Nevin Elam Jr . practices his best quarterback throw as his family tailgates before the Wyoming at Illinois football game on Aug . 27 at Memorial Stadium in Champaign . Photo by Deb Edwards / Commercial-News
before to put into the trailer , so they don ’ t have to lug them over on game day .
“ There was a lot of planning and learning over the years . We have generators , tables , chairs , tents , a set of goal posts and flags that we pack . Every year it evolves into a little more , putting the ( John ) Jansky artwork between the goal posts this year was a really good idea .’’
That ’ s how Vermilion County residents can find the tailgate party organized by the Drapers , Griffins ,
Stutsmans and many others .
“ We usually start our planning a few days before the game with a group chat via text ,’’ Stutsman said . “ We try to figure out what food we are going to bring . Before the game with Chattanooga , we went with Fajitas on our Blackstone Griddle , before the Virginia game , Kye and I smoked some pork butts the night before the game and we took them over in crock pots .’’
According to Griffin , they have multiple grills available including the griddles and as many as four crock pots in use at any one time .
“ If it ’ s an 11 a . m . game , we might have someone bring over biscuits and gravy and someone else bring eggs ,’’ Griffin said . “ We have a lot of people who like to be a part of our tailgate . Some people will bring plates , some people will bring chips and others will bring some type of desert .’’
“ I don ’ t think we have ever ran out of food ,’’ Stutsman added . “ We try to make sure that everyone gets something to eat and drink .’’
The other major part of the tailgate are the beverages .
“ We make sure that we have everything from water to soda to beer to hard liquor ,’’ Griffin said . “ We totally understand that not everyone wants to drink alcohol and honestly , there are some days that all of us need to drink water at some point .’’
Stutsman pointed out that the early morning kickoffs usually start with a Bloody Mary .
So , what time do they get to Memorial Stadium ?
“ We get to Lot 31 at 7 a . m ., as soon as they open it , even if it ’ s a 7 p . m . game ,’’ Griffin said . “ That way ,
22 ILLIANA MAGAZINE — FALL 2022