Talawanda Tailgating

As most of us sports fans know, the parking lot of a sports venue hours before the game is home to hamburger and hot dog parties with ice cold cooler beverages and music which is also know as tailgating. It is a famous pastime that has existed in American culture since the creation of modern sports. The biggest tailgate parties occur at the professional and collegiate levels of sporting events, but is making its way to high school for students.

At Talawanda High School, tailgating is important to many people of the student section. A tailgate takes place 2 hours before every game, even at away games. To increase the fun and amount of people of the tailgate, a bus is brought by a dedicated fan, Dylan Hacker 17, a senior at Talawanda. The decked out bus in Talawanda colors, has been named “The Tribe Bus,” which refers to the name of the student section and also comes from the Talawanda “Braves.” The bus includes a large cold cooler full of drinks, hamburgers and hotdogs, and condiments. It also carries a canopy, a portable stereo and grill, frisbees and footballs, and a cornhole set. Lets not forget that it most importantly carries the highly dedicated fans that attend every single game and always cheer on the Talawanda Braves regardless of how the team does, whom always go all out on the theme for each game.

The students really love coming to the tailgates. It’s a good way to have some fun while waiting for the game to start. Senior, Zach Henley 17, says, “My favorite part of the tailgates is hanging out with friends while listening to music and throwing some football.” Another senior, Alex Weller 17, stated, “I love going to the tailgates because I really enjoy the good food and playing cornhole with friends.”

Talawanda students looks forward to continue the tailgating, and hopefully carry on the tradition in the future to the underclassmen. The fans hope to see a good year for the Braves. Stop by and grab a hot dog at the Tribe Bus, but only if you’re a Braves fan.