Tiger Bait

 I will start off by begging for your forgiveness for not getting an article out last week. This is my first miss of the season. I did attend two games in one day in the great state of Alabama that Saturday (11/4) at UAB and the University of Alabama. Forrest Gump would have been proud of all my running around. Check out pictures below from the missed weekend.

Clockwise from top left- Utah Pig Bus Tailgaters, BC Pops & Peg enjoying the win at Cuse, The Duncan boys on opposite sides at USC/UW game and Friends of Frank Tailgate at Rutgers pre gaming!

Rollllllllllllll Tide Rolll!

This past weekend had me once again traversing the highways of the Deep South to make my third SEC matchup in as many weeks. This time, my trusty F-150 pointed me due west on Interstate 10 and took me the five hours for my third trip to Baton Rouge, LA. The purpose of the trip was to visit three of our stellar tailgates that we at Tailgate Connect offer at LSU. The Tigers were hosting the Florida Gators, and the game, of course, would be played at night in Death Valley — which is the only way to see a game there. This meant that most LSU tailgates would be well underway by 8 a.m. and folks would have their glow on by noon. As I have mentioned before, LSU is consistently one of the top tailgate experiences every year.

I arrived at 1 p.m. and started the day with our newest Tailgate,The Krewe of Damn Strong. While new to Tailgate Connect, this tailgate has been around 20 years and is run by Stephen Cannon and his family and friends. I was treated to some of the most amazing tailgate food I have ever had: Alligator sausage, meatballs, boudin, alligator piquante over a bed of noodles … Oh, and let’s not forget the stellar bread pudding. All of this was washed down with a swig of homemade moonshine, giving this tailgate a real bayou feel. 

The Damn Strong Tailgate bringing the you in Bayou! 

I then made my way to our second and third tailgates, two long-time affiliate hosts of ours, where we had over 100 customers in attendance . KOCKA and Bayou Bandits are the names. At KOCKA, I spent time with a group of 10 customers from the Boston area that were doing a guys trip in Louisiana. At the Bayou Bandits tailgate, I met a group of 12 folks who were down from Canada and having the time of their lives. We also had a bachelor party and a group of 12 guys who all went to high school together in Danville, CA, back in the last 1970s. Through it all, the Abita beer kept flowing at the Bayou Bandits party.

Bayou Bandits and KOCKA Tailgates at LSU.

Stephen, the host of the Damn Strong tailgate was beyond generous and even provided me with a ticket to the game. Way better price than what Mrs.Tailgate paid for that Colorado ticket last month :). Kickoff was at 6:30 p.m., so the 102,000 fans started making their way into Death Valley to take their seats while another 100,000 continued partying outside the stadium. I also was given a free gameday program (which are rare by the way) from the program stand guy. It must’ve been my charm or the stupid look on my face, not sure which.

LSU entered the game toting a 6-3 record,with Florida sitting at 5-4. LSU was led by one of the most dynamic players college football has seen in some time, QB1 Jaden Daniels, while Florida was captained by Wisconsin transfer QB Graham Mertz. If you have not seen Daniels play in person, you are missing out on one of the all-time greats IMHO. He did not disappoint on the night as he set a record as the only QB to throw for over 350 yards while also running for 235. The game teetered back and forth until midway through the third quarter when LSU and Daniels swung the momentum fully in the Tigers’ favor. After falling behind 28-24 early in the third, LSU ran off 28 points to Florida’s seven for a 52-35 swamp beating. If Daniels is not a Heisman finalist, I will call out the Heisman committee for being as corrupt as the Nobel Peace Prize committee. To top off an awesome game, the massive LSU marching band treated us to a patriotic Veterans Day halftime tribute.

Military halftime tribute by the marching band

Around the Country:  Michigan, absent Coach Harbaugh passed their first real test of the year by beating the Nittany Lions in Happy Valley. Out west, Oregon held on for a close win over Benedict Riley and the USC Trojans. Rumors are swirling that Lincoln is already looking to leave to protect himself when Caleb moves on to the NFL and leaves him completely exposed. (Can you tell I am still bitter about how he did Oklahoma?). In the Big 12, we witnessed Oklahoma righting their rocking ship by running wild all over the WVU Mountaineers. In the ACC, Florida State stayed perfect by scalping their in-state and conference rival, the University of Miami. I must also give the SEC a second mention as it is hard to ignore how well Georgia has been playing, winning their 27th straight game by blowing out Ole Miss 52-17. In Group of Five action, San Jose State upset Fresno State by showing them the way out of San Jose, 42-18. In Division 2 action, Frostburg State finished their season with a big win over Fairmont State completing a 7-3 campaign.

Bieber: Although there must be enough evidence that will prove Coach Harbaugh was complicit to some degree in the now notorious sign stealing scandal, he has not been officially charged. This did not stop the knee-jerk Big Ten administration from bowing to the whining of the other Big Ten schools to have ole mom pants suspended. Once upon a time in America, one was not convicted and punished until officially proven guilty. I suppose the paste eaters in the Big Ten admin skipped their classes in civics as they took it upon themselves, in an unconstitutional manner, to suspend Harbaugh from coaching on Saturdays for the rest of the season. This was not even sanctioned by the NCAA or Dean Wormer at Faber. In the words of Otter from Delta Tau Chi, “Isn’t this an indictment of our entire American society? We’re not going to sit here and listen to you bad mouth the United States of America!” Well, Big Ten administration, you might not have the backing of John Belushi and the rest of the Animal House, but you do have some nice, shiny new Bieberware!

Ginger: This goes to my new friend and chairman of the Damn Strong tailgate Stephen Cannon for the amazing amount of work and pride he puts into his tailgate along with his Krewe. Here is a brief video of just a snippet of what goes into his preparation each Saturday for an LSU home game:

https://youtube.com/shorts/t1VCng4TINs?si=S94T2IItycDlghwQ

Next Up:  We have the Donnelly Family and Friends Tailgate for the “Causeway Classic'' at UC Davis as they host crosstown rival Sacramento State. The tailgate will be underway by 9 a.m. with a noon kickoff.

Happy Tailgating!