Todd Granere and Jeremiah Ivy figure the best way to a football fan’s heart is through his stomach.
For the second straight season, Granere and Ivy have handed out free hamburgers, hot dogs, pulled pork or other delicacies before Iola High School’s home football games at Riverside Park.
The founding members of the Mustang Tailgate Crew gave away 60 such burgers before Iola’s Oct. 4 Homecoming showdown against Girard.
“We just felt like we needed more community involvement with our high school,” explained Granere. “What better way to do that than to feed people?”
The duo set up shop around two hours before kickoff, with their grill, tent and assorted lawn games — cornhole, ladder ball, etc. — and plenty of music.
“We just roll from there,” Ivy said. “We’ll give the food away until it’s gone.”
They’ll usually split the cooking and food prep duties, with the lone exception on days when Granere is unavailable — his nephew, Jaedon Granere, is a standout receiver at Marmaton Valley.
“I try to catch his home games when I can,” Granere explained. “The schedule has been pretty good this year because most of their home games are on nights when Iola’s been on the road.”
And don’t bother asking what the meals cost. Offers to pay are flatly rejected.
“We don’t ask for any money,” Granere said. “We don’t expect people to buy anything from us.”
That said, they have received donations from folks around town who have heard about their venture. J&J Contractors recently donated to the cause.
“We get our hamburger from Our Market in Humboldt,” Granere said. “They work with us, give us some good deals. G&W (in Iola) has given us good deals as well.”
The impetus for the Tailgate Crew came a couple of years ago when Ivy and Granere attended a home football game and noticed the visiting fans outnumbered Iola’s supporters in the IHS football stadium on the south side of the football field.
“That didn’t sit well with Jeremiah and me,” Granere said. “I remembered the days when visiting fans had to sit in the visitor’s stands (on the north side) because our side was full.”
IT’S WORTH noting that neither Granere nor Ivy has a son on the football team.
