Penn State Pi Lams Gather for Rose Bowl

Jon Eliot '89

Left to Right, Back: Greg Futato, Chip Luman, Jon Eliot, Todd Schonherz, John Barringer Front: Steve Bass, Bobby Haverstrom, future Pi Lams - the Bass boys

Parking lot H at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA, was the site of a gathering of over 20 Pi Lambda Phi Alumni and Brothers representing over 25 years of Pi Lam history at Penn State (PA Omega Gamma and PA Omega Delta). The New Year’s Day gathering of brothers, alumni, family, and friends resulted in one of the larger tailgates around with about sixty people in attendance.

The tailgate gave each of us the opportunity to enjoy some glorious Southern California weather while reconnecting with old friends and meeting others with the common bond of Penn State University and Pi Lambda Phi. For us older guys who had not seen each other in many years, it also served as a perfect opportunity to lay plenty of verbal abuse on each other for expanding waistlines, receding hairlines, and stupid things we said or did too many years ago to count. For some of the younger crowd, it looked as if they had not lost a step since their college days. All attempts to get a bunch of guys either in their 40s or quickly approaching them to participate were unsuccessful. I’m not sure if that is a sign of wisdom coming with age or just plain fear.

Organizer Dan Kelly takes a well deserved break

There was plenty of great food and beverages to keep everyone more than satisfied. A huge round of snaps goes to Dan Kelly. Dan was the organizer and master chef who worked non-stop to ensure everyone got plenty to eat and drink and was having a good time from early morning until well into the evening. Dan opened his tailgate up to all Penn State Pi Lams and Chip Luman got the word out with the help of a few social networking websites, the national fraternity’s database, and good old word of mouth. Some of the brothers in attendance included elder statesman John McClellan '84, several men from the late 80's and early 90's such as Steve Bass, Chip Luman, John Barringer, Todd Schonherz, Paul Chun, Noodles and Brian Czarny and several undergrads including Robb Antosy, Ricky Wolf and Jeff Tobias.

There was also a football game that afternoon, but we would rather not talk about it.

Overall this was a great event truly bringing to life the adage of “Not four years, but a lifetime.”  

Related links:

Pi Lambda Phi Rose Bowl Tailgate Facebook site

PA Omega Gamma and PA Omega Delta Facebook Group

PA Omega Gamma Chapter