Before every football home game, students and fans can look forward to the tailgate. Tailgates are held on the road in front of the dining hall and across from Jarrett Hall. The football tailgate has a variety of concessions, music, food and prizes for everyone who goes. Many Buff fans and students enjoy the tailgate for a variety of different reasons.
WT football mom Johna Gregg has been a Buff fan for three years now largely due to her children who attend WT.
“I’ve been a Buff fan for three years, my daughter’s a junior, and my sons a sophomore and he’s a football player,” Gregg said.
Gregg said that she enjoys going to the tailgate to support the Buffaloes and her son Preston Gregg, a kicker on the team, and for the food and people.
“Just bring out here watching my son walk down the street, the food, the people and the environment,” Gregg said.
WT Alumni Zach McDonough has been a Buff fan for nearly his entire life.
“I’ve been a Buff fan ever since I can remember,” McDonough said. “I can remember a time back when I was little, three to four years old coming to WT games in the old Kimbrough field, and then being a student here while the new stadium was being built. It’s kind of surreal to see the projection of going from a little to fan to now being a fan for life and an alumni.”
McDonough says his favorite tailgating memory is the free food and variety of locally produced meats given out at the tailgate.
“I think my favorite tailgating memory is definitely all the free food, all the free meats that we have, and the beef that’s locally produced and getting to support that and try different cuts of meat from different companies here,” McDonough said.
Students enjoy tailgating just as much as other Buff fans. Luis Martinez, a junior international business major, enjoys going to the tailgates for the free food, culture and atmosphere that surrounds it.
“My favorite thing about tailgating would have to be the free food. The free food is always such a perk, and just the culture that surrounds tailgating,” Martinez said.
Martinez says that students should go to tailgates for the free food, merch and the opportunity to connect with others.
“Students should go to tailgating; one you get free merch, two you get free food and three you’re just going to connect with a lot of great people, and you never know what you’re going to get yourself into,” Martinez said.
Something Martinez said he would like to start seeing at tailgates is horses.
“One thing that I would really like to see at tailgating is the AG [agriculture] department having horses around, so you could ride a horse around the tailgate,” Martinez said. “I think horses would be cool, we are in the country bumpkin Panhandle so might as well have horses, right?”
The next tailgate students and fans can look forward to will be this Saturday, Oct. 14th for the Buffs Homecoming game against Western New Mexico at 7 p.m.. The tailgate will start at 3 p.m. and will last until kickoff.
