In the South, there is only one thing that can rival college football itself: the party before kickoff.
Pinpointing the exact origins of tailgating is nearly impossible. Some trace it to Nov. 6, 1869, when New Jersey (which became Princeton) and Rutgers played in the first college football game. Others credit Green Bay Packers fans, who folded down pickup truck tailgates for makeshift pregame seating during the professional team’s inaugural season in 1919, before the NFL even began.
Arguments about who has the best tailgating traditions are as old as college football itself, and the creativity is as varied as the fans themselves. From Bevo Boulevard (Texas) and the Tiger Walk (Clemson) to the Vol Navy (Tennessee) and the “sailgating” outside Husky Stadium (Washington), the options are endless.
The tradition runs deep in the South, and few do it like LSU and Ole Miss.
It’s hours before kickoff on Sept. 27. Ole Miss is hosting LSU in its biggest game of the season so far, and tens of thousands of fans gather at the Grove, a 10-acre plot in the center of the Oxford campus surrounded by oak trees. The grassy area has transformed into a sea of red and blue tents decked out with chandeliers and elaborate spreads.
Anticipation builds for the Walk of Champions — one of the program’s longest-standing traditions where Ole Miss coaches and players are met with applause and “Hotty Toddy” cheers as the Rebels exit the buses and pass under the historic archway en route to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium.
Elizabeth Heiskell, a caterer from Oxford is at the center of it all. She became a Grove regular after marrying into the fan base, and she wouldn’t want it any other way.
“It is a beautiful space right in the middle of campus with gorgeous trees that have been here forever,” Heiskell said. “There’s just really no place like it. It’s not like we’re, you know, dropping a tailgate in some parking lot. I mean, it is so green and so beautiful.”
Like most Grovegoers, Heiskell is dressed for the occasion. She’s wearing a red-and-white blouse, gold jewelry and a fabulous pair of red sunglasses that tie the whole look together. This isn’t an outfit she just threw together; game-day getups are carefully curated.
“Of course everybody gets dressed up. I mean, we shop all year long for our game clothes,” she said. “When they say it’s a red game, honey, we’re all gonna wear red.”
The pregame buzz carries into the stadium, where nearly 68,000 fans watch Ole Miss hold off the Tigers for a 24-19 victory in Southeastern Conference play that keeps the Rebels undefeated.
Two weeks later, crawfish boils and Cajun spices replace the chandeliers and elegance of the Grove as the party moves 330 miles South to Baton Rouge.
Fresh off an open date, LSU is hosting South Carolina in Death Valley, where home-field advantage is alive and well, thanks to the Tigers’ passionate fan base.
Game-day preparation begins on Thursday nights for Wayne Breaux, a fisherman from New Iberia, Louisiana. He drives up to his condo near campus on Thursday night, reserves his spot on Friday, then begins the setup early Saturday. After 35 years, his tailgate has become quite the attraction. Breaux regularly welcomes football, basketball and softball coaches, as well as recruits.
“Tailgating is an event in itself. A lot of people, even if they don’t have tickets to the game, they’ll come out and enjoy the atmosphere, the friendship and the camaraderie,” Breaux said. “I love the football game itself, but tailgating is a very close second.”
Like every good tailgate, Breaux’s setup centers around the menu. His spread features speckled trout, redfish, steak tips, pork loin, and of course, jambalaya and boudin.
“We’ve got one rule,” Breaux said. “If you leave here thirsty or hungry, it’s your fault. It’s not mine.”