The Grove is known as the holy grail in tailgating, the mecca of college football, the best you can get. If you have ever graced your presence in the Grove, you will know it is unlike any other tailgating experience. Several things make Ole Miss stand apart from the rest; maybe it’s the chandeliers dangling from the highest points of the tents, or maybe it’s the southern belles in red and blue with a strand pearls around their necks, or maybe it’s the good old Southern hospitality and home cooking. Whatever it is, anyone who has stepped foot on campus during a home game knows you enter a different kind of world, one where “Hotty Toddy” is chanted and everyone is your friend. Here is list of 8 things that are essential to the amazing tailgating experience that lies in the Grove…
1. Proper Attire.
Everything is fancier in the Grove, including your attire. While you will see a wide array of clothing choices, the most common puts girls in dresses and boys in their Sunday best. Whether you go into the stadium for the game or stay steady in a cozy tailgating tent, everyone proudly wears their red and blue. Ladies, start your shopping for your game day dresses, and boys iron your jackets, football season is here.
2. Tilt, app that helps you collect money from your group.
You are never tailgating alone, usually you will be with your best friends and family. With that many people, everyone chips in to help set up the best tent in the Grove. Tilt is the easiest, fastest, and most secure way to collect money for your tailgate! Over 100 college campuses nationwide are using it and even better, it’s FREE! A new essential in your 2015 Grove checklist.
3. Lots and Lots of Food.
This is a top essential in my book. It is a known fact that food brings people together, so what other way than to have an abundance of it? From classics like fried chicken and chips and dip to a decadent s’mores bars, if you snoop around the different red and blue tents you will find a huge collection of the finest, yummiest, and best food from all around the country and world! Even better, everyone in your tailgate can chip in using my number two must have, Tilt! Make sure to come with an empty stomach because there is never a shortage of food in the Grove.
4. Game Day Buttons & Stickers.
This is a personal favorite of mine. Nothing is better than finishing your game day outfit with a shiny button representing your organizations on campus, whether it is Greek life, student government, or any other organization, you are sure you see buttons for just about it all. Stickers also great because you can give them to your friends to wear, making everyone covered in different stickers all having one thing in common—they are supporting our boys on the field!
5. A Portable Charger.
This is an unspoken necessity in my opinion. If you think your phone battery is going to last all day in the Grove at a tailgate and all night the stadium watching the game, you are sadly mistaken. You can pick up portable chargers at pretty much any drugstore and I promise it will save your life when you rush the field after beating the number one ranked team, and want pictures to prove it (and post of course).
6. Your Loudest Voice.
This may seem like a dumb one, but don’t take it lightly, this is a huge necessity. After any given game you are bound to lose your voice, so make sure you come prepared to yell at the top of your lungs while saying “Hotty Toddy” and while cheering on your Rebs! You will also be talking to more people than you thought you could as you are always making new friends in the Grove. Nothing is worse than having your voice give out mid “Are You Ready?”! So eat some ice cream the night before and make sure your inner cheerleader voice is ready to come out, nothing makes your mouse ramble more than a day in the Grove!
8. Comfortable Shoes.
Now ladies, I know we all want our Sunday best to be shown in the Grove but how practical are those 5 inch high heels when walking through the largest tailgate in football history all day? If you can do it, props to you! But otherwise I would make sure you find some comfortable shoes, nothing is worse than getting blisters on your feet on a game day!
Make sure these 8 things come with you on game day and you will be sure to have the best time of your life! Hotty Toddy!
