Pete Desimone and his wife, Rachael, woke up at 5 a.m. before Syracuse’s home opener against Wagner. They filled a truck and trailer with tents, seats, display goal posts, a 10-foot long dinosaur and a blue and an orange replica bell, similar to the one rung after an SU touchdown in the Carrier Dome. By 7:30 a.m., eight hours before kickoff, they set up in their usual spot at the Skytop lot on South Campus.
Among the chairs, food and chatter, hung a wooden orange board which read “the Mayor of Skytop” engraved in blue. The sign served as a reminder of a former tailgater, Mark Fenton, who invented Desimone’s nickname and gifted him the sign.