Charity Football Game

George Steinbrenner was probably smiling down over the New Meadowlands Stadium Saturday.

The scrumptious smells of tailgating - everything from burgers to jumbo shrimp - in the parking lot led to thousands packing the new stadium to see Morgan State blast Howard University, 20-3, in the 39th annual New York Urban League Football Classic.

The Football Classic was the brainchild of Steinbrenner and legendary Grambling State coach Eddie Robinson, who created the annual game as a charity for disadvantaged students.

The Football Classic debuted at Yankee Stadium in 1971 and was played there till 1986, before changing venues to Giants Stadium. As legend has it, sustained damage to Yankee Stadium's field one year prompted the change. But the move wasn't a bad thing for the Football Classic, as it added the popular tradition of tailgating to the annual event.

The nonprofit New York Urban League continued Saturday what Steinbrenner and Robinson first developed, with Grammy Award-winning R&B singer Mary J. Blige honoring 20 scholarship winners during halftime. "I never got a chance to go to college, so to have me say, 'Finish school, go to college' and have me be the poster child for that, I'm so cool with that," Blige said. "I love that. It's a beautiful (stadium) ... look at this place."

Reshaude Miller returned an 89-yard interception for a touchdown to give Morgan State a 17-0 lead with 4:03 remaining in the second quarter. Howard managed only a field goal before halftime and Morgan State never looked back. "We tried to get the players into the stadium (Friday), so they could get it all out of their system," Morgan State coach Donald Hill-Eley said about dealing with his team's excitement of playing at the new home of the Giants and Jets. "Then that night we chastised them and told them they're not here to look at the walls or number of TVs."

It worked. The Bears' 17-3 halftime lead sent many ticket-holders to the parking lot to indulge in the tailgating. From the looks of several empty sections in the stadium during the second half, there were more people partaking of the tailgating than in their seats for the remainder of the game. "When people see enough of the game, they tend to take advantage of the other aspects of the Football Classic - whether it be tailgating or our vendors," said NYUL president & CEO Arva Rice. "Whether it be the attendance, Mary J. Blige's appearance, the bands, we couldn't be happier."


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/college/2010/09/26/2010-09-26_urban_league_scores_a_td.html?r=sports#ixzz10gGSPEuT