Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, May 9, 1993 TAG: 9305100357
SECTION: DISCOVER PAGE: 58 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KEN DAVIS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
But there is more to football fanfare than what goes on inside the stadium.
Outside, faithful fans have been gathered for hours as part of a pregame celebration that is as much of a football tradition as standing for the national anthem or heading to the restrooms during the halftime show.
It's called tailgaiting, and although it can be practiced at any sporting event, in the New River Valley it is primarily a football phenomenon - especially at Lane Stadium, home of the Virginia Tech Hokies.
"We see hundreds of tailgaters every game," said Capt. J.G. Falls of the Virginia Tech Police. "It's a football tradition."
Falls said he has seen the tailvgaiters come and go since he began working for the Tech police 23 years ago. He said the tailgaters are cooperative with the dozens of offivcers who work the Saturday shifts trying to get the thousands of fans in and out of the area safely.
"We don't ever have a problem with them," Falls said. "Everybody just has a real good time."
The basic ingredients needed for a proper tailgate are few: a vehicle, a fan or two and some food is all that is required.
However, if you're going to tailgate at Lane Stadium, you'll have to do better than that.
The more people and food, the better. Many tailgaters here bring picnic tables and enough food to feed dozens of fellow fans they have invited to join them.
Some tailgaters even bring portable grills, cooking everything from hot dogs and hamburgers to entire chickens and hogs.
But leave the alcohol at home.
"Alcohol isn't permitted on the campus," Falls said. "That isn't to say that it doesn't happen, but we don't allow it."
Another tip tailgaters should know, especially those new to Lane Stadium: Remember, this is Virginia Tech, and the people here tend to wear jeans and sweatshirts to the games, not coats and ties like folks are rumored to wear at that other school in Charlottesville.
In other words, stick to the casual clothes and the menus made up of burgers and dogs. Wear a silk tie or wool sport coat to complement your gourmet dishes and surrounding Tech fans are liable to suspect you're a Wahoo.
Last year, tailgating Tech fans came to Lane Stadium in force, even though the Hokies finished their first full season in the Big East Conference with a disappointing 2-8-1 record, with many losses coming in the last minutes of the fourth quarter.
But Tech fans are hoping there will be more reasons to go tailgating this fall as the Hokies enter the 1993 season under the guidance of a revamped coaching staff, led by seventh-year head coach, Frank Beamer.
"I think we're going to have an exciting football team, and the coaches and players have been working very hard to try and have a winning football team," Beamer said. "It makes getting together in the parking lot a lot more fun if you've got a winning team to talk about. We're going to try and uphold our end of the bargain."
by CNB