First you start off with one tent canopy, then two, then four! And that card table, its been replaced with new light weight folding tables designed specifically for tailgating. You have to keep a roll of duct table and a bag of zip ties handy to pull it all together or to make a repair or two. In the "old days" you paid college kids to reserve your space and to set up the tents and tables. Now you have companies that set everything up for you, for a price! These crews spend Friday afternoon and nights setting up your tents, tables, chairs, generator, satellite, and wide screen TV. You can for a fee, have an ice chest delivered full of your favorite beverages. Even the food can be delivered, so that you can walk up with only your pom pom and ticket in hand!
Our crew is budget minded. We pay for the setup of two canopy tents, and three tailgate tables. On game days with a 3:00 or later kickoff, we will double the covered space with two more canopies. The early arrivals put out the table cloths, decorate the table, and hang the banners and other items that have been collected over the years. With the arrival of yet another mascot at the town up north, there is even more collectibles being added to the mix!
I got smarter a few seasons back. I put luggage tags on all my tents, and chairs. The tables have names and telephone numbers on them. We all have the fold up wagons for the mule train back and forth to the parking lot.
The "Grove" is gathering place with electrical connections scattered throughout. Generators are where there is no outlet. No grills or appliances of any kind are allowed in the inner circle. The grilling occurs on the outer asphalt pavement, or across the street. We are across the street, and are blessed with our resident chef Kyle!
This was Kyle's week to be responsible for set up and clean up. With Bama coming to town, and both quarterbacks from the Pacific Isles, his choice of a Hawaiian theme was a no brainer. For the last two weeks the UPS truck was a regular at his door with boxes from Amazon! He and his wife Casie were all in! Go big or go home!
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| Kyle & Casie |
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| You have to have a palm tree! |
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| Blow it up! |
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| Kyle adding more decor! |
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| Kyle spared no expense! |
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| Sharknado! |
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| You have to feed the Mascots! |
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| that elephant never had a chance! |
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| Table is set, including grilled pineapple with Spam! |
Even security got into the act! Here is our buddy Possum!
And of course it wouldn't be a tailgate in the Grove without a couple of pictures of the ritual sacrifice of a few cases of beer:
Lots of fun was had by all!
During the middle of the day, Kyle looked at me, and asked, "should we do all this every game???? As we were taking it all down, he then asked, "would the set up fee double if we added the two extra tents?" By the end of the night he and I were totally exhausted, only to be saved by our spousal units.
Next week has an 11:00 kickoff. No extra tents, or excessive decorating for us! Is gonna be mimosas and breakfast snacks with one easy trip to the parking lot after the game!
Happy Tailgating errybody!
