Alligator stew? Southern Flavor
Kicks off college football season
NBCNEWS.COM ・ SEPTEMBER 2012
“I am dialing the enemy’s phone number, and it’s making me a little nervous. I’ve been asked to
write a post about food at college football games and, in preparation, I’m about to interview... a
Tiger. A purple-and-gold wearing, gumbo-guzzling Louisiana State Tiger, who hosts weekly
LSU tailgate parties for upwards of 50 people. I’m sure he’s a fine human: his Facebook page
shows him with lots of friends and a nice family. The problem, you see, is that I’m a Gator from
the University of Florida. And if you know anything about the South, you know we Gators don’t
much care for Tigers. And the feeling is very mutual. Ahead of our chat, James Roy has done a
little checking on me, so he knows I’m calling from swampy rival territory. I shy away from
sharing my favorite LSU joke — How do you keep a Tiger out of your yard? Put up a goal post! —
and am certain he’s holding back on zingers of his own. Instead, our conversation focuses on
what happens off the gridiron, something special that defines Southern college football,
something even enemies share: the sacred tradition of tailgating, which in our parts rivals
weddings, birthdays and baptisms.”