Jr. Bill spirit bus shipped up to Chicago to wage Battle for I-55 football game
“This is the first bus of fans that St. Louis U. High has sent in the 21st century. It took us almost a quarter of the century, but we were waiting for you.”
Students cheering on the spirit bus. Photo I Andrew Hunt
Principal Fr. Matt Stewart, S.J. looked for laughs over the PA of the fabled Battle for I-55 Spirit Bus, as it pulled out of a busy Wally’s back onto, well, I-55. The dozens of students packed into the bus were rowdier than ever, clutching strangely-named sodas and beef jerky; the voyage through the corn and wheat of the Midwest was about halfway over, and sailing was worrisomely smooth so far.
It was Friday, August 30—after an early-out from school, 49 other SLUH students and I were on our way to Chicago for the SLUH vs. St. Ignatius football opener. A competitive grab for spots on the bus and a $40 fee made us the chosen group for StuCo’s first extravaganza of the year.
So there the Jr. Bills were in their great hero’s journey, one that seemed to be free from all the trials and tribulations that were supposed to mark such a noble quest to hunt down the St. Ignatius Wolfpack. But spirits remained high.
“The energy was amazing, as everyone was excited for the game,” said junior Reed Shah.
“It was a road trip,” added StuCo moderator Frank Corley. “It was great. When I was a student here, SLUH would play Columbia Hickman or Jefferson City, and they would take buses down to Columbia or Jefferson City to play, and it was just a big old school bus … so this is a kind of cool throwback.”
Although shouts between the front and back of the bus persisted, the mood shifted as the bus drove itself through the vast Chicago suburbs.
“Conversation quieted down and AirPods went in ears,” said Student Body President Noah Butler. “But, we picked it up in the last section of the ride when we finally saw the Chicago skyline. The music came back on the speakers and we started getting rowdy again. When we got off the bus, we were ready to roll.”
The Jr. Bills deboarded the bus into the world of St. Ignatius College Prep—or more accurately, an alternate-universe SLUH. There was the iconic Oakland Ave. building front, only twice as ornate and tall. A painted St. Ignatius statue topped the front entrance.
The football stadium, on the other hand, appeared somewhat less impressive, were it not for the sparkling dome of the school’s campus that made up the southwestern skyline, and the larger-than-life Willis Tower towering awe-strikingly close to the northeast. Stacks on stacks of Chicago-style pizza greeted them at the bleachers as game fuel. It was time: Blue Crew was ready to go, and seniors Tommy Wagner, Teddy Wagner, Brewer Hamilton, and Tommy Vacca painted the S, L, U, and H on their chests, respectively. Exciting touchdowns and plays spurred up energetic chants, despite the eventually overpowering force of the Wolfpack football team and its (co-ed) fan hoard.
“The game itself was a blast,” said Butler. “We were all excited to be there and we were enthusiastic about supporting our boys. We ran into some trouble with the refs about using our drum, but outside of that we had a great experience. Even though the football team didn’t win that day, everyone was still glad that we went and supported our team. We made our boys feel loved on Friday. That’s what mattered to me.”
It was not only SLUH students in attendance at the game, but a shocking number of family members and alumni.
“Highlight of my alumni event today was seeing my cousin in the football game, Anthony Bené,” said Jake Pizzitola ’15. “And honestly, catching up with my favorite teacher at school, Frank Corley.”
The Advancement Team had hosted an alumni event at an alumni-owned bar nearby, and many alumni came to the game afterwards.
“I got myself a couple copies of the Prep News, I got myself a koozie,” added Pizzitola.
With the sun far below the horizon, the boys in blue (apparel and skin) retreated back to their bus in defeat, where their mood was lifted by the returning face of the beloved bus driver, Christie.
“I would drive this bus to the end of the world for y’all,” Christie announced as they reboarded, to deafening cheers.
But the lights turned off as the wheels again began to roll back to St. Louis, quickly dampening the energy of the bus’s inhabitants. A few hours ticked by, and I began to drift off to an uncomfortable sleep.
I awoke in a hazy state, and with the faint light from the front of the bus, I took it all in: senior Chase Hatch sat next to me, stoic, staring forward as he listened to his music. Butler was standing in the front of the bus—and had been for the past half hour, conversing cordially with the few freshmen up there. But the most unbearable part was the heat. Senior Alex Rose clambered up from the back of the bus as if emerging out of a jungle. Fittingly, he was shirtless.
“It’s hot as hell back there,” he said.
Fog had crept up the windows, I noticed. Those around me seemed similarly to be arising, confused, like zombies from a disturbed sleep. Now, after a wolfpack ambush, we had been met by the true trials and tribulations of our quest.
Christie pulled over to an indistinct Illinois rest stop to let us out for some air, doing her best to reassure us now and then the journey continued with some hope in each of our hearts. But, the bus quickly heated up again like a pot of boiling water. I checked my phone, thinking it might have been 11:30 p.m. or so by then—it was 1:30 a.m.
“The ride back was a challenge,” said Butler. “We were tired and we were ready to go home. Physically, it was a hot and muggy ride. The AC unit wasn’t working great and the defroster was kicked up at the front of the bus. For us in the back, that wasn’t a great situation.”
One more stop—this time, at a Love’s—gave the Jr. Bills one last breath of fresh air before diving back into the humid bus for one final hour. The eventual arrival of the Arch and then the familiar steeples on Oakland Ave. struck joy and relief into the hearts of each Jr. Bill. Quest: complete. Self-knowledge acquired? Perhaps.
“I thought people made the best of it,” said Corley.
No matter how slaphappy, irked, or exuberant the Jr. Bills felt as the bus pulled into Drury Plaza, no feeling could overcome that of sheer exhaustion.
“When I got back to SLUH, I went to a friend's house because I live far away and I didn't trust myself to stay awake for the long drive home at 3:30 a.m,” said Shah.
“For me, it was the normal: shower, a mix of TikTok and Instagram Reels, and a long night’s sleep. I woke up at 3:30 p.m. the next day. It was a long, long night, and I felt disgusting when I got home,” said senior Butler.
The adventure, despite its oddities, was not short of any classic Jr. Bill bonding. It was a formation of brotherhood.
“The group dynamic was good, because we were all there working together to support the football team,” said Shah. “This will definitely be one of my strangest memories at SLUH, but it was super fun, and I'm glad I went.”
The idea for such a trip was originally formulated in an early-summer meeting with Corley, Butler, and Student Body Vice President Will Kreuter. The idea was then bounced off of all of StuCo at the annual retreat, and Butler chose the name “Battle for I-55 Spirit Bus”, over some other ideas such as “The Holy War” (perhaps a little too religiously blunt).
“I grew up a big baseball fan, and I remember driving around on summer evenings with my dad and hearing him talk about the Battle for I-55 between the Cardinals and Cubs,” said Butler. “It felt like a natural fit.”
Although Stewart’s claim that the bus trip was SLUH’s first of the 21st century remains unverified, all signs point to yes. According to Corley, his tenure hasn’t seen any such trip, rivaled only by buses to the Enterprise Center for the hockey state championship game.
“(Fr. Stewart) has a tendency to just say stuff,” said Corley.
It was, indeed, the first fan trip of such a size and length to take place in any known recent history for a sporting event—but hopefully not the last.
“The Battle for I-55 game is a one-of-a-kind memory,” said Butler. “Nothing will ever really compare to that for me. That’s what made this such a great experience: we established the foundations for a great new SLUH tradition. My only hope is that this continues to happen long after I graduate. I hope the generations that come after me can share in what we started last week.”