NORFOLK, Va. - It was minutes before Old Dominion would kick off the biggest football game it ever hosted, and claim the most significant victory in ODU sports history.
You’d think that Jerry Bowman, an ODU booster, would have been among the first to grab a seat at Foreman Field at S.B. Ballard Stadium for the Monarchs’ historic first home game against Virginia Tech.
Instead, as kickoff approached, he put his arm around his 13-year-old grandson, Patrick, in a stadium tailgate lot, got into his car and they headed to downtown Norfolk waterfront to tour a tall ship.