Tailgate food at University of Georgia football games is pretty simple. It is all about two-bite brownies, chips and dip and one other main ingredient: beer.
Among tents of tailgaters set up on North Campus for last weekend’s football game against the University of South Carolina, beer was named the top tailgate necessity.
Nikia McGee, a 1998 UGA grad now of Macon who had a grill going and a table of chips and dip shared among a half-dozen friends, listed beer first when asked the group’s essential tailgate item.
"Hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages," said McGee of the items purchased that morning that were now sizzling on the grill. Otherwise, the guys had a spread of seven-layer dip and some Chex mix, courtesy of McGee’s wife.
"I have some Coors Light, seven-layer dip and brownies," added Hillary May, a graduate student at UGA studying dairy science. She and two friends had just gotten dropped off on Broad Street in downtown Athens and were working out who would carry what.
Although, she admitted, the experience was a new one for her.
"I’m a (West Virginia) Mountaineer, so this whole getup," she said, pointing to her red-and-black ensemble. "I wear jeans and T-shirts."
But not every group of tailgaters at Saturday’s game showed up with simply a cooler of beer and a tray of Mexican dip.
Jarvis Davenport, a 2005 UGA graduate, coordinated with some friends to bring 100 pounds of barbecue and a well-stocked bar for their tailgate. By the time kickoff drew near, Davenport said he expected about 300 of his closest friends to be at the party.
"We kind of did it the easy way; we catered it in," he said. "We got about 100 pounds of pork brought in and about 150 Domino’s pizzas for dinner."
Since he’s from Atlanta, Davenport said friends in Athens recommended a local barbecue joint for the food.
"We’re not into the food, we’re more focused on the bar situation," he added. "We’ve got about 12 or 14 kegs of beer and about 60 or 70 cases of assorted liquors. We’re expecting 300 today."
The party was spread among six or seven black tailgating tents. One table had a mound of potato chip bags on it, still unopened. Another table served as the self-serve bar and a second about 20 feet away held nothing but sparkling wine and flutes.
Across the lawn, Sarah Reed, a 2007 UGA grad who still lives in Athens, sat with a few friends under the shade of their own tent. Her tailgating contribution was slightly more unique compared with many of her fellow UGA graduates.
"I think I might be the only one out here, though," she said of her choice to bring a jar of dill pickles. "I love pickles. Who doesn’t like pickles.
"Would you like one?"