Forgive Bill Samko if he gets a little sappy when talking about Homecoming. He can't really help it.
After all, it's perfectly natural for Tufts' head football coach to become reflective when anticipating the day when former players stream in from across the globe and descend upon Zimman Field for one more opportunity to watch the brown and blue hit the gridiron.
"I love Homecoming, because literally a hundred guys who played here in the past and who shed — and this is corny — blood, sweat and tears, they come back," Samko said. "I get to interact with those guys, and it's very emotional for me."
That day of remembrance is Saturday for the football team, when the Jumbos will host Bates and, in turn, dozens of alumni hoping that Tufts can move to 2−0 for the ninth time in the past 12 seasons.
"My first two years, Homecoming's been very interesting, because I'm always introduced to people who I don't know," said junior defensive lineman Donnie Simmons, a Houston native whose family will be attending the game. "So you'll have the old football captains and the old players who like to talk about how good they were back in the day. It's always good to meet them and to meet family of your teammates."
And while Homecoming bleeds nostalgia and induces recollection, there's still a game to be played — and won.
After 10 straight Homecoming losses from 1992 to 2001, Tufts is currently riding a four−game Homecoming winning streak and has taken seven of the past eight. The only loss came in a 7−0 decision in 2005 to Trinity; that year, Homecoming coincided with Parents' Weekend, giving the game an unconventional feel.
Whether this streak should be attributed to the fact that all seven wins have come against either Bowdoin or Bates — teams that have been perennial cellar dwellers during that eight−year span — or can be viewed simply as a product of the electric atmosphere that seems to only come out of hibernation on one Saturday a year is unknown to the Jumbos.
"It's every kicker's dream to be in that situation, where you can tie things up and then help your team win on Homecoming," said junior kicker Adam Auerbach, whose overtime field goal was the game−winner in last year's 25−22 win against Bowdoin on Homecoming.
"It was crazy," Auerbach said, referring to that fateful moment. "There were hundreds of people behind the field goal posts, a lot of people in the stands cheering. The best part about it was, after I kicked the ball, seeing everybody's hands go up on the other sides of the field goal posts. That was awesome."
In discussing Tufts' success on Homecoming, Samko takes the psychological perspective, attributing it to the mental lift from playing on Zimman in front of family and friends.
"Whenever you play at home, it gives you an advantage. I really believe that," Samko said. "You get a chance to play in front of your families, which is a psychological lifter anyway, because they're the people who you love. It's an emotional high."
Regardless of the origins of the streak, one thing remains certain: Tufts owns its Homecoming and has no intentions of letting up in the future.
"I don't think it changes much from a preparation perspective, but on game day you get a little more hyped from seeing more fans," said senior quarterback Anthony Fucillo, who had 195 yards passing and two touchdowns in his only Homecoming game with Tufts, a 34−7 win over Bates in '08. "I think it's a chance to get exposure to the student body a little more, and maybe if they see us play well then they'll come later in the season, which we hope."
"Going into Homecoming, we put on our A game," Simmons added. "That's what you have to do going into something that you hold dear in our hearts; it's very important in this program. We try to consciously prepare for everybody as if they're on top of their A games, but I definitely believe that Homecoming is that next step up."
