After looking at all the pictures of the various tailgates from this year, it seems to be a lot more tricked out than it was when I was a student. Would anyone happen to agree that tailgating at Rutgers has improved drastically vs. 20 years ago?
Tailgating scene: 20 years ago vs. The Present
- Thread starter MGSA99
- Start date
Yes it has. Just the size now makes it a lot better.
Old guy memory....I remember when you could pull in a half hour before kickoff and park near where the soccer field is now. Of course RU was only drawing maybe 18,000 on a good day.
Old guy memory....I remember when you could pull in a half hour before kickoff and park near where the soccer field is now. Of course RU was only drawing maybe 18,000 on a good day.
well 38 years ago as a frosh we were allowed to bring beer in plastic containers into the stadium, show an ID and sit wherever we wanted...but since that was inside the stadium..yeah, I guess outside is pretty intense nowadays [thumb2]
My high school buddy, a total sports nut, has both RU and Miami season tickets and is a Purdue alum. He's seen games at all B1G schools and most of the ACC. He said the tailgating scene at RU might not be as big as some schools, but nowhere he's been can top the front of the blue and yellow lots. It's big time college football. We hold a second fiddle to no one.
More evidence of the potential our program has IF IT CAN WIN SOMETHING. I disagree with the cynics who say the New York metro area is too enamored of pro sports to ever really care about college football and New Jersey too difficult to ever get many people behind the university. Our program's accomplishments are still very minor and yet we have this level of enthusiasm. Imagine what would happen if we had a team with exciting offense, regular visits to the Top 25, tough games with Ohio State and a trip to the Rose Bowl?
It is definitely more "tricked out!" Maybe a little too much IMO... I was going down the path of canopies, etc. and found out that it ended up being too damn much work. I plan for one or two big tailgates a year, and the rest of the time either pre-game at a bar or bring subs and beer.
I looked at our photos from the 90's and the big difference seems to be the equipment. The nice thing now is you can get your music out of a small blue tooth speaker instead of a giant boom box or tailgate speaker.
I looked at our photos from the 90's and the big difference seems to be the equipment. The nice thing now is you can get your music out of a small blue tooth speaker instead of a giant boom box or tailgate speaker.
When you were a student/ young alum your tailgate consisted of a Coors light party ball, Franzia box wine, chips/dip and a boombox. You've probably matured financially and in your eating/drinking requirements. And 20 years ago, you probably weren't checking out middle-aged alumni's tailgating spreads. You were watching a 20 year old spread her....
Been to many stadiums around the country. Rutgers scene is great but does not compare to SEC country. LSU Georgia Ole Miss are insane. Totally another level. Was lectured by an 80 year old women in Georgia how what the Northern schools do is not "real tailgating."
I get that the SEC is king of college football. The Grove, worlds largest cocktail party are all legendary. It's a way of life down there. However I'll still put us up there with just about anyone else.
And the other thing to keep in mind is who actually gets to tailgate in those "legendary" areas? It seems that unless you're really well connected at some of these larger schools your tailgate options are limited. At Rutgers, I can walk through a bunch of different lots and see people doing it right.
I agree. Rutgers scene is fantastic. Large uninterrupted fields close to the stadium are hard to find in a vast majority of the country. Just pointing out that the south is on another level. Their tailgates start on Thursday and that is not a joke. I showed up to a tailgate for Auburn-LSU in Baton Rouge on a Friday at noon and was the last member there. It was a Saturday night game!!
Outside of Ole Miss I totally disagree. Many SEC schools have tailgating along the streets, frat lawns, and local store parking lots. Few have expansive lots so close to the stadium like we do. And while Ole Miss is amazing it's very difficult to set up because of the no car rule.
Here's the sad thing - I graduated in '91 for reference - I remember more about the tailgating at Giants Stadium then I do at the campus stadium. Obviously did both, but for whatever reason the Giants Stadium scene has stuck with me more.
Well, that's where they played most of the big games for a long time. And they played all of the games there during the stadium renovation. So it makes sense that would be your main memory.
So, I checked. In 1995 home attendance was as follows:
Navy 34K
Cuse 33K
VT 19K
Pitt 19K
BC 20K
Navy and Pitt were the only home wins in a 4-win season.
I didn't have season tickets back in 90s, but I bought single game tickets for the games I wanted to attend. Back then, if you bought single game tickets, you could also buy a single game pre-paid parking pass for the blue and purple lots. If you didn't have a pre-paid pass, you could park at the RAC or in any other lot on Busch Campus for free (if there was space). I also sometimes tailgated in the Yellow or Scarlet lots with friends who had parking passes there.
So the biggest difference in tailgating was the crowds. Even the Scarlet and Yellow lots, which sold out, weren't full since a lot of people just didn't show up.
Other than the big crowds, the other big differences between tailgating 20 years ago and today are changes in technology and less formality.
But the hierarchy of the lots was still around 20 years ago.
The Scarlet Lot attracted the older crowd and more staid tailgates. I don't know that it was much different than now ... other than the fact that things weren't quite as informal 20 years ago as today. I remember several tailgates in the Scarlet Lot where people ate off real plates with real silverware and tablecloths. 20 years ago, I was too young to really enjoy the Scarlet Lot.
The Yellow Lot, from what I remember, was similar in atmosphere as today (maybe a little younger on average). People in the Yellow Lot were primarily season ticket holders who took their tailgating seriously. For me, at the time, it was the best tailgating scene at Rutgers.
The Blue Lot had the youngest season ticket holders, as well as single-game ticket holders who were savvy enough to buy their parking passes in advance. The front of the lot was students and young alumni. The sound technology was certainly different. But I remember some tailgates set up with a DJ. The back of the Blue Lot was a completely different story. The back of the Blue lot was mostly people who showed up within an hour of kickoff. They parked and headed into the stadium. A few would fire up a grill or have a few beers and a sub.
The Purple lot 20 years ago was dead. I don't think it had any season ticket holders (or if it did, only a handful who wanted to park on pavement and couldn't get into the Scarlet lot). The tailgate scene for the entire lot probably didn't consist of more than 8 grills and 2 footballs being tossed.
(As far as the comments about SEC tailgating, yeah they might have bigger crowds and show up earlier, but on the whole I don't think tailgating in the South is better than at Rutgers. When Outback Steakhouse, a company based in Florida, wanted to do a tailgate promotion for The Apprentice television show 10 years ago, they didn't go to an SEC tailgate; they came to Rutgers.)
The scene at The Grove at Ole Miss is awesome, but it's not real tailgating in my book. It's a bunch of canopies all bunched up in one specific area. In my book, there must be a tailgate involved to have a tailgate party.
THE GROVE. Cool, but not a real tailgate party (a social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle).
THE GROVE. Cool, but not a real tailgate party (a social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle).
That's because back then almost all of the big games were played at the Meadowlands.
The RU vs Princeton tailgates (almost always at Princeton ) were great as well !
The scene at The Grove at Ole Miss is awesome, but it's not real tailgating in my book. It's a bunch of canopies all bunched up in one specific area. In my book, there must be a tailgate involved to have a tailgate party.
THE GROVE. Cool, but not a real tailgate party (a social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle).
Very good point about lack of cars. You put cars in the grove, to make it a real tailgate, and it pretty much looks like this:
Technology and progress also have a lot to do with the difference. Generators, changes in grilling equipment canopies and things like Wegman's didn't exist 20 years ago.
The biggest change I remember is that we used to be able to leave just before halftime, pound beers for 15-20 minutes then go back into the stadium utilizing the unused tickets we were invariably eating each game due to lack of interest among friends/family.
In the 70's and early 80's we sometimes brought cans of beer into the stadium in a bag , nobody checked, and poured them into cups and drank freely. The good ole days, lol.
MrScrew would tell you that 25 years ago when he was first tailgating it was him, his best buddy, a couple of 12 packs and some subs from WaWa. Now that I'm in the mix we have tables, tents, chafing dishes and curtains and we tailgate for 12 hours.
there is something to be said for the tailgating back then. Yes it bigger and better now but there was a certain charm to that one lot which now is athletic fields and or part of the yellow lot. It was still a nice tailgating scene and even if the team was doing poorly you could still head out to the lots and party. Homecoming was always a huge event. I think now homecoming is just another game and has been for several years, it was almost better on that one day back then
That is so the truth...but my subs were from Quick Check or Washington Deli in town (doesn't exist anymore)!
Actually had a bunch of friends who tailgated at the Grove. Most of these people pay companies to set it up just like they did. Funny story cops told them don't leave your tent unattended or they will confiscate all alcohol. Well a few hours and many drinks later they forgot the rule. They all left came back to find all their liquor gone. They saw the cop who told them not to leave and he just looked at them and said "I warned you all". They actually called the company and said you never told us this, they agreed and brought out more liquor. It's really just the worlds largest catered event.The scene at The Grove at Ole Miss is awesome, but it's not real tailgating in my book. It's a bunch of canopies all bunched up in one specific area. In my book, there must be a tailgate involved to have a tailgate party.
THE GROVE. Cool, but not a real tailgate party (a social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle).
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How do they tailgate for multiple days? Do they stay over and restock their supplies?
I've seen tailgates all over the country. They may do it as good as I've ever done it... But never ever better.
I went to Mrs. Screw's tailgate Saturday... job well done. Still waiting to see what goes on in the yellow lot but most of the time looks like snooze fest.
I went to Mrs. Screw's tailgate Saturday... job well done. Still waiting to see what goes on in the yellow lot but most of the time looks like snooze fest.
Grove is amazing place to visit but I wouldn't want to do it every week. Such a pain in the ass with the wagons, carts, etc.The scene at The Grove at Ole Miss is awesome, but it's not real tailgating in my book. It's a bunch of canopies all bunched up in one specific area. In my book, there must be a tailgate involved to have a tailgate party.
THE GROVE. Cool, but not a real tailgate party (a social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle).
Funny, but I remember the tailgates at Princeton being great as well. I seem to remember them better than the Rutgers tailgates during the same years. But that was a long time ago.
