What should UGA do about tailgating troublemakers?
UGA students want the tailgate tents to return to North Campus. (Photo by Bill King)
The issue of what to do about tailgating before football games at UGA reared its head again this week.
The Athens Banner-Herald reported that while students want the school to ease up on restrictions imposed last season on tailgating on the historic North Campus, the administration instead may crack down on tailgaters in other parts of campus.
The Student Government Association has asked the university to drop the prohibition of tents and tables longer than 4 feet and the rule of no tailgating on campus until four hours before kickoff. The ban on kegs, televisions, grills or other cookers, generators and household furniture such as couches on North Campus would remain in place under the student proposal.
The restrictions were put in place after UGA was embarrassed by the continued trashing of North Campus and the damage left behind by fans during the 2009 season, which had a lot of night games that extended the tailgating period.
This past season all the home games except the last one had early starts, so there weren’t as many folks looking to tailgate anyway. In the wake of the restrictions, the new ground zero for tailgaters moved to the Meyers quad off Lumpkin Street on South Campus. I cut through there before several games and the area was pretty packed, looking like the North Campus of old with all the tents set up.
And that’s where the possibility of expanded restrictions comes in.
Speaking of the Meyers quad, George Stafford, the university vice president in charge of game day activities, told the Banner-Herald, “We were unhappy with what went on over there, particularly at the last game.” During the daylong tailgating before the Dogs’ only night home game Nov. 27 against Georgia Tech, he said, someone pulled a couch from a nearby residence hall and set it on fire.
And other idiots drove beer bottles into the ground, then broke them, exposing jagged glass. Guess they got tired of playing beer pong.
So what should UGA administrators do about controlling tailgating?
Last season’s restrictions pretty much killed it on North Campus, as about all that was left as an option was a picnic basket and blanket on the ground. That suited UGA officials, who worried the historic green space was being ruined by the game day crush. As I’ve said before, probably the only way full-scale tailgating ever will return to North Campus is on a paid basis.
If the same restrictions on tailgating are applied to the Meyers quad, the result likely will be the same … the tailgaters will move elsewhere on campus. And then what? As the Dawgs Online blog put it this week, the university “can’t keep playing whack-a-mole every year to react to where the mess pops up next.”
Campuswide restrictions like those on North Campus aren’t a realistic option. Tailgating can’t be driven off campus because it has nowhere to go, so UGA needs to deal with it in a way that allows responsible fans to socialize before a game without letting the idiot fringe act like the trash they leave behind.
At the same time, it doesn’t do any good to appeal to tailgaters to act more responsibly, because alcohol and tailgating are inextricably linked, and the ones causing the problems are so drunk they barely know what they’re doing anyway.
It would seem like a reasonable solution would be to have a visible presence of UGA police in the vicinity of tailgating hot spots like Meyers quad and have them patrol regularly and deal with those tailgaters who get out of hand, leaving the others to enjoy themselves as long as they do so responsibly.
Tailgating is a part of the college football experience. Trying to stamp it out ultimately might hurt attendance at games.
What do you think the solution is?
Find me on Facebook.
Follow me on Twitter.
— Bill King, Junkyard Blawg
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
174 comments Add your comment
ReddDawg
January 30th, 2011
12:43 am
The situation is horrible ……….. Pull the ones that are guilty and bar-b-que their asses. Don’t punish everyone. People can act civil, I have seen them do it. No more lenience on the guilty. Pull their season tickets. Some of them think the world owes them a living.
Come down hard of the bad ones, and let the majority of fans have a good time.
5150 UOAD
January 30th, 2011
1:34 am
RED DOG the problem is GATA! when the UGA men get drunk tht is all they do GATA,
UGA FRIEND
January 30th, 2011
5:15 am
If people want to drink alcohol and watch football games at the same time, make them do it at home. This means no drunks (at least from the games) on the road.
mgdawg
January 30th, 2011
7:28 am
First and foremost, hire more security in the big tailgating spots. I think this would solve most of the problems. Second, charge for tailgating spots. A lot of places are doing this now, I say go cheap with it like 5 dollars. This would probably help pay for the extra security and if a spot does get overly trashed you will know who did it and further action can be taken. Tailgating needs to be allowed again, it is a big part of the college football tradition that UGA has lost.
Boobie Bowden
January 30th, 2011
8:25 am
“During the daylong tailgating before the Dogs’ only night home game Nov. 27 against Georgia Tech, he said, someone pulled a couch from a nearby residence hall and set it on fire. And other idiots drove beer bottles into the ground, then broke them, exposing jagged glass. Guess they got tired of playing beer pong.”
Just goes to show, you take a damn delusional drunken dawg, dress him up, take him to the city, and he will still be a damn delusional drunken dawg with red panties around his head..
boohoo
January 30th, 2011
8:31 am
Very unfortunate for you true devoted dog fans, however larry is right , respect for your school, there are fewer truly devoted fans than there are the CMR era bandwagon fans. Most of your bandwagon fans never played the game and could care less about the football game. Their there too see who can get the drunkesssed, loudest, and do things their momma wouldnt allow. Most dont even have a ticket. Unfortunately its not just uga, but as a resident of ga I can say that I have never seen such sore losers than the ga bunch. I remember 80s 90s ga took beatings pretty regular and none of this trashing of your own facilities by the bandwagon punks. Take a win when you get it and take a loss like a man and show some class and dignity not only for yourself but your parents, your school system , and your country.
TROJAN
January 30th, 2011
8:37 am
Ralph: You need to get out more.
DAWGS RUN YOUR FACE
January 30th, 2011
8:47 am
Need to make sure instructions are provided.
David Hoffman
January 30th, 2011
8:53 am
Charge a big rental fee for each tailgating location. Make the locations big enough for an Wonderlodge RV with movable expandable extensions. Put an excellent condition full size dumpster in each location. Put 4 Port-A Potties in each location. Cordon off area and have controlled entry points.
Apples II Oranges
January 30th, 2011
8:56 am
And other idiots drove beer bottles into the ground, then broke them, exposing jagged glass. Guess they got tired of playing beer pong.
——————————————
What made Bill make a joke after telling us this?
SEC whiners
January 30th, 2011
9:53 am
The bulldog nation is an embarassment to this state and college football in general. Their lack of class on football Saturday makes most SEC tailgates look like a Sunday morning church service. Just pitiful.
DawgFan
January 30th, 2011
10:02 am
It won’t do any good. UGA is slowly turning into Vanderbilt. More emphasis on Academics/research, etc. Less emphasis on Athletics. Look at our expenses on Athletics the last few years… Near the bottom of the SEC. The Administration’s expectations are low regarding athletics. Very depressing
Dirty Dawg
January 30th, 2011
11:08 am
More trash cans…pick-ups every hour…no tailgating on the grass…more policing of the areas and ticket those that break the rules – that means having a set of rules to begin with, including ‘no glass’.
Cousin Eddie
January 30th, 2011
11:19 am
I wont bring my motor home back there anyway to party with all them Georgia Urchins. There are plenty a places around UGA to dump my $hi##er when its full.
LakeHardingDawg
January 30th, 2011
11:41 am
Maybe everyone should be required to have either a ticket to the game or a valid student ID card. The problem is people pouring into Athens with no intent of attending the actual game. These people need to stay home or go to a sports bar.
Maria
January 30th, 2011
11:55 am
What a sorry image thUGA projects for our state. Thank goodness for Emory and Georgia Tech!
Amen to that! There’s a reason why UGA is known everywhere as The Cesspool of the South.
Uga BB
January 30th, 2011
12:57 pm
last place in the SEC East
Comedian Ron White
January 30th, 2011
2:16 pm
What to do?
“Folks, be real…You just can’t fix…STUPID.”
UGA Dad
January 30th, 2011
2:31 pm
To all you UGA haters out there — Read U.S. News & World Report, Forbes, etc., and you will see that UGA is highly ranked academically, especially within schools in the Southeast. In Business Administration alone, the state of Georgia is extremely fortunate that UGA, Tech, and Emory are all highly ranked nationally. Its pretty hard to get admitted to UGA. As a UGA grad and a Dad of a UGA female student (chemistry major), I’m especially proud that about 65% of UGA admissions are women who got admitted because of their brains.
UGA Dad
January 30th, 2011
2:41 pm
In the AJC Jeff Schultz’s column on the issue of football over-signings, he discussed that only the SEC’s three top academic schools of Vandy, Florida, and UGA don’t use this practice. Also, Georgia Tech doesn’t do it either.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
2:58 pm
Wait ’til they find out I scheduled all their home games at 8:00 AM this year.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:00 pm
They’re going to LOVE our new pay-potties this year.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:02 pm
No tables over 29 3/4 inches or your car will be towed.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:05 pm
Sorry, you can’t park there.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:07 pm
Son, let me see what is in that cup.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:09 pm
No, this is now a family-friendly area.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:15 pm
You can’t bring that here.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:16 pm
Don’t even think of plugging THAT in here.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:18 pm
Turn it down or I will have you removed.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:20 pm
Sorry, no glass, metal, plastic, or paper.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:20 pm
No, you can’t sell that ticket.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:22 pm
Did you read your ticket? It said, “No cameras!”.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:22 pm
No, you can’t keep the cap on your water.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:27 pm
Yes it is true. They are ALL ladies rooms now.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:31 pm
Are YOU the smartest bulldog? Text *1 for yes, *2 for no. Fees will apply.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:34 pm
Please drive responsibly…after all, we gave you a three mile walk to sober up.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:35 pm
You can only turn left here.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:41 pm
Yes, the proselytizers have a right to be here. You don’t. Keep moving.
Grim Reaper
January 30th, 2011
3:42 pm
When the NEXT “dream team” doesn’t live up to expectations, have them clean up the mess. The hype surrounding them will have Dawg fans chasing their tail till reality sets in and they have more arrests than wins, Richt is finally fired and Kirby Smart, Will Muschamp, Derek Dooley, Nick Saban, Jimbo Fisher, (insert name of any other coach you like here) all turn them down and they hire the head coach of the Blackshear Tigers to coach em up!
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:42 pm
You can’t use the restroom unless you buy something. Move on.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:44 pm
Ma’am, let me see what is in that bag.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
3:53 pm
Yes. We do have $65 million in reserve and we are at the bottom of the SEC in football, basketball, and baseball spending.
Don’t forget. This year’s contribution deadline is February 15.
M. F. Adams
January 30th, 2011
4:17 pm
We run the most profitable athletic department in America.
Be a part of it.
Your contribution deadline is February 15.
BOBO the Clown
January 30th, 2011
4:44 pm
Put them in jail. Or worse make them go to Auburn.
VIningsDAWG
January 30th, 2011
5:53 pm
My better is an Aubir and her family is bi time Auburn. Auburn has a company called the tailgate guys and sells the premium places by the stadium. Also they sell the spots by Tiger Walk for a pretty good profit. Other wise they have cut off cars pulling up to tailgating spots near the cmaput area. Most folks drop off the gear a nd leave but the area are patrolled pretty heavily by security.
FLA DAWG
January 30th, 2011
8:16 pm
With Richt at the helm and another season like the one we just experienced there won’t be any tailgaters.
Lance
January 30th, 2011
9:14 pm
I stopped going to the games years ago because tailgating is a nightmare. Occasionally I will take one of my kids but we park in a parking deck and go to the game and come home. Kill tailgating and for the most part your alumni loyalty will begin to drop off steadily. If we can’t get together and enjoy each others company with a cold beverage…well we just lose touch and UGA can’t demand money for a donation and then pay for the tickets and tell you to drop dead if you don’t like their tailgating policies. They haven’t received a donation from me in 5 years. They wont be getting one any time soon either.
Lance
January 30th, 2011
9:17 pm
MF Adams all that is perfect! all that and send us your check pronto.
john
January 30th, 2011
10:29 pm
Keep it up and I’ll watch all the home games from my couch and keep my 3,000 dollars I donate each year. No other school seems to have this problem, fix it & keep it fun and quit building concrete with what grass is left. 10 yrs ago it was fun to tailgate at UGA, now its more fun on the road. In fact I enjoy road games twice as much as home games.
Those are facts from a long time supporter of 15+ years.
RED DOG 77
January 31st, 2011
12:04 am
Redd Dawg…….1/30…12:43AM………Good post my friend, but please, try to be a little more original with your name……..I’ve been posting under RED DOG 77 for years, thanks in advance for your consideration…….Regards, RED