By Aarav Desai ’29
Edited by Vedant Hathalia ’27
An upper view of the Fan Fest at the football field.
For a school 175 years old, it is hard to make history especially with how accomplished Bellarmine is, but that is exactly what the Bellarmine Fan Fest achieved. Not only did the Fan Fest make history by becoming the first ever varsity football game to be held at Bell’s own field, but it also outperformed the expectations of everyone. From creating a field that could fit thousands of people to creating a great atmosphere, the Fan Fest, although challenging to achieve, was extremely successful.
The idea all started from an ASB retreat back in July. Vivaan Chopra ’26, the ASB president, stated that, “ASB started the idea when we had a leadership retreat in July, basically about, like, three to four weeks before Fan Fest. We came up with some basic ideas. Like, for example, we wanted an inflatable where you could practice kicking field goals, and we came up with things like that. We thought of food trucks who we could reach out to.” With this year being Bellarmine 175th anniversary, ASB and other members of the athletic staff wanted to do something special. Their goal was to achieve something that had never been seen before in Bell’s history. Chopra reflects on where the inspiration comes, stating: “I think the ideation itself, it came from both ASB and athletics. What we wanted was to create. I mean fundamentally, the goal of the event was to create something that we’ve never seen before, like the largest tailgate before football game in Bellarmine’s history. We really ceased the occasion of the 175th anniversary, because that 175th anniversary, it’s going to come once ever.”
As game time rolled around and fans settled into the bleachers that were moved in during the week, the atmosphere gave the historic event an even better feeling. With the band playing “Crazy Train” and the student section roaring, the varsity ran onto the field with a soaring American flag, and tons of people cheering. Jalal Beauchman, an assistant football coach, shared his opinion on the environment: “I was excited, not only for myself, just, being part of a huge event like that, but I was excited for the for the boys on the team, and for the student body, to really get to experience an event like that. It was not only unique, but definitely memorable.” Although not a high scoring game, the crowd was there to support Bellarmine through big first downs and crucial turnovers. In the end, the result that everyone was hoping for happened as varsity won 6-0 and celebrated the win with their fellow classmates at the student section. Beauchman believed that the crowd and atmosphere was a major reason for the win stating, “To have the energy of the student body supporting you. It 100% helps to the product on the field. It energizes the boys, and they’re much more invested in the game. They’re always invested in football, but it’s hard to not get a little bit of extra boost from having all your friends and classmates in the stands supporting you.”
The football team celebrating their win at the student section.
The Fan Fest not only represented Bellarmine’s history but was a great way of honoring the 175 years of the school’s history. Chopra remarked, “I think the turnout was historic. It was the largest football game in Bellarmine’s history, and that was absolutely huge. We couldn’t have asked for any more from our community. It was really nice. We were just shocked.” The possibility of having another game like this would be extremely challenging, but the hope still remains to have a game like this one to two times a year. Chopra said, “I think we can still try to have games at Bellarmine’s field. It’s something that we should look at maybe having once a year, or maybe, like, two or three times a year, if that’s possible. So, we should try to see if we can find long term fixes. See if we can get more seats in the bleachers and see if we can encourage our community to come out.” Celebrating Bellarmine’s 175 year anniversary and making new history, the Fan Fest had unforgettable memories, and experiences that couldn’t be missed.