You’ve been thinking about it for weeks. It always takes forever this time of the year, and the anticipation is killing you. Of course, you’ve been drooling thinking about what we are eating at tailgate this year, much less that football season is right around the corner. This season brings a slightly different twist to our tailgating menu. Our traditions remain, but the 2017 schedule brought some challenges for the menu.
First, we have three opponents that could have challenged for the honor of serving fried chicken at the tailgate. Luckily, we will narrow it down to just one plate of deep fried bird. Secondly, we have four opponents who we have played in the past at home and they aren’t all conference games. The last time we played Savannah State in 2011, we did not publish a full blown menu. We might have written it down somewhere, but there isn’t any evidence besides a facebook post that should probably be deleted.
Although the post still exists, we gathered some info and discovered that baby back ribs was what we devoured the last time we annihilated Savannah State. You are all very familiar with the ribs. They are very good. Nothing more really needs to be said.
For Wake Forest, an old school opponent will have some old school flair. Despite the Demon Deacon not really being an edible mascot, we’ve gotten a little creative. Wake has baptist roots, which had us thinking about going to church and eating covered dish lunches. How many times did you try three different versions of Mac and cheese when you were a kid because you didn’t know what was in that jello concoction? Yeah, we have all done it. The meat will be a TBA, but we’ll need some help from everyone with their favorite/not favorite covered dish. Just like the main dish after church, it could be fried chicken in a box, ham, or turkey. Hint: It won’t be fried chicken in a box or turkey.
We’ll save the turkey for New Mexico State which is Homecoming. Similar to the ribs, you know how we do with the turkeys. We’ll smoke one and fry two. Was really hoping this game was not Homecoming so we could try something different, but alas, its the only time we’ll play host to these guys, might as well keep it simple. Tamales do sound good though.
This is where the schedule gets interesting. The next two opponents are dead ringers for fried chicken. Coastal Carolina and Georgia Southern’s mascots make it an easy call. Coastal is on a Saturday and Georgia Southern a Thursday night. Its so much easier to do the fried chicken for a night game during the week for Georgia Southern. For Coastal we’ll alternate to a Low Country Boil. Its been a few years since we have done one, but they are always amazing. Nothing better for a late October game.
For the last game of the season, we’ll host Louisiana, just like in 2015, when it was Black Saturday. Oddly enough, the schedule doesn’t show a Black Saturday game. Hopefully this is an oversight, but its also concerning from a traditional standpoint. Usually this game is reserved for the Championship Chili, which we somehow skipped last year. Hopefully the administration gets it together and aptly themes this game as Black Saturday, otherwise we’ll pivot to a Cajun themed dish such as jambalaya or gumbo.
I vote for Championship Chili