For some South Carolina graduates, tailgating is a chance to relive college memories through alongside family before games at Williams-Brice Stadium.
Gamecock and Alpha Delta Pi alumna Kinsey Long still gets passionate about South Carolina on Saturday’s in Columbia.
Even though Long has said goodbye to her tailgating days as a student, she still comes down every weekend to the Fairgrounds and tailgates with her family.
“Now that I'm older and graduated now ... we spend all weekend down there now," Long said. "So it’s really become a family affair.”
Long and her family come down for each home game on Fridays and stay the night in their RV in the Fairgrounds. Long said she has years worth of memories tailgating as a Gamecock.
“Football games, that’s what you look forward to all week with your friends," Long said. "So it was hard sometimes because usually I wanted to tailgate with all of my friends and do what they were doing and then I would get calls and texts from my dad, 'Where are you?' so usually I would stop by.”’
Even though it was a hard balance sometimes for Long when it came to seeing her family or staying with friends, she would always make sure to stop by her parents' tailgate. She loved being able to bring her friends to her parents' tailgate on Bluff Road.
“I still remember my very first game and me and my roommate at the time, you know, we had to plan out how we were going to get there and we did get to stop and see at that time it was just my dad ... it was just exciting because it was my first game there as a student and he got to introduce me as a student to all of his friends,” Long said.
Long’s personal tailgate traditions started when she became an official Gamecock, she says her love for the Gamecocks all started with her dad, Jeff Parrish.
Parrish has been a Gamecock fan for as long as he can remember and regardless of South Carolina’s record, he said he stands by them through the “good and the bad.”
"It’s in your blood because we haven't always been really good," Parrish said. "It’s just the tradition, it’s just something we do.”
The tradition that began even before Long attended South Carolina helped her to find her comfort and “home” even when here parents were not there.
“My parents didn’t get to go to all of the games when I was in school, but just being, going to the games and be in that atmosphere made me feel at home somewhat just 'cause I was so used to going before, so even when they weren’t there, just the tradition of being there,” Long said.
Each tailgate holds unique memories, and the tradition continues, but in a new way, as this is their first year tailgating at a new location.
“I hope this starts a new tradition for us," Parrish said. "We get to go on Friday. I pull down there, we get to go on Friday at two o’clock and we get to stay there till Sunday ... so I hope this starts something new.”
Although she's not in the student section anymore, Long still looks forward to Sandstorm, the video before 2001 and the pregame entrance as she said they bring back exciting memories.
“Some people think that it's just football or it's just tailgating, but it’s really like that full-on day event that you get to spend just quality time with family and friends and just have a good time and of course we all watch the game and all that, but it is more than that," said Long. "It’s about being around the people that you love and getting to spend the day with them."