Tailgating
By Ryan Randall
For many, September is a cherished time, not because of the change in the weather or leaves (especially if you live in Florida). No, the month is looked forward to by so many because it marks the start of the college football season and the things that come with it.
Things such as tailgating.
For the local alumni clubs around Brevard County, pigskin parties are done in a variety of ways. Clubs such as the Brevard Seminole Club and the Space Coast Gator Club have bus trips to weekly games, where they will get a more traditional
tailgating experience.
However, for those not making the trip, there are plenty of options back home.
The Brevard Seminole Club, which has been around for 30 years, has a kickoff party at the beach, providing a tailgate atmosphere for three to four hours. Visitors will bring a potluck side dish, while the club cooks hamburgers and hot dogs. The atmosphere continues for all of the televised games through watch parties at the club’s main site, the Fraternal Order of Police Lodge, in Melbourne. However, there are watch parties at various restaurants in Cocoa and Doubles in Satellite Beach. The watch parties are a place for alumni and fans to connect in the area.
“You can go to a new city and sit around and do nothing for a long time and not meet a lot of people or you can get involved with something like our Seminole Club and suddenly you’re talking about the same players and team with other people,” Bill Johnson, Brevard Seminole Club president said. “So it gives a sense of connection, I think.”
The Space Coast Gator Club hosts a halftime raffle to benefit the club’s scholarship fund, and has held their watch parties at various sites in Brevard.
“Locally, we hosted five football watch party locations last year (Broken Barrel, in Palm Bay; Old School Pizza, in Melbourne; Buffalo Wild Wings in Viera; A N.Y. Pizza House in Satellite Beach; and Dixie Crossroads in Titusville,” said Amanda Ferguson, Space Coast Gator Club president. “We have our ‘Two Bits’ cheer before the game the UF fight song, and ‘We Are The Boys’ (played at the end of the third quarter), cheers playing through each location’s sound systems. We even sing the alma mater after the
game ends.”
