Tailgate at WKU
October is over, which means that the majority of Colleges and Universities have had their homecoming already. Homecoming is a great tradition at Universities around the country and is also a great opportunity for undergraduates, graduate students, and alumni to celebrate their school together. It’s a time when you can gather on the streets of your college town to watch the parade, tailgate all morning and afternoon with friends both new and old, and watch your school’s football team fight to defend the school’s honor in one of the most important games of the year.
For me, homecoming festivities always focused around my Fraternity. We’d begin at the crack of dawn by participating in the traditional kegs & eggs event with our sister Sorority. Then we’d head over to the parade and show our pride in our school, and more specifically our letters. Afterwards we’d head to the game and begin to tailgate with our current brothers and alumni. The great thing about my school’s bowl-style stadium is that we could drive our cars up to the lip of the bowl and tailgate throughout the entire game. Once the game ended it was usually nap time so that we could manage to rally in the evening.
Parade at Baylor
As an alumnus, my experience differs significantly. I skip all of the early morning activities and go right to the game. I get to meet the current members and get a jump on acting like an old man by telling them how much things have changed in the few years that I’ve been out of school. More importantly I get to see the guys that I pledged with, lived with, and called brothers during my time as an undergraduate. We eat, drink, laugh, and reminisce about our glory days as active members. And although we live all over the country now, our fraternal bond remains strong, which is clearly evident when we get together. Homecoming is something that I look forward to every year and I will most definitely continue to participate in festivities for the foreseeable future. It is an important event to any college community, and their respective Greek communities, because it is rooted in tradition.
John Gamble, Marketing Associate