Thursday, March 24, 2011

North Campus Tailgating: Is It Really 'Back'?

While the supposed official 'Gameday Gameplan' website has not yet been updated, new regulations for the 2011 tailgating on North Campus have been issued.

The highlighted changes in the media reports include:
  • Can now setup 5 hours ahead of game time (from 4 hours).
  • Tailgating tents are now allowed
  • 6 foot tables allowed! (from 4' previously)

2008 seems like eons ago... From UGA/Bama Blackout, crowd watching on TV the UF/Ole Miss game

In reality, not a monumental change. Tailgating is now feasible on North Campus with a 5 hour window, and I do anticipate North Campus not being a vast, empty wasteland as it was last year. But will there still be grumbling? Sure; alumni will not be completely placated.

I think there still needs to be more flexibility in terms of time and setup... while the time window for setup now is perfectly reasonable for 12:30 games, having to wait and setup until 10:30 for a 3:30pm game is a stretch. And 2:30 for a 7:30 ESPN game just ain't happening.

If the University wants to address North Campus "destruction" and general inebriation, why can't we just bring back the 7am setup rule, and actually enforce the rules? You would think the University Police, of all people, would love to enforce some real laws.

Hopefully McGarity at least will continue to re-evaluate the regulations each off-season and will also make vast steps in providing a realistic infrastructure this fall on North Campus (adequate numbers of trash cans, trash bags and Port-a-Potties are all good starts).

At the end of the day, an Alumni group should establish the broad rules of North Campus tailgating (what you can bring, what you can't bring, and setup times) and allow the police to enforce the laws otherwise on the books. After all, Ole Miss is structured this way, has pretty permissive rules and they actually get positive press for having a good, safe, yet legendary time.

3 comments:

Gary said...

This may possibly be the best update in procedure I've ever heard. I got my new UGA tailgating tents and now I get to use them. Thank you Georgia!

Tailgating tents fan said...

I agree this is a great tailgating update. First of all you want as long a party as you can get, and what would a tailgate party be like without some shade from the sun. Come on no one likes to get sweaty and burned.

Rachel said...

It's so true Gary---I was so excited to use the tailgating tents I had bought--and when I heard about the policy that no tents were allowed, I was pretty sad. When they told us that we could bring the tents, my roommates and I were super excited. We had the most excellent time under out tents. (even in the rain--good thing we had the tents!)