FIU rocks new football tailgate village

Alumni, students, staff and faculty staged the biggest tailgate party in FIU history Saturday before the football home opener.

Organized as a “tailgate village,” the party brought together the Alumni Association and FIU’s most enthusiastic tailgaters in Lot 6 next to the stadium before the Sept. 11 Rutgers game. Alumni Relations coordinator Robby Perez came up with the idea of the tailgate village, then Student Affairs and Parking Services worked together to organize the event. Perez’s new concept was a hit.

Thousands of people streamed through the Panther Pit Tailgate Village, buying food and drinks, picking up free giveaways and posing for photos with Roary under the Alumni Association’s giant new inflatable Panther arch.

“The new Tailgate Village sponsored by Moss & Associates was a huge success,” said Bill Draughon, associate vice president of Alumni Relations. “It was great to see so many FIU football fans come together with so much energy and pride.”

Students and alumni new to FIU football mingled with veteran tailgaters who invested months of planning into their tailgates.

A group of alumni nicknamed the “The Four Horsemen” — Alberto Padron ’98, MBA ’09, Mike Maher ’97, Frank Pena ’99 and Eddie Hondal ’88, ’00 — roasted three pigs on site and had televisions streaming other marquee football games in their tent. FIU groups including Parking Services and the School of Hospitality and Tourism Management organized tailgates in the village.

The Alumni Association brought in Games on Wheels to enhance the Family Fun Zone with a trailer of televisions and video games. Kids also lined up for the giant new Panther slide and face painting.

In addition to Moss & Associates and Games on Wheels, other sponsors for Alumni tailgate included AvMed: Individual Health and Bioteknica.

Throughout the afternoon there were performances by the FIU Marching Band, the Dazzlers and rappers Grimass and Young Rage. The duo (Carlson Pierre and Reginald Moreau) wrote and performed the FIU Fight Anthem.

Also joining the fun were outside organizations including the Miami Dolphins, and PODS, which tailgated out of a POD decorated blue and gold.

The Tailgate Village will be back for the next football home game (FIU vs. Western Kentucky) on Oct. 9.

–Deborah O’Neil MA ‘09