Cheerleaders get the crowd into the tailgating spirit. Photo by Jesus Lopez

As excitement built around this year’s super bowl, some around the PHS community thought that it would be great to get in on the fun. Mr. Dukes and his Sports Management Class hosted the first PHS tailgate party, which was held on February 1, at Boverini Stadium. This event was free, and was open to the public. Focused on helping the climate and culture of Passaic, this was a celebration to bring the PHS community closer together.

In order to make this a free event the Passaic Department of Recreation and the Board of Education worked together to make the party happen. There were contests and games geared for everyone. Football games as well as other games of chance and skill were organized for everyone’s entertainment. No party would be complete without music, so music was blaring from area d.j.’s.

One of the most popular events was the empanada eating contest. Contestants needed to be over 18, but everyone enjoyed watching this event. Winners of this event ate five empanadas in under a minute. Mr. Mario Perez, a volunteer coach at Passaic, won the contest.

There were other events as well. Students and residents ate hotdogs, and drank sodas, danced to music from two different d.j.’s. and played their own sports and games. They played football kickoff games, soccer skill games and other tests of sports skill. Raffles were drawn and the winners took home sports bags, sports jerseys, cash prizes, and other sports related prizes. Children under 5, also got into the action, and won trophies from various games.

The overall feeling was that this was a great event and that PHS should host more of these celebrations to add to the climate and culture of Passaic. This was the first event of its kind and hopefully it can be made into an annual event.

By Jennifer Alvarez