College Football and Tailgating in Texas

One more weekend and college football in Texas is over for this season. I’ve never really gotten into it – mainly because I don’t watch sports stuff on TV in general; I get bored quickly. And let me tell you, you need quite a bit of enthusiasm to get through four hours (let me repeat, FOUR HOURS!). And that doesn’t even include the tailgating before the game that comes with living in a college town. I honestly sometimes wonder if college football here is so big because so many towns here are relatively small and isolated. People grow up with high school football being the biggest deal of their weeks because there’s nothing else to do in a town of 500-1000 people – and no town any bigger is close enough to drive there for a night out either. And since people grow up with Friday Night Football being the big thing, they totally latch on to Saturday college football when they move to the bigger cities with college teams. I could be totally off here, but that’s my explanation of why college teams in Texas fill stadiums with 40,000 – 60,000 people or more every few weeks and why football coaches in colleges have salaries of a few million dollars. Oh, and why people actually protested in front of the President’s Office of our university when a beloved coach was let go. Police had to come and everything. People were mad! Did I forget to mention that some students actually choose colleges not necessarily for the degrees they offer, the professor who teach there, or where the college is located? No, in Texas a reasonable explanation for your choice of college is… the college football team. No wonder people are willing to spend lots of money on everything related to football. Did you know for example that there is a different game day shirt for every home game? Of course you don’t have to buy it (as long as you show up in your team’s colors), but lots of people do. And I have to admit, it is kind of cool to see a whole stadium flooded in only a few colors.

College football rivalries are huge. They are ingrained in people, teams, and culture. Most college teams have a fight song in which they refer to their archrivals. Trash talking is at an alltime high when two rival teams play each other. Stadiums are especially packed and tailgating turns into a huge party. Before big games, some people actually camp out in front of the stadium to get good seats the next morning.

Every team has their own hand gesture. UT Austin has the “Hook ‘em Horns”, SMU has the “Pony Ears”, there’s a “Cougar Paw” and a “Horned Frog”, and at Texas Tech it’s the “Guns Up” portrayed below by the team’s mascot. I think we got away pretty good with the “Guns Up” if you ask me. Pony Ears? Cougar Paw? I think that’s kind of silly

via Wikimedia Commons

I guess it’s not any different to cities in Germany supporting their local soccer teams – but then, I never understood that either The only time I watch soccer games is probably during the World Cup when of course you cheer for your country. Anyways, I get the gist of it: Supporting your local team gives you something tangible in your own town to identify with, be proud of, and cheer for. But Texas takes it to a whole new level.

Tailgating in Texas is a massive deal! And it’s the part of football that I have the easiest time relating too because basically you’re just getting together with friends every few weeks for a huge (HUGE!) BBQ in a parking lot. Some of our friends are friends with people who have rented quite a few adjoining parking spots in front of the stadium. They have a huge grill, actually two of them for big games, and everybody brings foods and drinks – a game day is by the way the only day when you’re allowed to drink alcohol outside here. There are two big tents, chairs, tables, and two huge flatscreens run out of two big trucks to show the game.People start preparing food days ahead of time: delicious jalapeno poppers, chicken wrapped in cheese and bacon, bacon-wrapped shrimp in BBQ sauce, and so much more. Up to 6-8 hours before the game starts people start firing up their grills and hang out until the game starts at which point most people abandon the tailgating bit to go see the game. Everybody comes back for more food during halftime and returns to the game right after. You can see how a home game could take a whole Saturday now, right?

© 2011, Country Skipper. All rights reserved.

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