I’ve said for a long time that what happens inside the stadium at a Grateful Dead show is only half the reason to show up for the experience. Like a Dead show, Arkansas football fans show up early (3-4 hours before kickoff). The difference is in the amount of time spent in the parking lot after the game, which usually depends on whether the Hogs win.
Other than Jerry Garcia forgetting lyrics from time to time, the Dead never lost a game and neither has Dead & Co. But I digress.
For years now, with multiple opportunities for TV and streaming services offered from channels like ESPN, ESPN+, ESPNU and ESPN “the ocho,” universities have worked tirelessly to improve the gameday experience and, obviously, part of that experience is tailgating.
Recently, Bookies.com ranked Arkansas No. 15 in the 16-team SEC when it comes to tailgating. Only Vanderbilt ranks below the Razorbacks and everyone else is ahead, including newcomers Texas and Oklahoma. Georgia is No. 1 and Ole Miss is No. 2.
A few years ago, when there were only 14 teams in the conference, FanBuzz tabbed Arkansas ninth, but that’s still suspect. More recently, Roll Tide Wire ranked Arkansas at No. 11 last summer. In possibly the biggest surprise of all, the Alabama site didn’t rank the Tide No. 1. It gave that honor to LSU and relegated themselves waaaaaay back to No. 2.
I gotta be honest here – it would’ve hurt my feelings a little bit if I didn’t know how off-base the ranking is. In fact, if you told me the same service ranked the Hogs next to last in football over the past decade or so, the poll would have infinitely more credibility.
Instead, it appears that whomever put the list together had either never been to Fayetteville on gameday, or they really use their medical marijuana card more than they should. No doctor would allow a substance to be “prescribed” if they knew it would make your entire mind go crazy.
Pushing Back on the SEC Tailgating Rankings
Now, I don’t want to get too harsh here, because I’ve only been to one other SEC stadium for a game: Vaught-Hemingway Stadium in Oxford, Miss. Of course, if you count Texas, then I’ve been to two SEC stadiums, but that was when they were in the Big 8, 12 or whatever. I’ve only driven past LSU’s stadium in Red Stick and I’ve been on Texas A&M’s campus during the summer. And, other than driving through Starkville on my way to Gulf Shores, that’s about it.
Having said that, and even with my dearth of information, I’ll comment anyway because of my vast experience tailgating in Fayetteville.
The first thing that comes to mind is a simple question: If someone thinks our tailgating is that bad, what don’t we have and that would make it better? Every, or almost every, game has a band set up on Maple Street beyond the north end of the stadium, so what more? A roller-coaster? A Wild River Country water park? Top Golf? Balloon rides?
Tailgating is about beer, seven-layer dip and friends. Those things could add up to a win if everyone involved was locked inside an elevator. However, when you can add sunshine on a crisp fall afternoon, it makes those things go together like pigs-in-a-blanket.
Some have talked about using the lawn in front of Old Main (ala The Grove in Ole Miss) to set up tents. That’s a fine idea and would make the experience very unique, but would it be a game-changer? No.
There’s no real parking in the area and there’s nowhere near enough space to accommodate the tens of thousands who tailgate much closer to the stadium, like they’ve been doing for decades without a care in the world for what others think about the set-up in Fayetteville.
There are two elements of tailgating that really matter: A university’s willingness to provide space and the desire of fans to use it. Arkansas has both.
As far as a comparison between Fayetteville and the rest of the SEC, I’ve been to The Grove at Ole Miss and have to reluctantly agree that it’s a good tailgating set up. But if you think there’s something magic about The Grove, or the Ole Miss fans who make it what it is, don’t go there because you’ll be disappointed. With all due respect, it ain’t all that.
The Real Issue for Arkansas Football
Now, the real question must be more inclusive and consider not just what happens outside in the tailgate area, but what happens when you leave the tailgate area. I don’t have a remedy, but the bottom line is it shouldn’t require leaving the tailgate 40 minutes before kickoff to get to your seat in time, yet it does.
And keep in mind, my normal tailgate is in the parking lot by the north end zone, not more than 20-yards from the Razorback statue at the northeast end of the stadium. I have no more than 120 yards to walk to my normal gate. Taylen Green could sprint that in around 12 seconds or less, yet I can barely make it in time for the national anthem. But it takes me 40 minutes just to get inside the stadium. Then you have to deal with exceedingly long concession lines.
The UA needs to get back to making sure the basics are executed swiftly and to perfection before we concern ourselves with making a great tailgating experience better.
As far as just getting inside the stadium, I know some of this has to do with not using paper tickets anymore. We’re still not at a point in our technological history where everyone knows how to use their technology perfectly, so hold ups occur when people can’t put the scanner in the right place to scan the ticket in your phone.
Now, I’m not about to sit here and tell you exactly what has to happen to make all that go away, but whatever it is, it needs to happen, or fans will watch it at home, or retreat to our awesome tailgating experience taking one more voice out of the Hog call.
There’ll always be a large chunk (in the thousands) of people who go to the game for the live, party-on-bro adventure of it all. But at some point, these things have to be fixed if those in charge want the less than party-on-bro crowd to keep coming.
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