath the press box where I've been for every home game since the stadium opened in 1974.”Fairhead said his son, David, graduated from Slippery Rock, where David met his wife.“We'll probably be in the President's Tent yelling and screaming,” he said. “I've a close relationship with a lot of people with Slippery Rock.”When asked about game-time superstitions Lutz and Fairhead had different approaches to luck.
Lutz said, “I like to wear everything in green and white — socks, underwear, everything,” he said.He continued, “I always sit on the 50-yard line, even for away games. I have reserved seats for the home games, but sometimes I stand for hours to make sure that I sit on the 50 for away games.”Fairhead said, “I don't have superstitions, but I like to tailgate with the coach's family before the game. Then I like to sit behind the students because they're the loudest. They really get into the game and make it fun.”As much as they relish the successes the teams have had over the years, both Fairhead and Lutz remember the low points as well as the highlights of the program.They both agreed the loss that hurt the most came in 1999 when Slippery Rock failed to beat Indiana University of Pennsylvania in the playoffs.The playoff outcome — IUP 27, Slippery Rock 20 — was considered an upset since Slippery Rock had blasted IUP 52-14, earlier in the season and SRU was the two-time defending PSAC West champions.Lutz said, “I remember the loss to Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1999. It's tough to play a great team twice and lose in the second game. The crowd was tense and full of disbelief at the loss.”
Still, they both remain optimistic that Saturday's outcome could send fans on another road trip.“If they win, the national championship will be in McKinney, Texas, Dec. 21,” Fairhead said. Slippery Rock would face the winner of the Ferris State/West Florida game.But don't expect Fairhead to be at the championship game.“I really wish I could be there, but we've made plans to go to Aruba then,” he said. “That option isn't even on the table.”Although Fairhead said he might prevail upon his wife to take someone else to the Caribbean leaving him free to follow his beloved team to Texas.Lutz doesn't have any conflicting priorities.“I don't have any family and I'm not married. That's why I'm free to go to games,” he said. ““If they win I plan to go to Texas. I'm going to drive,” said Lutz. “I spend my winters in Utah and I've only stayed here for the game. Either way I'll be leaving next week.”
