The Wedding Singer

Shane and his dad, Bob Wolford

3:55 p.m., Dec. 5, 2003--Not everyone who wanted to could make it to the University of Delaware football team’s NCAA Division I-AA first round playoff victory over Southern Illinois University on Saturday, Nov. 29.

For one family of diehard Fightin’ Blue Hen fans, a wedding at St. Thomas Catholic Church near Boothwyn took precedence. But, even though they could not make it to Newark, there was a lyrical reminder of the events unfolding at Delaware Stadium.

Betty Garvin, a UD employee whose husband, Jim, played on the first Blue Hens team to win the Lambert Cup in 1959, said the people attending the wedding of her son, Dennis, to the former Laura Lee were taking their seats when her grandson, Shane Wolford, entered his pew.

“When Shane sat down, he reached for the hymnal, opened it up and began to sing the Delaware Fight Song out loud,” Garvin said. “It came out of the blue and enabled us to be at the game in spirit.”

Singing the Delaware Fight Song is nothing new for Shane, 3-1/2 years old, whose mother is the former Megan Garvin and whose father, Robert Wolford, was a linebacker and co-captain of the 1991 UD team that finished 10-2, won a share of the Yankee Conference championship and competed in the NCAA playoffs. Wolford was a graduate assistant on the staff of Tubby Raymond when the team went to the semifinals the following year.

“Shane will start singing in the parking lot on the way to the game and continue until he gets to his seat, usually wearing a little football jersey with his Dad’s No. 58 on it,” Garvin said.

“UD athletics are very special to the Garvin family,” she added. In addition to playing, her husband has had football season tickets for 40 years. Her three sons, Shawn, Jimmy and Dennis, all attended UD and played for the ice hockey team.

“At one point, Shawn was the head coach, his brother Jimmy was an assistant coach, his sister Megan was the statistician, and our youngest son Dennis was a player on the team,” Garvin said.

Does everyone plan to attend this week’s game against Northern Iowa University? “Yes,” Garvin said, emphatically, “except for the bride and groom, who are on their honeymoon.”

Article by Neil Thomas
Photo courtesy of Betty Garvin

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