Is Tailgating Really Just About the Insta Photo?

graphic by lillian su

It’s football season here at ‘Cuse, which means it’s tailgate season too! Whether you’re headed to the game, or spending all four quarters ‘tailgating’ in a parking lot covered in red solo cups, chances are each Saturday your Instagram feed will be full of our fellow Syracuse students decked out in orange and denim for game day. This raises an important question: do people really go to the tailgate to ‘tailgate’, or do they just go so they can take fun and flirty photos with their friends to post on Instagram? Let’s examine the evidence.

First of all, the amount of effort that people put into their outfits clearly shows the importance of a good game day pic. Our peers are putting in hard work to make orange become the most fashionable color of the rainbow. From DIY fringe t-shirts and jean skirts to Syracuse jerseys and converse, the tailgates are just as much a fashion moment as they are a party moment. Not only are people dressing up, but they’re accessorizing too. Everywhere you look you see orange-tinted sunglasses, ‘Cuse visors, bucket hats, and little Otto face stickers. And don’t forget the one item every SU student is sure to have on: dirty white tailgate sneakers.

Now this isn’t to say these accessories don’t look good, but would someone really put that much effort into their look if they weren’t planning on posting a picture? We think not.

More importantly, Syracuse tailgates are missing most of the elements of a normal tailgate. When thinking of a typical tailgate, images of people eating food fresh off the grill, listening to music, drinking beer, and playing cornhole are the types of activities that come to mind. While student tailgates have music and still occur in parking lots, they’re strictly bring your own beverage and are usually so packed you can hardly even move. Therefore, they’re missing most of the appeal of a traditional tailgate. It doesn’t make much sense to put effort into a cute outfit or full face of makeup just to stand around in a place so crowded no one can admire your hard work anyways.

Don’t get us wrong, we love a good Syracuse tailgate. It’s a great way to get hyped for the game and show our school spirit. However, tailgating is definitely more about the IG pics than anything else.

It’s alright though, keep posting those game day pics because we can’t let other schools forget why ‘Cuse is number one.