EDITORIAL: Tailgate rules still hurt atmosphere today
By Editorial Board on October 14, 2011 9:00 am / 5 comments
It has been more than two years since Central Michigan University created new regulations for tailgating on campus, and the tradition of tailgating at CMU is dead.
This becomes even more apparent during Homecoming Weekend. Alumni come back to celebrate before the football game and head back to Lot 63 where they see only a vague resemblance to what happened during their time as students.
The regulations — including a ban on glass bottles and pets, rules for sound systems and a limit on the quantity of alcoholic beverages one person can bring into the lot – destroyed tailgating at CMU.
While last year’s Homecoming tailgate brought the highest number of students since the rules were established, that number dwindled when it came to Western Weekend, a time when tailgate used to thrive.
While they drew big crowds, the two tailgates do not rival the tailgates of 2008, before the rules were established.
While law enforcement was prevalent, there wasn’t a feeling of being baby-sat as security guards sat at every entrance and barricades forced. Fans got excited for the game and brought that into Kelly/Shorts Stadium, creating a fired-up atmosphere.
Although the rules themselves are not especially restrictive, the fact that there are rules, and posts of police officers enforcing them, spoiled tailgating for the entire campus.
As a matter of fact, tailgating has been so thoroughly destroyed by the rules, that if they were repealed, tailgating would likely still not recover. The majority of current students don’t remember the larger tailgates from before the rules, so the tradition of a massive party in the parking lot exists largely in the memories of upperclassmen and alumni.
So why not repeal them? At this point, what harm could it do?
In 2010, Athletics upped the cost of security from $10,000 to $20,000. At the time they spent more than $4,000 a game just to watch a few students calmly tailgate.
This year the results have been much of what was experienced during 2010, as students have decided to go to Main Street and the surrounding areas before the game.
Making tailgate look less like a war zone, with barricades surrounding students on all sides, might be the first step. It’s not appealing to anyone to be forced inside a box, while just a stone’s throw away families and CMU alumni sit in their vehicles grilling, preparing in a atmosphere that looks a little more like an actual tailgate.
Allowing students a chance to enjoy themselves in a free and open environment could save a CMU tradition, but right now tailgate seems long gone.
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5 Comments
Glass? We should ban that. Some drunk drops a glass bottle, it shatters and now you’ve got glass on the pavement so others might get a flat tire that day or sometime during the upcoming week. That’s a positive ban.
Pets? What nut brings a pet to a game? And, if dogs aren’t leashed, then you got problems. This is a football game. Leave Fido at home.
Sound Systems? I don’t want to hear your gangster rap music with profanity just like I’m sure you don’t want me blaring today’s replay of Rush Limbaugh. If you want to limit it to just the CMU fight song or the CMU Marching Chips CD, I’ll buy into letting sound systems.
Beer. You coming to get drunk or watch football and the Marching Chips?
Glass? We should ban that. Some drunk drops a glass bottle, it shatters and now you’ve got glass on the pavement so others might get a flat tire that day or sometime during the upcoming week. That’s a positive ban.
Pets? What nut brings a pet to a game? And, if dogs aren’t leashed, then you got problems. This is a football game. Leave Fido at home.
Sound Systems? I don’t want to hear your gangster rap music with profanity just like I’m sure you don’t want me blaring today’s replay of Rush Limbaugh. If you want to limit it to just the CMU fight song or the CMU Marching Chips CD, I’ll buy into letting sound systems.
Beer. You coming to get drunk or watch football and the Marching Chips?
I was just beginning my happy reign as an upperclassman when the new tailgate rules took hold, and honestly, I didn’t see the big deal. Six cans of beer, am I right? Three cans of beer per hour makes an individual legally drunk, depending on size. It’s enough to get a good buzz going. A pint of a good liquor is enough to get the desired effect. And banning glass containers was one of their brighter ideas; nevermind someone busting a tire on shattered glass, how about stopping potential injuries from people who throw bottles on the ground and let the shards fly every which way. Yes, it happens.
My experience within the gates of Kelly-Shorts before the “new” rules wasn’t that great; students were passing out in the student section, a young man urinated on himself and fell down several rows of bleachers (right on top of myself and several other individuals) before he was escorted out by security. This type of situation wasn’t all that uncommon, and exactly the kind of thing that the tailgate rules attempt to stop. Officials want to make the football games a safe environment for everyone involved; they are not trying to appease the masses who want to tailgate, get drunk and then leave by the end of the first quarter so they can pass out and be ready to drink come 11.If one’s goal at tailgate is to get black out drunk, then I prefer he or she stay home. It’s probably better (and safer) for everyone involved.
Hell must’ve frozen over, because for once I agree with Michmediaperson. Seriously, people: you’re upset because a party has been ruined?
From what I saw, looked like the Wayside was full at 4pm when I drove by. The party hasn’t been ruined; it just now occurs off-campus.
All ive gotten from reading form the three people who commented, is that they were probably the kids who didnt party at the games, And dont care at all about Tradition. This is college at Central Michigan University. Tailgate was one of those Legendary things that made a lot of kids want to come here as highschoolers. Its not to get blackout drunk or anything, and yes there are some who go to far. There always will be those select few. Its about the social aspect of the games, Uniting all Central students and making memories that will last a life time. Its not just the rules on how much alcohol you can have, I agree that 6 beers, especially tall boys and a pint of liquor, can get you a great buzz before the game. Its more the other aspects of that rule and the others. Because of these new regulations, not only is tailgate a sorry joke compared to what it used to be, But look at the student section during the games. It is also a sad joke compared to what they used to be. A lot of students dont even attend the games anymore simply because of tailgate rules.
If you want to consider the business aspect, Tuition continues to climb, And security cost has just been doubled, while student attendance to the games has dropped substantially. Bring Tailgate back, Students will come back, And that will mean an increase in revenue for Central Michigan Athletics. One of the people below commented that the party wasnt killed, It had just moved locations. I agree, But why give wayside and okellys all the profit that could potentially go to Central?
What made tailgate great wasn’t the amount of booze that you had. It was all of the people there and the atmosphere. True maybe some people chose to come for the wrong reasons, AKA to party and get drunk, But they were still there. They Supported the team. Its no Wonder our team does such a shitty job, when 3/4 of the students dont care about going to their games.