Easterner

Issue date: 10/17/07 Section: Sports

Rise BYU Nation.

But please, leave the beer at home.

Tailgating is a rite of passage for college football fans, a social gathering unlike any other experienced by mankind. It's basically a religious experience without uncomfortable wood pews and those delicious bread wafers.

Just how important is tailgating to some fans? There are usually more people outside LSU's stadium during a game than inside. Keep in mind that the stadium holds over 93,000 people. They're basically just throwing one big party, only with southern cooking that could give Lance Armstrong high cholesterol and enough alcohol to kill Mick Jagger.

However, fans at Brigham Young do things a little bit differently.

According to the Cougars' media guide, "Hours before kickoff, fans gather across the street from LaVell Edwards Stadium for food and soft drinks, sharing stories of past football heroics and anticipating another triumphant victory."

Whoa. Whoa. Whoa. Soft drinks at a tailgate? That's like celebrating the Fourth of July by lighting a bunch of candles, or eating just one plate of food at the Golden Corral. It's un-American.

What kind of madhouse are the Eagles walking into? I'm sure that Head Coach Paul Wulff is worried about that Mountain Dew-induced crowd.

I hope by soft drinks they mean "We've held off on the Jack Daniels enough so that it doesn't burn the back of your throat."

I don't mean to rag on the Cougars; they won the Div. I-A football national championship in 1984 and have produced quarterbacks like Ty Detmer, Jim McMahon and Steve Young. There's a lot of history there, just not a whole lot of beer.

Hopefully BYU offers a variation of diet cola or at least some chocolate milk.

I would imagine that the Washington State football media guide, their mascot also being the Cougars, probably says something like, "Our students gather in Martin Stadium, hours before kickoff, already blacked out and wearing costumes that would make Oakland Raiders fans blush. Fans of the opposing team risk getting their tires slashed in the parking lot and the university employs a small army of cleaners to wash away all the puke after the game ends."

I was at Washington State's close loss to Arizona State on Oct. 6, and overheard the crowd management staff talking.

"If you have to use the taser, by all means, pull the sucker out."

Now that sounds like football.

Tailgating at Brigham Young University sounds about as exciting as a trip to a petting zoo, if all that petting zoo had were small house cats and a poodle. They serve plenty of soda at the local mini putt-putt golf course in Provo, Utah, why extend that to outside their football stadium?

Do they let their fans stay up past midnight on school nights?

There are simply way too many questions raised for these questionable tailgating rituals. Eastern Washington football fans can probably rest easy with the notion that they're probably having more fun this weekend than their Brigham Young counterparts.

Page 1 of 1

Article Tools