It’s no secret that (mostly) everyone at NC State loves a good tailgate. You’re wearing your Wolfpack red, have enough alcohol to last you the entire day and are surrounded by thousands of your closest friends. It’s like a giant party, followed by an even better after-party: the football game. It’s hard not to love it.
Except I don’t love it. But, my problem is not with the tailgate itself. My problem is with how many Wolfpack fans value that over the actual football game. I think it’s safe to assume the main reason people are so pumped for football season isn’t for the football at all. It’s for the early-morning trips to Bojangles’ and the hours they spend in the sun laughing and drinking, and then drinking some more.
It wouldn’t be a problem if fans could both tailgate and keep the student section filled for an entire game. For example, on homecoming last Halloween when NC State played Clemson, Carter-Finley Stadium was at least half empty following halftime, and NC State fans have faced criticism for bailing on the team.
In a 2013 statement, head coach Dave Doeren said, “I think this program has a goal of being a national program and to have home games at a place as awesome as ours, with the number of tickets we sell and the passion that our fan base has, we need them in the seats in the third and fourth quarter to be a great team.” But the seats still aren’t staying filled.
Tailgating may not be the main reason for the empty seats after halftime, but I’m willing to bet it plays a major part. I know multiple people who have left games early because they drank so much they got sick, or they wanted to go drink some more. Sorry Wolfpack fans, but I think when NC State has “blackout games” it’s not referring to you getting blackout drunk.
Drink all you want, but don’t let it affect your ability to watch the game. You can still tailgate and enjoy football if you’re actually a dedicated fan. Take the University of Tennessee, for example. Its fans have no problem enjoying themselves both before, during and after the football games.
Tennessee fans still tailgate, but they know better than to leave their seats in Neyland Stadium in the middle of a game. No matter how many hours they spend tailgating before games, they often never leave before the game is over.
Last year, Tennessee fans organized what is now known as “Checker Neyland,” where fans wore orange or white depending where they sat, and the entire stadium of more than 102,000 seats was checkered orange and white. This was a complete fan-led initiative, whereas NC State Athletics tried to organize a similar initiative for the game against Old Dominion Sept. 17, but the outcome was less than impressive.
Another example of true passion for football was what we witnessed at the Battle at Bristol when Tennessee and Virginia Tech played in what was the largest football game ever, with 156,990 fans in attendance. The tailgate before the game was one of the biggest ever because of the record-breaking attendance, but even then everyone managed to make it to their seats before kickoff and stay until the end of the game. And with how the seats were arranged, it was difficult for some fans to see. But they didn’t go to get a good view of the game. The fans attended solely for the experience and because of the love they had for both their teams and football.
Wolfpack fans should take a lesson from both Virginia Tech and Tennessee football fans. Just like NC State, neither team has had the best record the past couple of years. However, the support from fans never wavered and is stronger this year than ever before. We could take a lesson from those fans.
I’m not asking you to stop tailgating, Wolfpack. All I ask is that you realize the game of football is more important than your game of beer pong.
