SI Daily Cover: A First Glimpse at How Big-Time Tailgating Looks in 2020
SEC football returned on Saturday, the first day of a 10-game conference-only schedule. For the Big Ten, that resumption is still a few weeks out, with play resuming Oct. 24 with eight conference games, including Penn State and Indiana.
There will be no fans in the stands when the Big Ten kicks off, and there will be no tailgating at the stadiums, either. The SEC allowed fans on Saturday — 25 percent capacity was allowed at LSU when the defending champions lost their opener to Mississippi State — but tailgating wasn't allowed on campus.
For rabid LSU fans, that meant getting creative. Darrin D'Aubin scouted out a location just off campus and partied on anyway. Sports Illustrated's Ross Dellenger captured the day in Baton Rouge for an SI Daily cover story on Monday.
Here's an excerpt:
"For the first football game day in what has to be decades, not a single full-throated — or even half-throated — tailgate party transpired on LSU’s campus. Give the school, and Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards, credit for enforcing that restriction, which made for an eerie scene: somewhat empty and mostly quiet, if you weren’t in earshot of D’Aubin’s off-campus setup.
"For a school and state that prides itself on food and fun, that excels at throwing a party, LSU’s campus on Saturday was decidedly “dead,” as one local described it. The air felt stale. No wafts of Cajun cooking, no thumping zydeco tunes, no belligerent college partygoers.
"Typically dotted with tents, the parking lots on this afternoon sat empty. At one entrance there was a security guard, adjacent to a sign stuck in the ground: NO TAILGATING.
"The party here usually starts Friday night, when motorhomes and RVs roll into town, set up shop in a massive lot adjacent to the stadium and then get to it. For this opener, though, LSU had moved its RV lot three quarters of a mile from the stadium and reduced the number of spots from 700 to 125. Roughly five hours before kickoff, right when the parties would normally rev up for the day, the gravel lot sat peaceful, with only a dozen or so RVs parked.
To read the complete story, CLICK HERE
LSU Tigers fans in the stands following a 44-34 loss against the Mississippi State Bulldogs at Tiger Stadium. (Mandatory Credit: Derick E. Hingle-USA TODAY Sports)
