Tailgating: SU’s 19th sport

When recreational vehicles drive over”The Hump” into the parking lot adjacent to the F.G. Clark ActivityCenter and A.W. Mumford Stadium parking lots, everyone knows that it isFriday-the night before a home football game-and it all equals to tailgating.
Diehard Jaguar fans head to their reservedspots, park their RVs and prepare for a huge party before the big game day.
Barbecue pits, butane tanks and plenty oflibations ate some of the essentials that tailgaters bring out.
“You need something to boil,” saidMichael Wells, SU financial aid counselor. “If you do not have turkeynecks and pig feet, it’s not a party,”
Over 20 years of tailgating experience areon Wells’ resume. He is the type of fan that you get an assortment ofstories of tailgating or football games.
He used to cook all of his food on a grill,but times have changed and so have his methods.
Now everything is cooked in a roaster orGeorge Forman grill. But the tailgating schedule is always the same.
After Wells leaves his office on Fridayafternoons, he heads to his home in Hammond and picks up his RV. He then fillsthe water, butane and gas tanks; and recruits fellow tailgaters. He thenreturns back to campus in order to prepare for weekend.
Being a tailgater in the Jaguar Nationdoesn’t come cheap.
The cost to buy a season parking permit is$180. Tailgating spots cost $50 to set a small tent up for cooking or up to$600 for large RVs. A small RV may run $40,000 and can run up to over $100,000.
Then there is the additional cost of buyingseason tickets, which is required by the SU Athletic Department because ofaccountability. Season tickets for a family of four could cost over $600.
“Tailgating numbers have consistentlygone up over the last three years and now that we have live entertainment andother attractions, we anticipate more people,” said Floyd Kerr, SUathletic director. “The Jaguars’ tailgating experience has turnedinto quite an event.”
On the morning of gameday, over 100 RVs parkin their designated spot. Even the local radio station participates intailgating, giving away free prizes and stage shows.
Aromas of crispy golden fried chicken andfish, crawfish with boiled neckbones, homemade moist cakes and other foodstuffsfill the air making passersbys’ mouths water and teeth grit; wishing itwere them tasting the wares.
Southern’s fans show true southernhospitality and are donned with SU paraphernalia everywhere.
They smile when one passes their camp, oftenoffering good home cooked food.
“I enjoy it. It’s good cleanwholesome fun meeting longtime friends and being with family andclassmates,” said 25-year tailgating veteran Charles S. Willams, 62, ofWhite Castle.
After eating all day and fraternizing orrelaxing with friends, game time approaches and everyone cleans up to head tothe stadium to support the Jags.
After the game, Jaguars’ fans begin tohead home and tailgaters go back to their RVs exhausted.
On Sunday, tailgaters are required to leaveby noon for cleaning operations. They then may go home to clean their vehiclesand start a new workweek, because the party begins all over again on the nextFriday before a home game.
“Its nothing like the JaguarNations’ spirit,” Wells said. “We entertain. We keep everyonehappy every football game.”