The Party Box Club
TAILGATING FOR: 29 seasons. The group is celebrating its 30th season this fall.
RESERVED SPOT AT LSU: Corner of Nicholson and South Stadium drives
DUES/FEES: The group offers a wide range of membership options, from a game-by-game fee of $150 per person to group or corporate season memberships for $2,500.
ESSENTIAL GAMEDAY CUISINE: Always something grilled. Even if the day’s primary food isn’t grilled, tradition dictates that some type of meat or poultry is prepared.
FAVORITE GAMEDAY GAMES: Because of this tailgate’s location and large crowds, there isn’t much room for games that take up a lot of space, though some of the younger members manage to play a few rounds of ping pong before the large crowds arrive.
AMENITIES: Licensed bartenders, a cooking team, the usual array of indoor-outdoor furniture and a 60-inch TV and satellite dish. The group’s legendary ceiling fan hangs from the side of the RV.
THE BEST THING ABOUT LSU TAILGATING IS … “Everything, [but] mostly the community. We’re on our third generation of members, and the torch has been passed seamlessly from generation to generation. Our children have literally grown up doing this on most every fall Saturday for their entire lives.” —Otey White, longtime member of The Party Box Club and president of Otey White and Associates
KOCKA Tailgating
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TAILGATING SINCE: Two groups merged in 2013, but Krewe of Crown formed in 2001 and Krewe’d Awakening formed in 1999
RESERVED SPOT AT LSU: The Old Front Nine near Nicholson Drive and Nicholson Drive Extension
ESSENTIAL GAMEDAY CUISINE: Beer plus whatever’s on the grill. Some favorites at this tailgate are alligator sauce piquant and pulled pork sandwiches.
FAVORITE GAMEDAY GAMES: Beer pong, washers, cornhole
AMENITIES: This shady tailgate sits on a large grassy space under a large oak tree, optimal for cook- ing out and playing games. It features a personal DJ who begins spinning at sunrise, multiple beer pong tables and the “Eight-Man Funnel of Death.”
THE BEST THING ABOUT LSU TAILGATING IS … “LSU is just all that is good about tailgating. We will give [opposing fans] a hard time and call them ‘tiger bait,’ but we are going to feed you and give you a beer to drink. … I really can’t think of any place I’d rather be than tailgating during football season.” —James Roy, director of KOCKA Tailgating affairs
Krewe de Tigres de la Vieux Ecole
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TAILGATING SINCE: 2005; Red Stick CrossFit joined as an official partner in 2012
RESERVED SPOT AT LSU: Indian Mounds on Dalrymple Drive
DUES/FEES: $200 per person per season
ESSENTIAL GAMEDAY CUISINE: Louisiana staples, including fried catfish, jambalaya, gumbo, turtle soup and alligator sauce piquant. Sometimes the group orders from local restaurants, such as Couyon’s, and usually supplements the cooking with platters from Jimmy John’s or Raising Cane’s.
FAVORITE GAMEDAY GAMES: Beer pong, washers, flip cup, giant Jenga
AMENITIES: 50-inch TV, satellite, 24-by- 24-foot blow-up tent and several other 12-by- 12-foot tents, a stocked bar with liquor and mixers, a keg or multiple kegs for large games and two stereo systems
THE BEST THING ABOUT LSU TAILGATING IS … “It’s a lot of work, but something we look forward to every year. There is simply nothing like spending gameday with 100,000-plus fellow Tiger fans. We love to show hospitality to friends old and new and even to visiting fans. It is a vivid demonstration of everything that makes Louisiana great: our joie de vivre, our love for our family and friends and our passion for our culture.” —Melissa Chicoine, director of marketing and communications at Red Stick Crossfit
Unsupervised Tailgating
TAILGATING FOR: Nearly 20 years RESERVED SPOT AT LSU: Touch-down Village II, spot 427
DUES/FEES: Unsupervised isn’t a closed group, so there are no official dues or fees. Attendees can contribute to the group’s “operating fund.” Several members, deemed VIP sponsors by the group, chip in to cover pre-season operating costs, such as the parking pass and bus maintenance.
ESSENTIAL GAMEDAY CUISINE: During the group’s offseason meeting, known as The Summit, members map out the upcoming season and select a game captain and chef for each home game so no menu is ever duplicated. Yearly recurring cuisine includes barbecue, jambalaya and gumbo. The group also tries to fit the menu to the opponent with cuisine like drunken chicken for South Carolina and alligator sauce piquant for Florida.
FAVORITE GAMEDAY GAMES: Beer pong, flip cup, cornhole. The group’s PA system has commentators for when the competition gets fierce and needs a play-by-play.
AMENITIES: The centerpiece of the Unsupervised Nation is T.U.B.: The Unsupervised Bus. It’s a renovated 1982 Ford school bus that has been reclassified and registered as an RV. It sports a purple and gold paint job, a bathroom, two AC units, InMotion satellite, two interior televisions, limousine rope lighting throughout, a touchscreen digital jukebox with nearly a terabyte of music, a train horn with a dedicated air compressor and a Mackie PA system with subwoofer. The bus even boasts bench seating that converts into five bunk beds. An exterior-mounted 50- inch flatscreen TV and a 20-foot inflatable projection screen for nighttime viewing makes the Unsupervised tailgate a great spot to watch the game if you can’t get into Tiger Stadium. The group also has a unique ice chest: a purple and gold coffin that has been refurbished and insulated throughout.
THE BEST THING ABOUT LSU TAILGATING IS … “In Louisiana, we pride ourselves on our cooking, our hospitality, our ability to have a good time and our love of LSU. What better showcase for all these elements than tailgating with good friends, both old and new, before a Saturday night in Death Valley and putting our stamp on all these things we love for the world to see? Geaux Tigers!” —Troy Thibodeaux, longtime Unsupervised member