Since the 2008 season, the Chick-fil-a Kickoff has been a showcase for two of the country’s best teams to kickoff the college football season. Over Labor Day weekend, fans travel to Atlanta, GA, where they utilize tailgating spaces that usually only see action on Sundays when the NFL’s Atlanta Falcons play. This year to start the college football, and more importantly college football tailgating season, the game featured a match up between Boise State and Georgia. With Athens being an hour and a half drive from Atlanta, this “neutral” site game was not so neutral.
It should come as no surprise that the vast majority of the tailgaters were UGA fans, but I will say that I was very impressed with the number of Bronco fans I saw. Here is what I saw, and what you should expect when tailgating for the Chick-fil-a Kickoff game.
When planning your tailgate, the most important thing to do before you arrive is have your menu prepared! You need to know what you will be cooking on gameday and have all of the appropriate prep work done before you arrive. Here is some inspiration for your gameday menu based upon what I saw while tailgating outside the GA Dome.
Chicken and Steak fajita bar complete with guacamole and mango peach salsa! A perfect tailgating meal!
For a side dish, this Bacon and Broccoli Salad was delicious!
Kabobs were very popular. Above were bell pepper, sausage, and shrimp. Below are onion, elk, and bell pepper.
You can never go wrong with a steak on gameday.
Vodka Soaked Watermelon is perfect for the first tailgate of the season!
Venison and pork sausage anyone?
This isn’t your typical burger. This UGA fan made a “Blue Horse Burger” in honor of the opponent’s mascot. No, the burger is not actually made of horse meat. It is a juicy beef patty stuffed with blue cheese!
In keeping with the “eat your opponent” mentality, how about a “Blue Smurf Turf” margarita.
The key to this mixed drink is the Blue Curacao.
For dessert, what could be better than…
red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese icing!
In addition to planning your meal, you also have to arrive appropriately dressed to your tailgate. Like any college football tailgate, what you wear determines the school you are cheering for. Around the Georgia Dome, I saw plenty of Orange and blue from Boise fans.
They were primarily wearing blue and orange T-shirts and jerseys. For this game, Nike released special Pro Combat series uniforms. Boise State’s were all white and many fans said the looked like storm trooper uniforms. Well these fans agreed.
With the large number of UGA fans around, there was no shortage of red and black. Here is what UGA fans wear on gameday.
With UGA being a southern school, the fans follow a more formal game day dress code. Almost all UGA women wear their black, red, black and red or black, red, and white gameday dress!
For the guys you will see a variety of black and red combinations.
Polos, jerseys, and button downs are all fine! As long as the are either black or red!
Bulldog T-shirts are more than acceptable on gameday. If you aren’t wearing a bulldog T shirt, then holding a bulldog puppy will work just fine.
Given the high heat, I was very impressed to see a lot of guys wearing a wide variety of black and red pants.
Whether you decide to go formal or casual, it doesn’t matter. As long as you have on your red and black you are good to go!
With this game being played in Atlanta and not on a college campus, the tailgating areas are not what you would normally find for college football tailgating. The set up is much more what you would see in the NFL. I prefer tailgating on a college campus, but luckily with the passionate UGA and Boise State fanbases on hand, there was no shortage of great tailgaters to be found. When tailgating around the Georgia Dome, you have several options. The first is to tailgate at one of the dozens of private lots downtown.
Every lot is unique, and some are better suited for tailgating that others. If you aren’t hosting the tailgate yourself, your best bet is to park your car in one of these lots and walk to your friend’s tailgate in one of the Georgia Dome’s lots. The Georgia Dome has several lots that are great for tailgating. Here is a link to where I found this map and to download the full map.
I visited the Yellow, Blue, Orange, and Brown lots. Here is what you will see in each lot.
First up is the Yellow lot. This lot is open to the public on a first come first sever basis, so you will have to get there early to get the best spots.
Next lot is the blue lot. The Blue lot is a lot smaller than the Yellow and requires a pass. It is located across the street from the Georgia World Congress C building.
In both the yellow and blue lots, the ideal tailgating spots are the ones with access to grass. This allows for you to get off the hot asphalt (it was in the upper 90s for this game) and allows for you and your guests to spread out. WARNING! There might be a slope to your tailgate if you set up on a hill, so be prepared for that and watch for rolling objects.
Behind the Georgia Dome are the Orange and Brown lots.
Over on the right is the Orange Lot. This lot has enough spaces for 580 spots. On the back left is the Brown Lot. This lot has 300 spots. Here is a closer look at the Orange Lot.
Like the Blue and Yellow Lots, the grass areas are the prized tailgating locations.
The Brown lot may be smaller, but that doesn’t mean it has a shortage of great tailgating spots.
In this lot, there are great views of the Georgia Dome. There is also something that you won’t find on a college campus.
Tailgating under an overpass. If you are looking for a place to get out of the sun, this is perfect.
While the tailgating locations around the Georgia Dome are more urban than what you will find on college campuses, there were plenty of great spots to choose from. Remember, it isn’t the space, it is what you do with the space that makes a great tailgate. When tailgating around the Georgia Dome, getting a spot with either a grass median, sidewalk, or open grass area next to it will allow for you to expand your tailgate and get off the hot asphalt.
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Great post, as always.
The vodka watermelon is new to me… never been a watermelon fan. But that choice… hmm… maybe I would try
Well, as a Georgia Tech student I’m pretty much predisposed to despise UGA, but they do know how to party, and it also looks like they can cook, too!
Thanks for joining us at our tail gate and trouble mug!! Come back later in the year, we get a little more crazy!!
I love all the photos! It looks like it was an amazing day of tailgating with some amazing food! Next time I want to come with
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