IISPORTSII
HERE’S A PRIMER ON TAILGATING IN THE SOUTH
BY TIM WOOD
Historians have somehow traced the modern tailgate to a college football matchup between Rutgers and Princeton in the College Field parking lot in 1869. And while we won’t argue with historians, I can tell you from growing up in New England that true tailgating begins once you hit the Carolinas. “It’s a cookout, a family reunion, a sports bar and a fashion show all in one,” said Bluffton resident Erik Bridges, a recent Lowcountry import who has been tailgating at Clemson University games for 22 years. “I’m from New York, but my true baptism as a football fan happened at my first Tigers tailgate. It’s a fall ritual. Our social calendar year begins on September 1.” The post-World War II rise of the station wagon gave fans the perfect vehicle to haul their gear. Tailgating is a multi-generational art. Oldtimers perk up in voicing a combined disdain and envy of their hightech tailgating young’uns. “I hate being that ‘back in the day’ guy, but we were lugging 34-inch tube TVs that were easily 100 pounds,” said 73-year-old Hilton Head Island University of South Carolina tailgater Stu Blevins. “The grills weren’t portable, the coolers didn’t have wheels, we didn’t have mobile satellite dishes and you needed four extra car batteries just to get through a day of tailgating.” Tailgating truly became an industry in the ‘80s and ‘90s, and today, industry experts estimate that fans spend $20 billion per year on football alone. You’re late to the party? Hogwash. It’s never too late.
88 // H I LT O N H E A D M O N T H LY. C O M
