AJC > Sports > Blog > Archives > 2007 > August > 25
Saturday, August 25, 2007
The five best places for tailgating
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Let’s take a short break from the X’s and O’s. A week from today a lot of you are going to be taking part in one of the most glorious traditions that the Good Lord ever put on this Earth: tailgating. I don’t get to do a lot of it on Saturdays in the fall because I’m working. But when I do, here are my top five places to tailgate in the South:
1. Ole Miss: There is nothing quite like a Saturday afternoon at the Grove, where you will see everything from pickup trucks to silver candelabras on white linen table cloths. The last time I tailgated at Ole Miss was 2003 for Eli Manning’s last game against LSU. They estimated that over 10,000 people who didn’t have tickets stayed in the Grove and just had a big party while the game was going on.
2. LSU: There is no smell quite the combination of jambalaya and bourbon as it drifts through the parking lots around Tiger Stadium. There is no group of people who can put on their “game face” quite as well as the folks in the Bayou. Man, are they going to have some great parties this season!
3. Clemson: You see everything from fried chicken to a low country boil in that parking lot in front of the West end zone. I have never walked through that lot without a total stranger pulling me over and trying to feed me. I miss my good friend, Mr. Bob Bradley, who always welcomed us with Clemson’s legendary butterscotch brownies.
4. Georgia: In the interest of full disclosure, I have to confess that this is my alma mater and I started tailgating in Athens when I was just 12 years old. But even UGA’s rivals have to admit that it’s a good place to spend a college football Saturday.
5. North Carolina: With the Carolina pines that surround Kenan Stadium, it’s one of the most beautiful places in all of college football. There is a lot of football tradition in Chapel Hill, which is why the Tar Heels can’t wait until Butch Davis gets it going.
