Pay Per Tailgate

Well it hasn't gotten to this quite yet at UGA... but the way that people are talking you figure it will come someday.

PWD and The Good Senator have posts up regarding this so I'm going to chime in on this real quick.

1) I'm a poor recent post grad that's over worked and under paid-- I likely will not be in the market for one of these spots and I'm damn glad too. To be honest I tailgate with a large group of Alumni like myself, and we have awesome spots over near the Music building. Hopefully these won't be staked out for purchase anytime soon and I hope it stays that way. Its been mentioned in those two posts that the mystique about going to college games is the overall atmosphere and it really is the true draw of SEC football.
I have friends from Northern states that just have no idea what it's like---you can't compare it and you never will. Souring specific areas with some deep pocket donors pushes out the little guys, and it's not good for the over all product. It may be good for the bottom line but seriously we pay out the yin yang for football season why take the one true great thing about our season?

2) It just isn't right. The idea of tailgating is that sense of satisfaction that you got a great spot, or the sense of disappointment that you didn't this time and will try harder next go round. It's like hunting for a Christmas tree or finding the right pumpkin or sneaking into a sweet parking spot downtown. When you find your tailgate spot and you get their early it makes the day that much better. Something I've seen and detested from seeing the donors and people in the suites is the complete lack of care for the tailgate tradition.
Seriously how would you feel if you had been tailgating on North Campus for years and suddenly had to take a back seat for some big donor or corporate sponsor. The worst thing would be to go back and see your old spot sporting some sucky kind of corporate display abortion. Or the party isn't as bumpin' as you had it when you rocked that spot. And -gasp- maybe it's empty for the entire day and this old fart rolls up with his Hummer, imported beer and bifocals-- an hour before kickoff and then has the nerve to try and high five you as his trophy wife bends over to get the caviar.
F&%$ That.

And that's the bottom line...
-RDD