Rick Young

Most of my fondest memories of Ed McCauley revolve around two things; sports and food.

I never got to tailgate in college because I played; but, it doesn’t seem like a fall weekend without Penn State football tailgates with Ed, even when they’re not in Happy Valley. Ed always seem so full of joy and excitement on game-day. Beaver Stadium tailgates are special; but, Ed seems just as excited to pitch a canopy in his driveway and watch away games with family and friends on TV.

He always looks forward anxiously to our traditional “tailgate breakfast”, sipping on a Bloody Mary and sneaking bits of bacon while I cook eggs and potatoes incorporating the peppers and onions he always insists on providing. Of course, sliced tomatoes from his garden put the meal on another plain altogether. He always has a hearty appetite, never stopping at just one helping which pleases me to no end.

We lose him for a bit after breakfast while he roams the tailgate area to find a game of “corn hole”, or “stump”, or “beer pong”, or whatever the latest games the college kids are playing. He never fails to be invited to join in, and often wins. He has an almost cult-like following among the regular tailgaters who seek him out at every home game. The cutest co-eds often seem smitten.

Then off to Beaver Stadium, his trusty binoculars around his neck, to find his long-time seat and long-time friends around him to watch and cheer on HIS Lions. And, win or lose, we can look forward to his honest and insightful post-mortem of the game.

I also need to mention the one and only time he met my dad was when he generously hosted him at Red Hill and at a Penn State home game.