Students get pumped with first tailgate of the year before home game
Aaron Young
Staff Writer
Tailgating. It’s a pre-game ritual that gets fans hyped for football on the weekends and is filled with BBQs, bean bag tosses, blasting music and of course, alcohol.
The first tailgate dates back to 1869 at a college game between Rutgers and Princeton. More than 150 years later, it’s still a strong tradition.
On a beautiful Saturday evening, Minnesota State hosted their first ever tailgate with students and parents gathering at Lot 20 and Lot 7 next to the Stadium.
For all the students present, their favorite part of tailgating was meeting new people and hanging out with friends.
Danielle, a senior in the nursing program said that she loved the atmosphere and compared it to actual parties, saying it’s not as crazy.
As for the game, she said, “I like watching the people. I know a couple of guys on the team.”
Ryan, a freshman, expressed his excitement for the game as well. “I know we got a good football team and I know Augustana is a pretty good team as well,” said Ryan. He also added that when it came to the action, he was looking forward to the deep balls during the game.
That’s exactly what he got, as both quarterbacks JD Ekowa and Ryan Schlichte threw for 163 yards, including a 50-yard pass from Schlichte to senior Shane Zlystra.
Andreas Di Crolli, a sophomore in the aviation management program, was straight forward about what he was most looking forward to, “Mavericks winning.”
As for student’s favorite players, Nate Gunn and Zylstra were clear standouts.
That isn’t a surprise, with Gunn coming of his second straight monster game to start the season. He finished with 20 rushes for 138 yards and a touchdown.
Zylstra is popular as well, with his talent and brother Brandon Zylstra spending some time as a Minnesota Viking. He added 108 yards and two touchdowns in the win on Saturday.
In the end, the Maverick fanbase got what they wanted, a 27-7 home-game victory against Augustana.
Header photo by Mansoor Ahmad | MSU Reporter.