Tailgating: More to it
than just eating

Crowd, culture as diverse as the food

Ribs. Hamburgers. Roast pork. Hot dogs.

Sound good? That was about your average tailgating fare at Elizabeth City State's Homecoming football game last week.

Some put on big spreads with grills, smokers and tents, while others were just interested in a few hamburgers and hot dogs. Whatever your taste, there was something for you. With grill smoke constantly permeating the air at Roebuck Stadium, even the least hungry in the crowd could not avoid salivating.

The crowd was just as diverse as the food. Kinston, Lynchberg, Va., Shawboro and Gates were among the communities represented in the parking lot.

But to these folks, tailgating is a lot more than just food. Even the game took second fiddle to the party for some, but the No. 1 reason for gathering in front of a grill before the big game was the fellowship.

“We do this every year. All of us graduated and we get together and we fellowship and try to support the school as much as possible,” said Johnny Oates, who likes to be called Big O. “It give us a chance to fellowship with people we went to school with. We get a chance to talk about a lot of stuff. It’s all about fun.”

Big O is part of We Initiate New Experience, or Wine Psi Phi, a group that helps acclimate freshman to college life and life away from home. Not only was his grill full of food, but they came equipped with a trailer to shelter diners from the rain and laid out a buffet table that was hard to match complete with slaw, baked beans and fried turkey. With one of the bigger set ups in the lot, Big O arrived about 11 p.m. the night before to get started. All of that, and it was free for whoever wanted to stop by.

“I do this for the Down East Classic and I do (homecoming),” Oates said. “It’s a chance for me to give back to the university. There’s a lot of struggle that goes on. It cost me $75 to get in here ($35 for the space rental plus tickets). I don’t mind paying it and I hope it goes to a good cause.”

Others, like Ernest Jordan and his family, had a smaller set up, but were still expected to feed about 25-30 people.

“Everybody is just getting together cooking, using their own home recipes, laughing, talking and watching the game,” Jordan said. “I enjoy the cooking part. I love to cook and I love talking to people.”

Jordan’s ribs were some of the best in the parking lot and he brought along a smoke pig he had cooked the previous night. They also had a fry rig set up to batter up some catfish. If that did not appeal to you, there was the more traditional hamburgers and hot dogs.

“You know the party doesn’t start without hamburgers and hot dogs,” Calvin Jordan said.

Still others went even smaller. Milton Haggins set up a small portable charcoal grill from the back of his SUV to grill some burgers and hot dogs for he and few friends.

With a view of the game field just over his shoulder, Yama Jones summed up the experience.

“I’ve been coming over here for years,” Yama Jones said. “That’s what we do. In the summertime, we cook out all the time, so this is the thing. A lot of time people come by you haven’t seen in a while so you have the comraderie as well as eating good food and watching the Vikings win.”