Tailgating continues second season growth

During its second season on campus, tailgating before home games has become more popular among GCSU students despite a slow start last season.

Following approval in January of this year, students were able to tailgate in the Centennial Center parking lot prior to home games. The first tailgate on Jan. 29 had only 40 people show up to show their Bobcat pride.“At our first tailgate last year…no one was out there, but now it’s getting to where it’s in the hundreds,” said Patrick Gamble, president of Thunder Crew. “People are really starting to accept it more and it’s getting bigger and bigger each time.”

The increase in attendance has not led to any more problems according to SGA President Zach Mullins.

“The first two tailgating we had for this season…both of those in my opinion went exceedingly well,” Mullins said. “It was calm, collected and everyone had a good time.”

Due to the growth, the first row of the parking lot next to the Centennial Center is barricaded to save space for tailgating. However with the growth, SGA and Thunder Crew are considering a new location.

“The biggest change (from last season) is we sort of reworked and continue to rework…what is the most suitable spot for the main tailgating activities,” Mullins said.

Along with considering new locations for tailgating activities, SGA and Thunder Crew are also working with Vice President for Student Affairs Bruce Harshbarger to get next semester’s events planned. Harshbarger only approved tailgating at events through this semester as a trial run.

If next semester’s tailgating events are approved, Thunder Crew has big plans.

“There will be some big plans,” Gamble said. “These are not tailgates. This is child’s play compared to what we’re going to plan.”

Thanks to a $5,000 sponsorship from Kia Motors, Thunder Crew will be hosting an all-day tailgate for the Augusta State basketball game Feb. 10. Thunder Crew plans to have a big name band playing along with passing out Kia Motors handouts.

According to Gamble, Thunder Crew will be working to plan a larger tailgate for Homecoming.

“Homecoming this year is going to be 20 times the amount it was last year as far as tailgating goes,” Gamble said.

Director of Athletics Wendell Staton thinks the success will continue in the future.

“I think this year’s been a great success; I give great credit to SGA and Thunder Crew and all the hard work they’ve done,” Staton said. “I think it will only continue to improve.”

Posted by Matt Chambers on Dec 2 2010. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.