Where I Come From: Your Tailgating Traditions

I hate traffic (having grown up in small coastal towns, I’m starting to think even Corvallis is getting too big…) so we usually take advantage of the Beaver Shuttle bus service. We’ve parked at the Fairgrounds a couple times, but I think it’s quicker to pay the $10 parking near what was called Apperson Hall when I went to school (I think it’s Kearney now?) and take the free bus to the stadium. Once I get to my seat, I usually stay put for the whole game, so I won’t have to fight the crowds or wait in line.

I’m from Corvallis, went to OSU and still live in Corvallis (so not an out of towner…), and for me tailgaiting is one of the best parts of game days.

It’s just like going to parties I think … it’s more or less fun depending on where it is and who else is there. We have some friends who hustle and get a great spot near Dixon, and a bunch of old grad friends gather there before games and cook up some food and drink beer. It’s simple, lo tech and way fun. Often we run back there at halftime, and if the game is a blowout we sometimes don’t make it back.

Only bad thing … thieves! Anything we don’t lock down, people come in and take. We even had a cooler chained up with a bike chain to a tree one time that got take by someone with bolt cutters. If you see anyone walking around tailgate areas with bolt cutters … punch him in the face.

I really want to star tailgating before games. Anybody wana chill?? haha

First off, I haven’t missed a single home game in nearly a decade. We (My dad, brother, and I) usually arrive 4 hours prior to kickoff (my brother and I leave Portland at 8:00 am for a 1:00 kickoff while my dad leaves southern Oregon at 7:30). We have been parking in the same lot behind Withycombe Hall the entire time we have had season tickets. We have a small tailgater, but we have it with a friend of my fathers and one of his two kids. We start by getting out the Beaver GameDay Radio (A solar/wind-up powered radio that we always listen to the pre/post game on as well as other games going on in the nation) and follow by getting out the Fire&Ice Grill (Grill pops up and has a big cooler underneath) and our Beaver lawn chairs. My brother and I don’t drink alcohol but my dad and his buddy and kids do, so we’ll all get out our drinks and start throwing the mini footballs that we got pre-game at the 2004 USC Fog Bowl game. Depending on the weather, we’ll throw up our canopy. We usually grill steak sandwiches a few times a year as well as brats, burgers, etc. For the rare 12:30 game we will fix breakfast (not sure how the 30 min difference changes things, but it does) and have ham/sausage, eggs, and pancakes.

We leave for the game 45 min to an hour early and it takes about 10 minutes to walk to the stadium. We say our traditional sayings as my brother, father, and I depart from my fathers buddy (we have seats on opposite sides of the stadium). We’re in the stadium typically when the counter is at 29 minutes and are usually the first in our vicinity to arrive.

After the game, win or loss, we walk back to the car and get out the grill and canopy for anther round of tailgating (only the rare late game or weekday game will we not tailgate afterward). If there is an opportunity to rush the field, we always do and are some of the first onto the field (we’re in row 10). We listen to the entire post game show as well as grill and talk about the game when my fathers buddy gets back.

We’ve had this routine for the last decade. I’m afraid this year it may change as I have moved to Arizona. I’m arranging to fly up for every game with the pair that sit directly behind us, but work my not allow me to make every game.

If you see my user name and you are anywhere near the section we sit in, you will probably recognize me and the custom hard hats my father, brother, and I have been wearing the last 5 years.