is anything like the Pitt Alumni events we see on the road. A bunch of stuffed shirts with over priced food and over priced drinks. Sorry that is not my idea of fun. UGH.
Please heather dont tell me a Unique tailgating experience
- Thread starter tetonpanther
- Start date
I was at one of those pitt alumni events pre-game for a pitt g-town game at the Verizon center, had to be about 10 years ago. we were in one of those club/banquet rooms, bar, food, blah blah. so me and group are having fun, pounding beers of course pre game in DC and some pitt alumni speaker asks the place to be quiet, they want to give speech.
It's like 30 minutes before tip off, in a party atmosphere, and this person wants the place to hush down like it's some sort of best man's speech at a wedding. so of course me and my small group refuse to abide, we are talking still, having fun. Now we are in back, almost in different room so we think we aren't bothering anyone. person on Mic asks the "people in back to please quiet down" and again, we don't.
we got some dirty looks of course form these "stuffed shirts" but it didn't ruin our time. It's a pre game tailgate, not a memorial service.. Shut up and get a drink I say
Kind of describes alot of the crowd at Heinz Field. If some of these people would enjoy themselves, I am certain they would have a stroke. Most boring group of people this side of a bible study group.
it's a conservative crowd to say the least. maybe the beer sales will help awaken the walking dead.. pitt has a real issue on their hands, need to attract and keep the younger generation.. ALOT of the pitt faithful falls into the "Down in front" category, fans from the 70's talking about the good old days. Failure in 90's lost a whole generation of fans, people that would be in their late 20's/early 30's now that didn't want to root for a team who lost by 70 to tosu when they were in their formidable youth.. (plz keep in mind I don't know what formidable means).
There's a fine line between the southern style, well dressed, hospitable tailgating you see at places like Ol' Miss and the type of boring alumni events we have at away games. If we're aiming for the southern style, we're missing it by a mile. Those people may look, at first glance, like our upper-crust crowd that travels, but they are hardcore fans that participate in every tradition, every cheer in the stands, and actually PAY ATTENTION to the game. That's what we have to aim for. Get people interested in what matters: the game, the traditions, and, of course, drinking enough to kill a small horse.
I was at that event, pretty tuned up in Cincy. Having a blast and all of the sudden, Nordy starts talking and the party atmosphere goes dead. We are having some fun in the back of the room and some broad shushes my wife and says that chancellor is speaking.
My wife giggles turns to our group of donors alumni and quasi mocks her and says Hohhot the chancellor is speaking.
It went from party to dead in about 7 minutes of listening to Nordy! Turn out the lights the party was over. It wasn't until we left and hung out with the Buches' at a local bar that the atmosphere came alive again.
I would recommend that if chancellor and or AD must speak, do it early be brief and let the tailgate occur!
My wife giggles turns to our group of donors alumni and quasi mocks her and says Hohhot the chancellor is speaking.
It went from party to dead in about 7 minutes of listening to Nordy! Turn out the lights the party was over. It wasn't until we left and hung out with the Buches' at a local bar that the atmosphere came alive again.
I would recommend that if chancellor and or AD must speak, do it early be brief and let the tailgate occur!
I don't think that's an AD's job nor do I think she is referring to the tent tailgates.. these events are usually coordinated by alumni groups, not official university functions. Despite our hatred for Pederson, he did do a few cool things IMO with this topic. had the band march thru the parking lots pre game at Heinz, think he set up something for students along the grass/river side..
Outside of that, not much else an AD needs to focus on with regards to tailgating. I said this in another post, we fans can worry about our tailgates, let the AD worry about the on-field product. we don't need bouncey houses and rock climbing walls, our kids are fine, there is enough to do.. It would be cool to some how incorporate the AE amphitheatre though, some concerts on a nice afternoon, open to public. Not sure you could pull that off or if it's financially viable but you do have a decent amphitheatre right next to the stadium sitting empty..
Hell, a few makeshift bars right outside of the stadium would be fine with me. Ravens stadium and other stadiums do it, why not Heinz..
LOL, what a joke. 7 minutes? Common sense should tell the chancellor or AD that this really isnt' the time or place to bore us with your speeches. You should have boo'd him. I kid you not, the same thing happened to us at Verizon center.. I had the common decency to ignore the speaker and continue my good times.. Asking a tailgate party to be quiet for 7 minutes is worthy of getting punched in the face..
Last edited:
The issue with the student tailgate they did near the river was that nobody ever went. In order for the students to get good seats near the field, they have to be waiting in line at the student entrance up to 3 hours before kickoff. So, instead of being at the tailgate, they're on the other side of the stadium. A good idea was basically dead on arrival.
3 hours before kickoff? to get good seats? in the student section? at Heinz field? what?
yeah, I was thinking the same thing.. 3 hours sounds like an exaggeration. maybe 3 hours before a pitt vs. UConn basketball game 10 years ago but not seeing it for football at Heinz..
I spent nine years working with the band. We arrived at the field roughly 3 hours before kickoff. There was always already a line of students waiting at the gate when our buses pulled up. Not a huge line, but the 50-100 kids that are always in the front few rows with signs and decked out in pitt gear every game were there already. The line at that point was always bigger or smaller depending on the opponent and how good we were that year, but there was ALWAYS a line.
Haha I would like a nickel for every time NTOP has yelled "down in front" !
Last edited:
I think if you had on the waterfront, a boatload of covered tents (like someone mentioned they do in the south) it might work, but with a huge coveat. You would need to provide grills to use and have some type of storage area for people's coolers. The whole idea of a tailgate is to allow people to bring their own drinks and food and then be able to leave it in their cars.
Or if you had that same area with a cheap bar (not 12 dollar drinks) and then a boatload of food trucks or even a permanent ribfest. I just don't see tailgating increasing when there just is no area to do it.
Or if you had that same area with a cheap bar (not 12 dollar drinks) and then a boatload of food trucks or even a permanent ribfest. I just don't see tailgating increasing when there just is no area to do it.
it is a party though, one that we paid to get into you. they have the money, the funds were raised, we came to drink and socialize, not for 7 minute speeches that we don't care about.
Bitch. Moan. Whine. Lament. Complain. Belittle.
Blah, blah, blah....you don't like it, don't go. You didn't like it, don't go back. If you think you can do it better, put up.
Blah, blah, blah....you don't like it, don't go. You didn't like it, don't go back. If you think you can do it better, put up.
soo is this in regards to pitt alumni events or boring crowds at Heinz or student section tailgates or students waiting in line for 3 hours or bible studies?
A tailgate with no lot, no vehicle, not held outdoors, a wedding-like cash bar and expected to dress crispy, stay quiet and polite, donate money on demand, and clap rapturously for snooty academicians wearing $1000 worsted wool suits to a football game that stride in to make droning speeches about graduation percentages ... say what you want about how fun that might be, but that is "unique" tailgating for sure...
Sadly this pretty much describes what occurs in the tent off the main gate before the game.
I can only figure she means to expand those tents to other areas around the stadium. Since surface parking disappears seemingly more by the hour over there.
Nice events, and the people are very nice, don't get me wrong. But not a tailgate
Paying to get in doesn't really mean anything; this is fundraising 101. Get people in the room, get them feeling good, give them the pitch. Now, part of that entails knowing how to read the room (e.g. know how long you can go, what to focus on, etc.), but you'll find the same set up for any fundraising event. They want you primed, however subconsciously, to send in a check when you get your appeal letter 2-3 months later.
I've been to a few on-the-road, pre-game gatherings the past few years. I saw few, if any, people in suits - except maybe some Pitt Administrators.
The bars were "open" - not cash bars.
And because there are usually underage kiddies there, the events aren't rowdy. They're not supposed to be: they're designed for alumni and their families of all ages, not as a Heinz Field beer blast.
And do keep in mind that the people who attend these events are, at the very least, spending a fair amount of money to travel to attend these games. They're supporters of the program - unlike those who don't attend, contribute very little (if anything), but bitch as though they do.
The bars were "open" - not cash bars.
And because there are usually underage kiddies there, the events aren't rowdy. They're not supposed to be: they're designed for alumni and their families of all ages, not as a Heinz Field beer blast.
And do keep in mind that the people who attend these events are, at the very least, spending a fair amount of money to travel to attend these games. They're supporters of the program - unlike those who don't attend, contribute very little (if anything), but bitch as though they do.
There is a 0% chance that there is going to be any cheap bar and a boatload of food trucks selling food at normal prices for Pitt pregames. If there is a cheap bar and decent, reasonably priced food it cannibalizes the people who are catered to on the North Side, the ones selling expensive drinks and overpriced, crappy food.
you are missing the point. People are having fun, then the AD or chancellor are buzzkilling the whole thing. That's the whole point of this. Everyone is having fun, they don't want to hush, in silence, listening to a garbage speech.
Bitching, moaning, whining, complaining etc..about something you haven't seen yet.
It is sooo Yinzer.
Did you read my post? I was at one in DC, Verizon center, pitt vs. georgetown hoops game, I was there. I've seen it, I was there. I simply posted that it is fun, people are having fun, drinks are flowin, people are back slapping, stories are being told, introductions are being made then some boring suit asks for 7 minutes of silence.
What do you mean I wasn't there? I was the one that brought up the first person account. What are you missing?
Is it really yinzer to be annoyed by this? People outside of Pittsburgh would find this interruption enjoyable? Everyone outside of western PA likes their parties interrupted by speeches where they have to stop and listen? I don't think this is true.
This explains why pitt is on bottom of raising funds and donations from donors.
This whole thread is based on an assumption that is based on a guess and nothing factual. Our AD said nothing in regards to specifics, nothing about a tent with boring speeches. This was a guess
OP - Then do not go. Pretty sure you do not attend PITT games anyway. Never had much respect for someone who needs to be told how to enjoy themselves.
Didnt say you weren't there. If you don't like speeches, don't listen. Nothing is 100% good or bad. I put up with commercials on radio, TV and places like this website.
Reading adults whine about other adults not leading them to water is really old.
Indeed. Going by the rapidly diminishing tailgating space around Heinz, and the kinds of events the AD already put on (the tent affairs). Not sure what other kind of things the AD (or anyone else) would be able to put on down there, with the space and potential liability issues to consider. In my case I have to say such things are not my cup of Captain and Coke, but for the more sedate they are nice affairs. I just think it would be comical to try to brand them as tailgates.
Tailgates don't have to be beer soaked frat parties on wheels to make em legit, but they are much closer to that than the kind of events described above. And it may astonish and astound some of the Vineyard Vines posters here, but a traditional frat-party-like tailgate is closer to the kind of experience many, many, many football fans are seeking, here and everywhere.
im not sure we disagree to much here. I've said that the AD and pitt as a whole shouldn't really worry about the "tailgating" experience. we adults can drink our own beer, cook our own hot dogs and we'll even remember to bring a ball for our kids to throw and catch with.. Our new AD should worry about the "in the stadium" experience and we'll worry about what we do pre and post game..
My comment was about an obnoxious speaker at an event I was at a decade ago, not sure how it morphed into this topic to be honest.. The OP was a tad out of line making an assumption based on nothing and running with it.
Lyke said also in one of her interviews about using the advantage of the river. We have mentioned this before , but would students and/or fans enjoy a day on the river. Pick up a boat loaded with a cash bar near Oakland, and float down the river 3 hrs or so before the game, and then party on the way home?
Maybe a dumb idea to some like me that have a 4 hr ride in and 4 hr ride home, but maybe this would be a fun experience. Maybe not. Just thinking aloud.
I went to Clemson last year and the traffic was a mess. They had various lots around their campus, with various bars and lots doing their own thing. But they seemed to embrace the fact that they were dedicating the entire day to one football game experience. Pittsburgh sports fans just have a different mentality, they want to get home asap. The problem we have is once the game is over, where do you spend your time without dropping another 100 bucks for the family. Maybe just a different culture....
Maybe a dumb idea to some like me that have a 4 hr ride in and 4 hr ride home, but maybe this would be a fun experience. Maybe not. Just thinking aloud.
I went to Clemson last year and the traffic was a mess. They had various lots around their campus, with various bars and lots doing their own thing. But they seemed to embrace the fact that they were dedicating the entire day to one football game experience. Pittsburgh sports fans just have a different mentality, they want to get home asap. The problem we have is once the game is over, where do you spend your time without dropping another 100 bucks for the family. Maybe just a different culture....
Similar threads
