In my eyes, going to a football game always meant going to a tailgate.
The relationship between a game itself and the pregame tailgating is incredibly strong, especially if the two aren’t already synonymous in North American sports culture.
For those unfamiliar or totally uninterested in sports, tailgates are held before the games and usually consist of drinking, barbecuing, grilling, listening to music and playing games. These are held for all sports, but it’s football where it’s most popular.
With Ferris football’s first home game this past weekend, it also means that the Ferris community was also there for the first tailgate of the year. Before going to the Ferris tailgate, I realized that it’s been a few years since I’ve fully attended and fully enjoyed a tailgate.
This realization was a tad saddening. I’ve been “a sports guy,” if not “the sports guy” at the Torch for years. A lot of my life revolves around sports. I’ve been to games spanning across different leagues. But, I haven’t been tailgating in years.
Tailgating is the root of my relationship to football. My first brush with the sports phenomenon was when my parents took me to University of Michigan football games. Going to Ann Arbor and seeing thousands of people gather on lawns, golf courses and parking lots for the same reason is a somewhat beautiful memory. Even though it’s been years since I’ve dedicated a day to football and tailgating at Ferris, it’s still a central memory of when I first came to the university.
One of my earliest experiences at Ferris was witnessing a mass of people partying outside the Top Taggart Field. Families, fraternities and the student body were all present in one place. I’m willing to bet that those tailgates are still one of the largest crowds I have seen here. I know for a fact it’s the largest sense of community I have felt here.
There lies the unheralded beauty of the tailgate. No matter the size of the event, be it University of Michigan or Ferris State University, there’s a strong sense of community that lives in the tailgate. This uniquely American tradition is like no other. Two sides, in opposition, show up to the same place on gameday to flaunt their team’s colors. Those opposing sides end up drinking, eating or playing either together or side-by-side.
It’s most certainly human nature. The idea is even biblical, as it’s written that “a man hath no better thing under the sun, than to eat, and to drink and to be merry.”
What’s my point after everything I’ve said, you may wonder. It’s simple: tailgate. If there’s one single thing you do at this or any university, make sure it’s a tailgate.
Sure, sports isn’t your thing? Well, have a beer. Drinking isn’t quite your fancy either? That’s fine, try this crockpot chicken. I can go on and on about the universal pull that a tailgate can offer. Even if the food, the drinks, the games and the music won’t do it for you, there will always be camaraderie.
If there’s one thing I’ll regret not doing as much as a student, it’s going to tailgates. Not for the beer or the food or the game of cornhole that I’m awful at. It’s just the environment.
The crisp fall breeze is here. Alongside it is the game of football. That game of football brings forth a community that’s unique to the stadium they engulf. You won’t see that community any better than at a tailgate.