Southern Tailgating

As I think I say every year... It's fall, y'all!!! And with fall comes football. A few weeks ago, we went to our first Ole Miss (hubby's alma mater) game of the season. That being said, with this being the first day of October I'd like to dedicate the next few posts to football. Here are some pics from our southern tailgate in The Grove:

 

Our tailgate 

For those of you who don't know, everyone tailgates at The Grove at Ole Miss. It's a big grassy area in the middle of campus. Although, we're tailgating there aren't any cars so there are no actual tailgates. Ole Miss fans go all out and will set out china and have chandeliers hanging from their tents. People will get there the night before an stake out their spot. Some people have had the same spot for years and actually pay a service to go set up their spot for them. No joke. What a great way for college kids to make some extra money, right?

Our friends, Kayce and Matt Riva. Kayce sat for 7 hours the day before to make sure we had this spot! That's dedication!

 

My friend, Tilly. We our Tennessee girls who have managed to find us some Ole Miss Rebel guys. 

 

In the game:

 

Fins up! The Ole Miss defense is called the Landsharks. Our friend, Gordon (the super tall guy) scored us these awesome foam fins. Thank goodness, since Miley ruined foam fingers. 

 

Thanks to my friend, Aimee, who sent me the link to this. It's so true! I made a few notes.

Football in the North vs. South

Planning for the fall football season in the South is radically different than up North.

For those who are planning a football trip South, here are some helpful hints.

Women's Accessories:

NORTH: Chap Stick in back pocket and a $20 bill in the front pocket.

SOUTH: Louis Vuitton duffel with two lipsticks, waterproof mascara, and a fifth of bourbon. Money not necessary - that's what dates are for.
Yes, I had a flask in my purse to sneak in for the guys to pour in their drinks. Ok, maybe not just the guys.

 
Stadium Size:

NORTH: College football stadiums hold 20,000 people.

SOUTH: High school football stadiums hold 20,000 people
The University of Tennessee's stadium holds over 100,000 people.

 
Fathers:

NORTH: Expect their daughters to understand Sylvia Plath.

SOUTH: Expect their daughters to understand pass interference.

 
Campus Decor:

NORTH: Statues of founding fathers.

SOUTH: Statues of Heisman trophy winners.

 
Homecoming Queen:

NORTH: Also a physics major.

SOUTH: Also Miss America.

 
Heroes:

NORTH: Rudy Giuliani

SOUTH: Archie & Peyton Manning
UT has streets named after Peyton (his alma mater) and Ole Miss' speed limit thru campus is 10 MPH (Archie's number)

1st Ole Miss game I attended

 

Getting Tickets:

NORTH: 5 days before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus.

SOUTH: 5 months before the game you walk into the ticket office on campus, make a large financial contribution and put name on a waiting list for tickets.

 
Friday Classes After a Thursday Night Game:

NORTH: Students and teachers not sure they're going to the game, because they have classes on Friday.

SOUTH: Teachers cancel Friday classes because they don't want to see the few hung over students that might actually make it to class.

 
Parking:

NORTH: An hour before game time, the University opens the campus for game parking.

SOUTH: RVs sporting their school flags begin arriving on Wednesday for the weekend festivities. The really faithful arrive on Tuesday.

 
Game Day:

NORTH: A few students party in the dorm and watch ESPN on TV.

SOUTH: Every student wakes up, has a beer for breakfast, and rushes over to where ESPN is broadcasting 'Game Day Live' to get on camera and wave to the idiots up north who wonder why 'Game Day Live' is never Broadcast from their campus.

 
Tailgating:

NORTH: Raw meat on a grill, beer with lime in it, listening to local radio station with truck tailgate down.

SOUTH: 30-foot custom pig-shaped smoker fires up at dawn. Cooking accompanied by live performance from the Dave Matthews Band,... who come over during breaks and ask for a hit off bottle of bourbon.

 
Getting to the Stadium:

NORTH: You ask 'Where's the stadium?' When you find it, you walk right in.

SOUTH: When you're near it, you'll hear it. On game day it is the state's third largest city.

 
Concessions:

NORTH: Drinks served in a paper cup, filled to the top with soda.

SOUTH: Drinks served in a plastic cup, with the home team's mascot on it, filled less than half way with soda, to ensure enough room for bourbon.

 
When National Anthem is Played:

NORTH : Stands are less than half full, and less than half of them stand up.

SOUTH: 100,000 fans, all standing, sing along in perfect four-part harmony.

 
The Smell in the Air After the First Score:

NORTH: Nothing changes.

SOUTH: Fireworks, Gunpowder (from the cannon in the end zone), with a touch of bourbon.

 
Commentary (Male):

NORTH: 'Nice play.'

SOUTH: 'Dammit, you slow sumbitch - tackle him and break his legs.'

 
Commentary (Female):

NORTH: 'My, this certainly is a violent sport.'

SOUTH: 'Dammit, you slow sumbitch - tackle him and break his legs.'

 
Announcers:

NORTH: Neutral and paid.

SOUTH: Announcer harmonizes with the crowd in the fight song, with a tear in his eye because he is so proud of his team.

 
After the Game:

NORTH: The stadium is empty way before the game ends.

SOUTH: Another rack of ribs goes on the smoker, while somebody goes to the nearest package store for more bourbon, and planning begins for next week's game.

Nothing else in the universe comes even halfway close to the glories of Southern football!

 
And for SEC Fans:

HOW MANY SEC STUDENTS DOES IT TAKE TO CHANGE A LIGHT BULB?

At VANDERBILT: it takes two, one to change the bulb and one more to explain how they did it every bit as good as the bulbs changed at Harvard.

At GEORGIA: it takes two, one to change the bulb and one to phone an engineer at Georgia Tech for instructions.

At FLORIDA: it takes four, one to screw in the bulb and three to figure out how to get stoned off the old one.

At ALABAMA: it takes five, one to change it, three to reminisce about how The Bear would have done it, and one to throw the old bulb at an NCAA investigator.

At OLE MISS: it takes six, one to change it, two to mix the drinks and three to find the perfect J. Crew outfit to wear for the occasion.
Yes, I know Kayce and I searched for perfect outfits for the game.

At LSU: it takes seven, and each one gets credit for five Semester hours.

At KENTUCKY: it takes eight, one to screw it in and seven to discuss how much brighter it seems to shine during basketball season.

At TENNESSEE: it takes ten, two to figure out how to screw it in, two to buy an orange lampshade, and six to phone a radio call-in show and talk about how much they hate Alabama.
Yup, we HATE Alabama. It's a lot harder to be a Tennessee fan than an Alabama fan!

At MISSISSIPPI STATE: it takes fifteen, one to screw in the bulb, two to buy the Skoal, and twelve to yell, 'GO TO HELL, OLE MISS'.

At AUBURN: it takes one hundred, one to change it, forty-nine to talk about how they did it better than at Bama, and fifty to get drunk and roll Toomer's Corner when finished.

At SOUTH CAROLINA: it takes 80,000, one to screw it in and 79,999 to discuss how this finally will be the year that they have a decent football team.

At ARKANSAS: None. There ain't no 'lectricity in Arkansas

 

It's all in good fun!!! Go big orange and hotty toddy, y'all! Stay tuned for my next post on tailgating recipes!