Tailgating is a Wonderful Thang

Each home date on Football Saturday is a unique tailgating experience week in and week out.  Today's  experience was no exception.

Our crew is quite a collection of souls, all joined together for the common purpose of tailgating, Grove style.  Some are from the Jackson metro area.  Others are from the Gulf Coast, Vicksburg and a few other Mississippi communities.  But, we have others that come each home game from Birmingham, and some from as far away as Kansas!  Today,  one guy and his wife made their annual trek down from the frozen tundra of Wisconsin.  This group of folks all have one thing in common, their love for their university and their team called the Rebels.  We unofficially call ourselves the HYDR 38 Tailgating Crew!

Our table is always overflowing with quite a variety of food galore!  Many a stranger from a visiting team has stopped by with an inquiry and left with a full stomach, leaving with a passing comment of  "wait til the boys back home hear about this!"

Texas A&M was here for the first time since joining the SEC.  We saw quite a few Texas tags on the way.  The Grove dress color for the day was navy blue.  The flow of fans into the Grove was a stream of blue, as suggested for the day, mixed with a hint of maroon  from the visitors from east Texas.

The fashion police was on duty, at the corner of Grove Loop and University Avenue.   We were not to be disappointed.   We had out chairs all lined up, several dad's among us.  The dresses were indeed blue.  The dresses were indeed short.  The dresses were indeed sheer.  Commando was the word of the day.  Some of the dads were on hand to see it for the first time.  Within minutes they all were in agreement, they had heard about it, but had to be here to see it them selves.  Each with a teenage daughter, and all commented, "not on my watch!"  I just chuckled and said, "well you will be living up here and watching her walk out the front door each morning!"  One word responses : "yep".

It more than the dresses.  Eyes became trained to catch the oncoming herd, searching out that unsuspecting soul with the thin Wallyworld bag in hand.  Alert!  Alert!   Will the Popo see it too?!  And yes they do!  The looks on these folks, young and old, is priceless!  We begin to add commentary to the looks they are giving!  The best one was from an elderly TSUN statesman, "you are not serious.  Do you realize the size of the checks I write to the University every year?"  Popo "yes we do, and thank you very much!"

The funniest one, the guy is cool, calm, collected, following the crowd past the Popo station.  Someone suggested that he might want to cover it up, he does, but it's too late!  Busted!

The biggest haul came early.  A pickup truck, just in from east Texas, pulls up to the corner,  two guys dressed in maroon jump out, and they quickly stack up six cases of brew in the grass next to the sidewalk.  The early bird Popo walks up and thanks them for the early delivery.  He then instructs them to carry all six cases over to the red trash can and begin popping and pouring!

The funniest transport was a red radio flyer wagon.  No handle.  Dude had rigged up a net to use to pull it along, with the wagon swaying back and forth as he walked and pulled.  In the wagon was a mint green $400 Yeti full of beverages and ice.  The dude can afforder the cooler and contents, but has this jack leg wagon contraption???

Our neighbors, year in and year out at this spot are a group from Eupora.  They are the snooty kind.  They pay to have their tents, tables, and chairs at the ready each game, but only come to a few.  Some weeks back the elder statement of the group made a comment that our tents, chairs, and guests were much too close to their setup.  We subsequently made arrangements to have "some space" in between.  Well, on this day, a new tent has arrived,  setup in "their" green space.  The dude was overheard saying "this will not do at all.  Wait till I talk to our tent setup guy!"  Good luck with that!  I looked over on his table and saw this nice, new shiny red soft sided cooler bag.  On the side was a logo, "University of Mississippi Loyalty Foundation ".  I'm guessing this new bag cost this old fart $10,000 or more!  Hobby Lobby big boy!

I saved the best for last.  The spousal unit got an email early in the week, from a guy from Chicago, who we met six years ago in the Grove.  He still had her business card.  He was coming down for this game, and remembered how much fun he had on his last visit.  The spousal unit gave him directions on how to find our group, and gave him a refresher course of "Grove Etiquette", i.e. beer containers, etc....  the guy shows up, with eight of his buddies from a variety of northern countries.  They all flew into Memphis, rented two cars, and had rented an Oxford house for the weekend.  None of these guys had any ties to the school, but a niece from Texas was a freshman.  It was all about experiencing the Grove and SEC football!  They, as instructed, had their beer in several Styrofoam coolers, with loose fitting tops.  One guy was holding his a bit too tight, and as he walked up the top popped up.  Busted!  The insuing conversation with the local Popo was hilarious!

It seems that each week there is a new story to tell, but it all starts with friends and fellowship of the HYDR 38 tailgating crew!  Hobby Lobby!  A few more games left, stay tuned!