Tailgating shows spirit

The scent of brats and burgers in combination with pre-football excitement lied in the air Saturday just before noon.

Students, as well as parents and other football fans kept streaming into the K parking lot south of Husky Stadium, to celebrate this weekend's homecoming football game between the Huskies and the UMD Bulldogs.

"We are just trying to get the families and parents together and get excited about the game," said Julie Kees, who has two sons on the SCSU football team.

Under a big white tent that read "Husky Boosters" on its side, in front of a large motor home that one family drove up from Wisconsin for the game, the parents, friends, and some ex-players served food while mingling and analyzing the upcoming game.

"It's a critical game because of the team's record," explained Kees. "Whoever wins this game wins the Northern Division."

Kees said the fact that it is homecoming adds excitement to the game, but the football parents tailgate every weekend - no matter if it is homecoming or not.

"There are already a lot of parents and people from the community who come before the games and like to tailgate," said Matt Trombley, director for the Center for Student Organizations & Leadership Development. "We try to pass that on, to create a tradition with the students."

Therefore, the school decided to integrate this weekend's tailgating as part of the homecoming schedule.

"This is the second year we are trying this," Trombley said.

Students have been encouraged to go to K-Lot in groups or organizations and participate in a tailgating contest, where their different stands were judged on criteria such as Husky spirit, creativity of the stand and food selection.

However at the actually tailgating event it seemed that the contest was not the main focus of the different groups. About 50 students showed up, mingling among each other, and merging with the groups of non-student tailgaters.

Duane Corrigan and his brother Dale are members of the self proclaimed "SCSU Fan Tailgating Crew." With their grill, different types of meats, snacks, and salads, both Duane and Dale and some of their friends are located in the center of the parking lot, throwing the football, eating some food, listening to music, and of course speculating about the upcoming game. "We have been doing this for years," says Duane. Like the majority of tailgaters the Corrigan brothers and their friends are not students but just local football fans. "Not enough students know about this event," says Dale. "We want to see the band down here. We want to see the homecoming parade come back. We want to see some school spirit! The alumni are here but not the students. What is the issue?" laughs Dale. "This is dirt-cheap entertainment." According to the tailgaters the university does not do enough to promote this event. "Do it like the U of M," says Dale. The group of tailgaters agrees that the university needs to invest more effort and money into tailgating to make it a successful event.

However Trombley, who himself showed up with his family and some other friends, is happy with the turnout. "We got some students here. The cheerleaders are going around getting people fired up. Everybody is having a good time."

"It is just the parents who get together and make this happen," says Kees the football-mom. She says, beside of providing a space for the fans to tailgate and putting some cans out for the hot coals from the grills, the school does not really to do anything to put this event together.

"It is important for the school to get the excitement that's going on inside the stadium, outside into the parking lot," concludes Dale Corrigan. "There is no reason St Cloud cannot create such an atmosphere."