http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/s...ortCat=nfl
Quote:But it's in the state of Michigan that tailgating is dying the fastest. Imagine! The state where the first tailgate came off the assembly line!
What they're doing at Central Michigan should be investigated by Congress. Tailgategate. The geniuses there banned external sound systems. What? Think about our lives. It's just us at the computer. Just us and our CrackBerries. Tailgating is one of the few experiences we have together. We listen to the game together. We sing Queen together. On one set of speakers!
Worse, CMU isn't letting any cars leave the parking lot until the third quarter. Reduces congestion, the school says. Isn't that kidnapping?
Terrified mom: "Please let me go! My baby's climbed out onto the roof of my house!"
Cop: "Sorry, ma'am. Still 1:48 left in the half."
At Western Michigan, tailgating is permitted to begin no earlier than three hours before the game and must end at kickoff. Hell, I know guys who need that much time to set up their radar ranges -- forget moving the Barcalounger out of the truck.
Not only that, but vehicles that take up two parking spots aren't allowed at WMU either. No Winnebagos? No Airstreams? What is this, Sweden?
Too bad it's not really true...
Nope, saw tons of early tailgating and land yachts at the game. Was surprised at the level of bs info that is "out there" about tailgating at WMU.
Where did you guys see the Winnebego's? I have been told time and time again by the university that they are not allowed for tailgating anywhere on University grounds!
We had a huge trip planned with Alums from Chicago for the Ohio U game last year and they specifically stated no Winnebego's!!!!! Anywhere!
We were so dissappointed we caboshed the trip!
This year we sat in the bar and got our pregame drink on because so many of the "advertised rules" are restrictive and truly sound lame.
Reilly called the powers that be at WMU (like I have in the past) and got this information from them. What he writes in his article is exactly what they are telling people who call in for tailgate information.
I called in at the start of this year to see if their were any rule changes and the girl who answered the phone and wanted to be very helpful told me that the parking lots on campus "do not allow tailgating at all!" I laughed and asked about the ones near the stadium and off of Oakland Dr. (thinking she was not considering those on campus lots for some reason) and she said those were included. Unreal response from somebody representing an official source of information at the school. She has probably never been to a game and would not know. She acted like it was a silly concept to tailgate at a Western game. I was appalled.
(10-22-2009 09:55 AM)Windycitybronco Wrote: [ -> ]Unreal response from somebody representing an official source of information at the school. She has probably never been to a game and would not know. She acted like it was a silly concept to tailgate at a Western game. I was appalled.
Typical. When I was at WMU, the school was known for hiring students without a clue about jack (see: students in Sports Information) to work the phones. But they were marketing majors, so they had to be smart kids!
I saw two Winabago's at the CMU game. Both were parked over by the Health and Human Services building. So, I'd assume that they're allowed this year.
I saw more than two over that way.
Yup, and Flash and I saw 2 in Lot 1 on East Campus.
Just drive one to the game. Say you came from two hours away. What are they going to do, send you away?
Honestly, it just scared us. We started trying to figure out what we were going to do with a winnebego if all the lots shut us out. Not really something you want to gamble on. Your kind of screwed not too mention the pain in the arse of driving around campus trying to figure out where you are going to put the thing.
I forwarded the story to a friend who went to Wisconsin and he his response was, " If Wisconsin had rules that strict, Alum's would not bother gathering for the games....he would still watch on the TV but the pageantry of game day would be ruined for him and many"
I asked what he would do if Wisconsin was not televised every Saturday (like a certain MAC school or schools for that matter) and he laughed. He said it would be tough to follow the program. He goes to about 3 Wisconsin games per year.....he could care less who they are playing because the atmosphere is always great.
He was very complimentary in regards to our Stadium and crowd size for the CMU game (he watched the 3rd rate broadcast on gameplan.....said it looked like a mid eighties broadcast)
Now, I am not saying we replicate Camp Randall but we have the makings of a great stage for Saturday Football....our campus sets up well. I just wish Western's powers that be would "allow" it to be utilized.
They were allowed to be utlized, big roasters, landyachts, trailers, you name it, they were there. This whole "they're killing tailgating" deal is a lot of web board bs and poor information broadcasting by the University.
Western Athletic Marketting at his best.
When service takes a back seat to rules and money, you have college.
The people that make these rules don't talk to the people that run the lots.
What they say is never what they do.