In a celebratory mood, Martha’s Vineyard football fans, families, and athletes filled the McCarthy stadium parking lot on Sunday for a tailgate ahead of the highly anticipated Island Cup, to be held at Fenway Park on Tuesday.
Delicious foods filled car trunks and truck beds, vehicles were decorated with spirited messages like “Harpoon the Whalers,” and “Smack that ACK,” and senior players shattered a coffin — littered in Nantucket insignias — with sledgehammers.
After the tailgate, attendees piled into vehicles and formed a line led by Island fire trucks and police cruisers. The Island Cup parade first made its way past Vineyard Haven’s Five Corners, then over to Circuit Avenue in Oak Bluffs before trekking down to Main Street in Edgartown, past the Wharf and finally back to the high school to culminate the event.
The Island Cup is kicking off at Fenway Tuesday at 5 pm. There are still 12 seats available on the Vineyard’s community bus set to depart from Woods Hole — leaving after the arrival of the 1:15 pm ferry. The Touchdown Club’s Island Cup day planner includes links and guides to bus registration, Island Cup tickets, pregame party directions, and favorable boat times.
“Across the board, we are all super-excited about this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at Fenway Park. For them it’s a big stage, something bigger than their Island for sure,” said Kim D’Arcy from the Martha’s Vineyard Touchdown Club. “It’s also unique because the season goes on a little longer than usual, and the team is excited about it.”
For those who can’t make it to Boston for the Island Cup matchup, the Martha’s Vineyard Touchdown Club will be livestreaming the game on its Facebook page.
Read our coverage looking at the head-to-head match up here.
