Gray skies, sprinkles and a blowout on the field left more wet, empty benches than fans at O’Shaughnessy Stadium as St. Thomas defeated Carleton College 65-6 for homecoming Saturday.

With the Tommies leading the Knights 37-0 at half and a light rain falling, many of the 2,750 fans began to clear the stands. Sophomore Ashley Wald said the weather didn’t dampen her homecoming spirit though.

“I wish it was a little bit nicer weather-wise, but it turned out pretty good,” Wald said. “Honestly, it is just always fun to get together and be able to celebrate like this. It really makes everyone proud to call themselves Tommies.”

Wald said she enjoyed seeing excited alumni who come back to cheer on the Tommies.

“The fans … and all the alumni coming back sharing their experiences really makes this fun. Plus it is fun to win, and getting free stuff is always nice,” Wald said.

Jim Kempainen, a safety on St. Thomas’ 1973 championship football team, said he comes back to watch all of the football games and enjoys being able to cheer on the Tommies as an alumnus.

“When I was here, I was playing football games, so that is what I was concentrating on,” Kempainen said. “Now it’s fun to come back and see all of the guys who I played with. (Homecoming is) a terrific time to come back,” Kempainen said.

Ron Ormberg, a defensive tackle on the 1973 championship team, said homecoming is a fun time to catch up with old teammates.

“Even though it was that long ago, you talk about things that happened just like it was yesterday. We feel pretty good about ourselves because when I came here, football was really bad. We were 1-9 my freshman year, and we ended up 9-1 my senior year. So we went through a lot and had a lot of fun,” Ormberg said.

Kempainen said he keeps in touch with about 20 of his old teammates.

“The football and the camaraderie (is exciting), and we’re telling stories about what happened many years ago,” Kempainen said.

Freshman Haley Gajeski said homecoming week made her feel welcomed as a Tommie.

“It’s really exciting being a freshman here during this time because the atmosphere is amazing. You’re meeting so many new and exciting people, and everything is just so diverse,” Gajeski said.

Ormberg said he keeps coming back because of the pride and passion that were instilled in him when he attended St. Thomas.

“It was four years of my life that were very good, and I wouldn’t trade them for anything,” Ormberg said.

Ormberg joked that the bragging rights he gets from being a St. Thomas graduate are something he enjoys, especially when he comes across alumni from other universities.

“It’s just kind of fun when you can go to the golf club and wear your St. Thomas hat and not take any guff from anybody anymore,” Ormberg said.

Sophomore Eric Laubach said homecoming has a much more inclusive environment than the Tommie-Johnnie game.

“The crowd here is not quite as rowdy or as intoxicated as Tommie-Johnnie, but you can tell it is much more collective,” she said.

Gajeski said homecoming has a way of bringing together the St. Thomas community.

“I feel like homecoming is more just about St. Thomas as a whole,” Gajeski said “The whole week has been fun just with celebrating St. Thomas as an entire university.”

Zach Zumbusch can be reached at zumb8499@stthomas.edu.