Situated between Alex Box Stadium and Tiger Stadium in Lot 404, a 45-foot flag pole marks the territory of a group of University alumni and their families that gather hours before each football game underneath six tents to cook, eat and enjoy each other’s company.
Rusty Welch, the creator of tigertailgating.com, said he has been tailgating in the same spot with the same group of people since he graduated from the University over 25 years ago. Their tailgate, Welch said, has been featured in Sports Illustrated four times and once on CNN. According to Welch, everyone in the group is a season ticket holder and have been since they graduated from the University.
The early kickoff for the Arkansas game had no effect on Tiger Tailgating. While some fans may be turned off to the idea of tailgating and eating burgers and chili in the early hours of the morning, Welch said the group came to their tailgate at 6 a.m. just like they do for every game. Some even camped out overnight at the tailgate.
While the group was happy to tailgate just as they do for each game, they do have their critiques. Early kickoffs are not a favorite among this crowd.
“We don’t like [the early kickoff],” Welch said. “But we did put a little something in our coffee!”
Before football season begins, the group decides the menu for each game and posts those menus on their website. For the Arkansas game, the menu consisted of “Rusty’s chili, deer chili, deer sausage, and Greg’s burgers.” On each gameday, Welch said the group feeds between 150 to 200 people.
Prior to this season, the group brought their own Mike the Tiger to the tailgate. Elmer, a large Great Dane, earned his stripes with spray paint and stood proudly at the front of the tailgate where he posed for pictures with fans passing by. When ESPN’s “College Gameday” came to campus, Elmer was often featured on the show. Elmer passed away last year, and while the family has another dog, they have decided not to bring him to games.
People from cities like Seattle and New York City found Tiger Tailgating’s website and contacted the group so they could come to Baton Rouge and experience what tailgating is like at the University. Welch said groups as large as 20 people have traveled to Louisiana, where they spend a few days in New Orleans, then come to Baton Rouge on Saturday for gameday. While some go to the game, others choose to stay behind and watch the game on the flat screen TV at the tailgate spot.
Each year, the group chooses a few away games to attend where they tailgate with fans of other teams that they’ve met over the years.
“Because of the relationships we’ve built up over the years, we can go another university and they reciprocate what we do for them here,” Welch said. “They ask us what kind of food we like, and they have it all… we’re building a bigger relationship among other teams.”
The group’s tailgate has become so popular that they have even received sponsorships, including a sponsorship from an ice chest company called Kysek. Kysek donated an ice chest to the group when the company was first established, and they asked the group to try out their product.
At the end of the day, the group values the spirit of tailgating and what Saturdays are supposed to mean for football fans, win or lose.
“Tailgating is about supporting your family, it’s about supporting your friends, it’s about supporting your team and it’s about having a good time,” Welch said. “And oh, yeah, by the way — there’s a football game.”
