Football: Tuesday tailgating a ‘very big deal’ + tailgating video and game photo gallery 10/24/12

Football: Tuesday tailgating a ‘very big deal’ &#434343434343; tailgating video and game photo gallery 10/24/12

Anastasia Semien, Daily Advertiser, Oct. 24, 2012

UL fans cheer from the stands during an NCAA football game between UL-Lafayette and Arkansas State Tuesday at Cajun Field in Lafayette, La. By Leslie Westbrook October 23, 2012

Think University of Louisiana at Lafayette fans don’t take tailgating seriously? You should have been at Cajun Field on Tuesday.

All day Tuesday.

Excitement filled the air as UL students and fans braced for the Cajuns to take on Arkansas State. The result was a 50-27 loss. But the tailgating was

fun anyway.

Rusty Neal, a graduate of UL, has been tailgating since 1992.

"I really like meeting the opponent teams’ fans that come in and trying to make them feel at home," he said as stirred his roux in a large black pot for the gumbo he was about to make.

"We get this (tailgating experience) and kind of take this for granted, but they don’t," Neal said. "I kind of like them leaving and saying, ‘I want to go back to that place because those people are friendly.’"

Neal said he tries to fix a different dish each year. Previous dishes include jambalaya, chicken and tasso pasta, and white beans, tasso and shrimp.

The Lafayette Consolidated Government takes UL football seriously, too. The City-Parish Council canceled its regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday night and conducted all its planning and zoning business last week so the members could attend Tuesday night’s game.

Sarah Armentor said that she enjoys tailgating because it brings people together.

"It’s a good show of support for the team and a good community-building thing," she said.

Friends and UL alumni Mike Guidry and Matthew Bejeaux took off work to tailgate.

"Normally I’m sitting at my desk doing accounting stuff. This is a great break for me," Guidry said.

UL graduate student Corey Hardy, who had been at Cajun Field with his friends since 9:30 a.m., said he especially liked the national attention this game would receive.

"The football game’s on ESPN today," Hardy said. "National recognition’s going to be awesome."

Although all tailgaters had different reasons for enjoying the festivities, they all expected the same thing at the end of the game: another win for the Cajuns.

Anthony LeBlanc, who was cooking jambalaya with 150 pounds of meat and 60 pounds of rice, said that he was looking forward to that outcome after a good meal.

Athletic Network Footnote:

Click here for tailgating video at UL vs. Arkansas State game.

Click here to view Cajuns vs. Arkansas State photo gallery.