It’s 8:30 on a Thursday night at Bennigan’s restaurant, and the trickle of patrons leaving the dining area transforms into a steady stream.

Waiters begin to hover by the hostess, casually chatting in the dark entrance area. As they tend to sparse patches of customers and scoop up their remaining tips from vacated tables, a mass moves into sight. Six men, all over 270 pounds.

They pour through a set of double doors, which still manages to fit only one at a time. Restaurant manager Rob Malinowski escorts them to their usual spot. No one else takes a second glance.

For the eighth week in a row, the Syracuse offensive line visited its traditional Thursday night dinner.

‘They’re just like any other big boys that come in here,’ Malinowski said. ‘They take the same table by the TV, they eat like horses and they watch some football.’

But this year, there’s something special about being a member of Syracuse’s most prestigious Big Eaters Club. The members present at the weekly chapter meeting have helped the Syracuse offense rush for 2,083 yards despite an inconsistent passing game.

Each week opponents expect a heavy dose of running back James Mungro and offensive line starters PJ Alexander, Joe Burton, Giovanni DeLoatch, Nick Romeo and Sean O’Connor. And each week, they get it.

‘Our coaches are going to commit to the running game whether we like it or not,’ DeLoatch said. ‘Their focus is run the ball. We don’t mind getting dirty. I’m the type of guy who likes to get a little mud on me.’

Despite four seniors on the line (Romeo’s a sophomore), the tradition of Thursday night dinners began long before any of the current members arrived at SU.

This year, the offensive line kicked off its traditional night out during the second week of the season by feasting at Tully’s. But after Tennessee feasted on the Orangemen, 33-9, the seniors decided on a new locale.

The next week they visited Bennigan’s and followed it with a 21-10 victory over Central Florida. After the win, the seniors decided to stick with the lucky restaurant until they lost. The streak of meals reached eight, before Miami ended it.

O’Connor remembers finding out about the custom as a freshman sitting in an empty cafeteria. The elder members of the line that usually sat around him had turned to empty chairs as he sat through an unusually silent meal.

‘All of a sudden that first week rolls around and you’re the only offensive lineman around,’ O’Connor recalled. ‘Someone says, ‘They all go out to dinner on Thursdays.’ ‘

Four years later, his meals are far from quiet.

‘It’s just a hoot,’ O’Connor said. ‘I don’t understand how some of these places can stand us. We get a little rambunctious sometimes.’

Said offensive coordinator/offensive line coach George DeLeone: ‘I think they like to go and see who can eat the most. I’ll tell you one thing, wherever they go, the place must be losing money.’

If DeLeone can’t imagine a restaurant controlling his line’s appetites, it might be because he has a hard enough time controlling them in meetings.

‘Offensive linemen are always jokers,’ O’Connor said. ‘I think the offensive line is the best place to play. You might not get the glory, but there’s got to be more fun during meetings. I guess it’s because we were always the fat kids growing up so we learn how to take jokes and make jokes.’

DeLeone’s weekly meetings are a chance for fellow linemen to study the comic stylings of Alexander as much as for studying game film. The senior captain is the Orangemen’s reigning King of Comedy.

‘I joke on everybody,’ Alexander said. ‘I don’t have any favorites. I always get someone at some time or another. Someone’s always in the crosshairs.’

DeLeone is certainly among the captain’s most targeted victims.

‘(DeLeone) gets so into football sometimes he doesn’t realize what’s going on,’ O’Connor said. ‘He wears this bright orange wool hat. It’s like safety-cone orange, like a bright orange garbage can. You just look at him and go, ‘I don’t know.’ ‘

Team dinners and jokes have also helped the Orangemen laugh it up on the field and finish with a 9-3 record. Dinners have offered the offensive line time away from the stresses associated with practices, game days, hotel rooms and film machines. And the jokes have given the unit a feeling of family.

‘If you’re not a close-knit team you can’t go out and produce,’ DeLoatch said. ‘You need gel out there. Everyone on the line is like my brother. First string, second string, third string, they’re part of my family.’

Nights out have also given the starters, who have played together for two years, a chance to grow together.

‘Continuity in that position helps so much,’ DeLeone said. ‘They work so well together. That’s why they’re so tough. At the start of the year we told them they don’t have to be the best one-on-one. They have to be the best five-on-five.’

Throughout the season the emotional Alexander has assumed on-field leadership of one of the most experienced lines in the country. Burton leads the offensive line with 51 appearances while O’Connor and Alexander have 46 and 43, respectively. DeLoatch has participated in 20 games, while Romeo, the youngster, has taken the field in 23.

‘We depend on each other for everything,’ O’Connor said. ‘So it’s natural for us to hang out off of (the field). At this point, I can tell if a person is going to cut block or not just by the tone in their voice.’

In the season finale on Nov. 24 against Boston College, the group had plenty to celebrate. It was at its finest as Alexander and Co. led Syracuse to 322 yards rushing.

And you can bet Alexander let the Eagles know about it.

‘He’s the loudest,’ Romeo said. ‘He’s always saying something. It’s hard not to listen to someone that loud.’

But for a few minutes every Thursday, the offensive line doesn’t have to. Laughter can be heard throughout the night from the round table in front of the big screen. But not until after Alexander has finished his favorite meal – the Big Irish Burger.

‘Oh boy, can he eat,’ Malinowski said. ‘I’ve never seen anyone but him eat that burger without taking it apart.’

Published on December 4, 2001 at 12:00 pm