Lydia Mayer – Staff Writer
Three hours before kickoff, the UW stadium parking lot bustles with tailgaters vying for a prime spot. At Fraternity and Sorority Mall, the grilling begins. An hour earlier, Cade Brower and his friends start a game of dice at his house across from the stadium to get the tailgate party going that will amass at least 50 people at a time.
For being his first tailgate, most would call it a success. Brower honors the tradition his friends started by throwing parties at his house, then walking over to the game. The recipe for a good tailgate? Simply a good gathering with good people. Brower invites his close friends, and the rest starts from there. Though he may not know everyone that shows up, Brower says, “If everybody comes in with the right reasons, like I just want to have fun, I don’t care who you are. We’re all just looking for fun.” At Brower’s house, they find the fun.
It takes the household members about an hour to set up for the backyard tailgate, complete with multiple tables for games such as dice and pong. Lasting at least four hours, though shorter for the early games, almost everyone at the party will make their way to the game eventually. As for why he continued on the legacy that his friends left, Brower says, “If you’re having a nice tailgate, people are going to be more excited to go to the game.”
That remains true for Tom Altner, who has been tailgating in the War Memorial Stadium parking lot for eight years. It may be a four-and-a-half-hour drive for Altner, but it’s worth it to meet up with his long-time friends, he says. Though not an alum of the university, Altner comes to every game. He is one of many people who tailgate in the Pepsi Pregame Zone, which includes the indoor practice facility, Ford Stadium Lot, and “Tailgate Alley” near the practice facility.
For every game, food and drink vendors set up in the practice facility. There are UW merchandise stands, kids’ games, and live music to name a few activities. Families and people of all ages gather to get ready for the football game. Altner says it is the people that really make a tailgate great.
This year, another tailgate at Fraternity and Sorority Mall was set up mainly for freshmen. Jacque Rickett, the program advisor for fraternity and sorority life, says, “Our tailgating has kind of dwindled in the last couple of years, so we wanted to provide an atmosphere for freshman to tailgate safely and responsibly.”
A big factor in freshmen going to the tailgate is how easily accessible the location is being across from the residence halls.
Like Brower says, “We just want everybody having that friendly connection.”
