Greek Tailgate or Weak Tailgate?

For the first time ever, the University is encouraging UMD Greek life to tailgate on-campus rather than satellite houses notorious for the best day drinks of the football season. Now that there’s a new experimental set of tailgating rules to follow, students are getting a little skeptical about the possible outcomes…and to be honest, so am I.

Frats now have color-coded wristbands that only they can hand out to girls who want to be invited, no hard-liquor is allowed, it’s BYOB (ugh), no drinking games can be played (other than water pong…what?!), and communal sources of alcohol are banned (that means bye-bye kegs). And sorry to the off-campus frats (Pike, ZBT etc.) that may not see much of a turnout at their tailgates (getting cited isn’t exactly my idea of a good time). Need I say more? This seems like it could turn into a complete and utter disaster. But, there are some perks to this change. Say we rowdy college kids do manage to follow all of these rules…that means the University and the police won’t be such hard-asses in the future. Not to mention, this could give us the perfect opportunity to boot and rally at night rather than passing out after long hours of binge drinking (not sure if I’m the only one who does that, but you know where I’m going with this).

Will more people go to the game? And exactly how successful will this new tailgate be? Let’s look at a few scenarios that may result from this new change.

Worst Scenario

Everyone shows up to see what this new tailgate will be like only to realize that people are just standing around sipping beer because shot gunning isn’t allowed. The alcohol will be available in limited quantities so say goodbye to the crazy tailgates you once knew and loved. Not to mention all of the under-agers will have a harder time fitting in with a large mass of people who are all trying to make the most of this chaotic mess of a day-drink. Music is going to sound like a horrible blend of country, hip-hop and EDM because each fraternity will be blasting something from one of those genres. Let’s not forget that there may be some inter-Greek life wars among the frats because let’s be honest…not every single fraternity likes each other. The cost of food will probably add up and God forbid it tastes shitty (you just wasted some spending cash for alcohol and other miscellaneous things). In the end, everyone will dip out and try to drink somewhere else. This was clearly just a waste of everyone’s time and energy.

Ok Scenario

Everyone shows up to the tailgate but people feel a little indifferent about it. Some are eager to see how this is all going to play out, while others are only showing up because there’s nothing else to do (and going anywhere near off-campus means getting a citation). It seems like more of a potluck than a tailgate with this whole BYOB nonsense, and everyone feels like an alumni fan rather than a college student trying to have fun. Some people will definitely stay long enough to attend the game but this new tailgate probably won’t happen again in the future. There may not be as high of a turn out next time the university ever tries to organize an on-campus tailgate.

Better Scenario

Sure this requires students to pregame pretty hard, but who ever said that was a bad thing? Everyone is going to arrive to the scene relatively tipsy and fraternity brothers will be handing out wristbands left and right. For those who are able to get in, attendees will be having a great time dancing along to loud music and eating amazing food (catered by Bill’s BBQ for a cheap price). Sure the tailgate’s BYOB, but if you’re 21 (or have a decent fake) feel free to bring in packs of beer and/or boxed wine (unopened) and drink yourself silly until the start of the game. No need to drunkenly walk from backyard-to-backyard because everyone will be in one giant group ready to rage. And maybe this time, you’ll actually end up at the game and show-off that Terrapin pride.

Best Scenario

Everyone both in and out of Greek life decides to attend the tailgate and pregames well in advance of the event. The music will be great and everyone will be dressed head-to-toe in UMD gear showing their amazing school spirit. There’s going to be a huge sense of unity within Maryland Greek life because everyone will be tailgating together in one massive group rather than separated among the backyards of various satellite houses. Our university will soon become more football orientated because students (Greek life included contrary to popular belief) will now be more involved in the actual game. The food will be amazing, not to mention free water will be handed out throughout the entire event. Everyone will end up at the game to support the team resulting in the university being less strict on tailgating rules in the future. More lenient rules means better tailgates, and everyone will want to participate in this new event in the future. Say hello to a new football culture similar to this.