Rain or shine, LSU fans will tailgate for anything.
And was all sunshine for LSU’s opening weekend at Alex Box Stadium. The weather, unusually hot for February, brought out droves of tailgaters for Sunday afternoon’s baseball game.
With about an hour left before the first pitch against Wake Forest, a man drove up in a red truck.
Working to the sound of an oldies station, he pulled out two chairs, sat and waited until a friend eventually walked over to greet him.
Over at the stadium, “Baseball at the Box” blared from the loudspeakers.
“Tigers swing, Tigers groove, to Omaha they’re going to move,” the song cheerfully bounced along.
Together they sat, occasionally talking, but mostly listening to the music. This is baseball tailgating in all its glory.
Even in the fall, some long for spring and Omaha dreams. But mostly they long for these afternoons of sitting and talking.
There are no crystal chandeliers or elaborate setups around the Box. Sometimes it’s as simple as two chairs and one red truck.
Those who participate say they wouldn’t have it any other way.
Longtime LSU baseball fan Andrew Montero said he gave up on football tailgating a few years ago because it’s too much of a hassle. Instead, he bought an RV, nicknamed it the “Coonass Condo,” (complete with a sign) and started driving it to Baton Rouge for weekend baseball series.
Montero’s group laughed and ate in front of “the Condo” as they waited for the afternoon’s game. Occasionally, they joked about the difference between football and baseball tailgaters.
The difference, said Naomi McWillie, is as clear as night and day.
“It’s not fun,” McWillie said of football weekends. “Too many people.”
Not to mention, one of her friends said football people don’t clean up after themselves.
Spring tailgating is more relaxed and family oriented, McWillie continued.
“Everybody knows each other. Everybody knows each other’s kids,” McWillie said. “We look out for each other. We take care of each other. It’s just a family. It’s a big, big family.”
It’s the family atmosphere that attracted people like Doug Levet, who said he has watched kids grow up at his tailgate.
“The big difference is the people,” Levet said. “Baseball people are a lot better than the football people.”
Levet waved his arms toward his tailgate as he explained why.
“You see all this stuff we have here?” he said. “We can walk in the game, leave it set up. You do that in football, your own fans will steal it. That’s the significant difference.”
Levet said he has tailgated with the same group of people for more than 15 years, from the old Alex Box to the new one.
Years ago, Levet and his friends began the tradition of feeding the opposing teams and stadium workers during the weekend series. The tradition has stood the test of time as well as the move to the new stadium.
Levet said the administration was hesitant for the tradition to continue at the new Box, but eventually they relented.
“Last year we fed Brown [University] over here,” Levet said. “They came through here, wiped us out. No drinks, no food. They did the same thing to each of the guys down the way.”
Last Saturday, the tradition continued for another season. Levet’s group fed the Wake Forest team after Saturday’s game.
Wake Forest baseball coach Tom Walter said he has only seen that kind of hospitality in Louisiana.
“They’re the best,” Walter said of LSU’s fans. “We were very appreciative of that. We had a good time at the tailgate. We got to eat some good home cooking, which I’ve missed sorely since I’ve been gone. It was a good afternoon for us.”
Things have changed in the three years since the old Alex Box was closed down. For McWillie, it’s been a learning experience.
McWillie said all of the tailgaters were closer together at the old Alex Box. At the new stadium, tailgating has become more spread out, similar to football.
“Here, we’re so spread apart,” she said. “We had some wonderful times over there. It was just fun. I miss it every day. In fact, whenever they tore it down I actually cried.”
Montero said it took about a year for everyone to find one another again, but things have gotten back to normal.
As for McWillie, she’ll keep coming as long as her friends do.
“I’ll never stop tailgating for baseball,” she said.
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Contact Katherine Terrell at [email protected]
Baseball: LSU fans tailgate, keep up tradition at new Alex Box Stadium
February 23, 2011