After having a much-needed burger in front of a certain fraternity very late Saturday night, I was reminded of a great American pastime: tailgating. Tailgating is an American sports tradition that separates the adults from the children. With a real grill, plenty of meat, the right side dishes and friends, any sporting event can become a culinary event as well. As a female friend of mine wrote to me last night, "It sucks that we don't have a school tailgate. I am serious -- we have a huge drinking culture, super loyal alumni, and yet we are one of the only schools I know that doesn't get everyone together before football games." While this is a bit of an exaggeration, it goes without saying that tailgating gets even the most casual of sports fans in the right mood to watch a game.
Part of this tailgating problem has to be chalked up to a lack of parking. Tailgating is, generally speaking, oriented around a vehicle (how else do you transport the food?), and without parking next to the stadium, we suffer from a lack of proximal space. The timing is also a little difficult, especially for those who went out on Friday night. For a 12:30 p.m. football game, you reasonably need to start tailgating around 11 a.m. (or at least the people grilling do), which might seem a little early. Though I'd push the athletic department for a 2:00 p.m. start in order to allow for an easier tailgate, I doubt they'd find it a reasonable excuse.
Among the many things that Dartmouth students regularly enjoy, meat and beer are two of the foremost. To understand this, just attend the Theta Delt pig roast. Now if Theta Delt was willing to push this earlier in the day, before the start of the big game, we could have had a nice little compromise on our hands.
It could just be that most people don't get to Dartmouth football games by kickoff. Tailgating should theoretically end the second the game starts (unless of course you don't have tickets and just want to grill outside of the stadium, which is perfectly legitimate in my book). Nor do people regularly engage in planning events for Saturday mornings, which would involve buying large quantities of meat on Friday and storing them overnight. It isn't a lot of work, but the payoff is immense.
With all of these potential problems standing in front of creating a tailgating culture, I offer you a few alternatives. First off, though tailgating is often mentioned in relation to football, there is absolutely no reason it cannot be done for any other sport. My initial assumption was that tailgating equaled football, but why does that need to be the case? Most other venues on campus have better tailgating spaces (i.e. outside parking), and though most people don't have portable grills all ready to go, it's a worthy investment (I'm looking at you freshmen) for four years of wholesome pleasure. You could tailgate soccer, lacrosse, hockey, field hockey, etc. and all would add to the Dartmouth sporting experience. A quick look at the Dartmouth athletics website informed me that the women's hockey game this Friday night is the only tailgate-worthy event on the schedule this weekend (a tennis tournament and tailgating just don't seem to go together in my book). The weekend of Nov. 2, however, most Dartmouth teams are at home, including a couple of perfectly timed mid-afternoon games (who cares if it's snowing by then?).
Tailgating Dartmouth sporting events won't make our teams any better, but it will make your sporting experiences much more enjoyable.
Tailgating brings people together, both friends and strangers, students and alumni. It's a community-building experience and for a school as small and rural as Dartmouth, community is of the utmost importance. Moreover, there aren't many good reasons why Dartmouth can't develop a tailgating culture. As far as I can tell, this school loves grilling, and no one would argue it doesn't love drinking. Tailgating is certainly less expensive than going out for food (and more cost-effective than DDS as well). A well-fed and socially lubricated fan is both a happier spectator and a more engaged observer. If large quantities of food don't get Dartmouth students out to sporting events, I don't know what will. Just don't forget to blitz me an invite when you're engaging in a little pre-game grilling session.
