Tailgating at Alabama

Have you ever seen 100,000 people wearing houndstooth and standing in a quad? Do you know what Denny Chimes is? Have you ever listened to a million dollar band? If no, then you have never been to game day at Tuscaloosa. One of the two football capitals in Alabama and another one of the most storied programs in college football this college town shuts down for game day.  Here is what to expect when tailgating at Alabama.

Disclaimer: I was at Alabama for a Thursday night game in 2010 against Georgia State. These image don’t convey the masses of people that a  Saturday game day provides. When I make it to a Saturday SEC game, I will update this post. Regardless, this will provide a good taste of what to expect.

With my Thursday night game kicking off at 7pm, there wasn’t the typical tailgating food on site. Here is what I did see.

Burgers and Chicken are great tailgating food. The gas powered blender was definitely impressive!

On Tuscaloosa game days you have two items your attire must include. Crimson and Houndstooth. Crimson can come in a variety of different forms, this is the south so you will see collard shirts, ties, dresses, and heels. You will also see quite a few crimson jerseys.

To complement your crimson, every tide fan pays homage to their legendary former coach Paul “Bear” Bryant by wearing his signature houndstooth print.

There are a wide variety of forms you can wear your houndstooth print in, so get creative and don’t worry about over doing it, you can never have too much hounds tooth on you clothes!

You can tailgate in lots all over campus, but like Ole Miss, there is one place to be on Saturdays in Tuscaloosa. The Quad surrounding Denny Chimes is where you will find the best tailgating in T-town. There are large fields where you can park and walk to the Quad, but I would get there early. They will fill up fast.

This large expansive area of grass is surrounded by academic buildings and is filled with tents on game day.

The Quad is right across the street from the stadium, so the commute from tailgate to stadium is very quick. In the center of the quad is Denny Chimes. This historical bell tower and campus landmark also a part of the schools football history. Past captains are able to leave their mark on campus by imprinting their hand and foot prints in concrete at the base of Denny Chimes.

Walking around and looking at the past Alabama greats is like looking through the roster of many college and NFL hall of fame members. With 13 national titles won, there is plenty of history in this football program.

On game days in Tuscaloosa, Bryant-Denny Stadium is hard to miss.

This massive 100,000 plus capacity stadium sits right across the street from fraternity houses and is located on Tuscaloosa’s main drag, University Ave.

About 2 hours before kickoff, the front of the stadium fills with fans waiting to watch their team make its way into the stadium. Here is what that looks like.

After the players make their way to the stadium, you have to head back to The Quad to watch the “Million Dollar Band” play outside Denny Chimes

and in the back of The Quad.

Once the band is done playing, follow them as they make their way to the stadium!

Again, this was only a Thursday night game, I look forward to making it to a Saturday and seeing what a full scale game is like!

Before you head down to game day in Tuscaloosa, be sure to check the schools updated tailgating policies in the tailgating resources section.