For game-day revelers across the South, the food rivals the football.
She has come to drop off an overflowing platter of perfect pimiento cheese sandwiches.
In that instant, a young man swoops in, swipes the tray, and flees the scene.
Credit: Yeji Kim
Several menintended recipients of the sandwichesembark on a mission to find the culprit and recover the contraband.
“It was so funny,” Lang says.
“Only in college football.”
Credit: Caitlin-Marie Miner Ong
Fall Saturdays offer a release valve that we anticipate all year long.
So why did the practice become so popularand frankly, extremein the South?
You won’t find the answer in history books.
The practice became forever associated with football during the inaugural Princeton University-Rutgers University game in 1869.
No sign of Southern leadership thus far.
She’s one of only a handful of academics who’ve actually studied tailgating in America.
For example, based on sheer numbers, the University of Michigan outranks us all.
But the South is unparalleled in its investment.
A turkey fryer is a huge commitment.”
The Bulldogs aren’t alone.
The University of Texas at Austin tailgates are dotted with big pit barbecues on trailers.
“That’s going to take 10 to 12 hours and tells you how dedicated these people are.”
Credit: Caitlin-Marie Miner Ong
Depending on game time, those chefs might have to start roasting in the middle of the night.
Her family is part of a tailgating collective that goes back 15 years.
“The real hero is not the chef,” she says.
Credit: Julia Bohan-Upadhyay, Kailey Whitman, and Caitlin-Marie Miner Ong
“It’s the project manager.”
“It’s a tremendous amount of work,” Heiskell says.
“I’ve never been much of an athlete, but I am incredibly competitive.”
Prized Plots and Hangout Spots
Perhaps no aspect of tailgating is more competitive than the site stakeout.
“You’re homesteading in the College of Business parking lot,” Franklin explains.
“Friday night is round one,” he explains.
People pregame while cooking and prepping.
“I don’t think some people ever go to sleep,” Franklin says.
Among those who do, many must rise at dawn to keep cooking.
As Franklin says, “It’s not for the faint of heart.”
At tailgates, rivalries also show up on the menu.
It’s common practice to sacrificially cook a representation of your opponent’s mascot.
“When we played Arkansas, we roasted a hog whole,” recalls Ray of his UT days.
It’s an expression of local culinary pride.
At UT games, “regional favorite” means one thing and it’s not pork.
Credit: Caitlin-Marie Miner Ong
If the game is early in the day, fans cook up another Austin staple: breakfast tacos.
More than being a kid-friendly crowd-pleaser, chicken tenders have restorative properties.
Franklin says LSU fans also appreciate handheld foodsbut merely as appetizers.
Credit: Julia Bohan-Upadhyay
You read that right: In Baton Rouge, the menus are coursed.
“There are some significant entrees involved,” he says.
“You’re not going to get just a hot dog or hamburger.”
South Louisianans might serve their main course with a green salad and French bread.
Jambalaya is common, along with all manner of fish dishes.
And when the weather turns crisp, big cauldrons bubble with gumbo.
“Everything in Louisiana revolves around eating and drinking,” Franklin says.
“We are very prideful about food.
It’s part of who we are as people.”
Although menus shift from region to region, each stays basically the same from year to year.
That’s part of the appeal.
Today, we constantly text and FaceTime, which means we rarely show up unannounced.
Also, we’ve replaced front porch conversation with Facebook and sidelined picnics in favor of Uber Eats.
Tailgating reminds us how to connect the old-fashioned wayby socializing over food.
The American Tailgaters Association reports that 30% of tailgaters never even enter the stadium.
College football provides that clearly delineated schedule, not unlike a calendar of holidaysand of course, fandom.
We always have and always will.
Football may be king, but tailgating is closer to God.
