“ The trailer is more practical and easier to get into and out of the tailgating lot at Illinois ,’’ Stutsman said . “ And we don ’ t have to deal with all the breakdowns that we had with the bus .’’
And when the Stutsman-Draper group combines with Chris and Tim Griffin , from Danville , who have been tailgating at Illinois games since 2018 , it creates a unique setup .
“ We did know exactly what we wanted to do when we started back in 2018 ,’’ said Tim Griffin , the uncle of Illinois kicker Caleb Griffin . “ Initially , we had two vehicles over in Lot 42 ( southeast from the stadium ) and we would park nose-tonose . But as it grew and more people starting coming over from Danville , we decided to move over to Lot 31 ( west of the stadium ) and we bought a trailer for the tailgates .
“ So with Kye and Max , we make a U-shape deal with two trucks and the trailers and then we have about 40-feet worth of tents in-between along with two big screen TVs . We have a really big section there , so it ’ s pretty hard to miss us .’’
Both Stutsman and Griffin figure that they have had as few as 30 people show up before a game and as many as 70 or more .
“ You usually see the bigger crowds at the start of the season when the weather is really good ,’’ Stutsman said . “ But the true football fans come out later in the season when there is a chill in the air .’’
And creating the perfect tailgate doesn ’ t just come together on game day .
“ At the beginning of the season , about a week before the first game , we do an inventory of what we have in the garage ,’’ Griffin said . “ And then we will pack the trailer the night before the game . We have people dropping off their coolers the night
Tents for tailgaters line First Street West of Memorial Stadium during a recent Illinois football game . Photo by Deb Edwards / Commercial-News
Illinois kicker Caleb Griffin has a strong following , from left to right , Tim Griffin , uncle , Beth Damilano , and Chris Griffin , father , tailgate before the Aug . 27 game with Wyoming . It ’ s easy to find them on game day as their tailgate party features the uprights with the Illinois flags and a John Jansky original painting . Photo by Deb Edwards / Commercial-News
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