By Harold Robinson, CAPP
Okay. I may be a bit biased, but nobody does college football tailgating quite like the University of Mississippi, aka Ole Miss! With the football full swing, almost everything revolves around 7 autumn Saturdays—surely not that different from other places. Right? Other schools have long and storied football-related traditions, too. But tailgating? No one takes tailgating to an artform like Ole Miss!
A place in the Grove? Check. 10′ x 10′ tent? Check. Table and chairs? Check. Ole Miss swag and signs? Check. The good silver and dinnerware, linen table cloth and a floral centerpiece along with catered gourmet food? Wait. What?
I heard the stories but always thought they were exaggerations. The Grove and Circle on campus turn into a sea of 10 x 10 tents like other tailgating traditions, but mixed in with your traditional tailgaters are those who make Ole Miss special—tents decorated with fresh flower arrangements, tables covered in linens and their best severing dishes and silverware. Imagine someone transplanting Thanksgiving dinner from a formal dining room to a tent under the trees for an event steeped in tradition. There will be food of all varieties—some catered and some home cooked like grandma use to make—and always more than enough to go around. Many tents have small generators. How else will they power the TV and, yes, even the chandelier?
Some people come for the game, but almost as many come just for the Grove! Through it all, we park the cars and move people about.
Harold Robinson, CAPP, is the Assistant Director of Parking and Transportation Systems for The University of Mississippi. Harold can be reached at hdrobins@olemiss.edu.