From sunrise to sundown
Bleeding red — The the first home game brings out the spirit of Liberty students. Photo credit: Julie Gonzalez
4QF does not begin at kickoff, instead it is an all day event for LU students
The sun was rising, the birds were chirping and students were out of their beds before 3 p.m. on a Saturday. It must be gameday.
The big headline was the Liberty Flames were victorious over Robert Morris in their home opener Saturday, but what’s a football game without a good old-fashioned tailgate first?
Tailgating is as old a tradition as, well, a tailgate. To the untrained eye, tailgating appears to just be grilling and eating before the game. Wrong.
In the words of our founder, the late Dr. Jerry Falwell, “if it’s Christian it should be better.” That includes the tailgating.
Enthused Liberty students began tailgating around 2 p.m. for a 7 p.m. kick off Saturday.
“You could hear the excitement from the window,” freshman Anne Lowry said. “Even if you weren’t down at the tailgate, you could hear it and got pumped for the game.”
While eating is an important part of tailgating, the true meaning is to get fans excited and ready for four quarters of fantastic football. Tailgating is about friends and family coming together and getting pumped to cheer for their favorite team.
“It gave us a good chance to meet new people and interact with people from our dorm and bro dorm,” senior Jessica Guenther said.
Every tailgate party comes with a story and a tradition. Students living in Dorm 41 tailgated by grilling hamburgers and hotdogs, painting themselves for the game and playing Four-Square.
Other dorm traditions included being the first students to enter the stadium, making ‘Go Flames’ signs and even creating a Trojan horse to bring to the game.
“It really got us pumped for the game,” freshman Amanda King said.
Whether it’s grilling with secret family recipes, donning a kilt and painting your face, or just wearing red, tailgating is Liberty’s signature pre-game ceremony.
The success of this week’s tailgate was only the beginning. Dorms are already planning bigger and better things for next week’s tailgate before Liberty takes on James Madison University at 7 p.m. at Williams Stadium.