Yale to Limit Tailgating at Bowl

[Husky Alum]

THIS SUCKS...

As someone who remembers the days when the Yale-UConn game would draw 40,000 fans and about 30,000 of them would remain in the parking lot, Yales decision is a bit disturbing.

Ted Kennedy can't play drinking games at the Yale Bowl any more? There goes the neighborhood. ;)

They're closing the Yale tailgates at Halftime - now THAT's insane.

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http://sports.espn.go.com/ncf/news/story?id=2205570

[Ivytalk]

Closing the tailgates at halftime? Guess I'll make the 5 p.m. train back from New Haven this year! ;)

[LBPop]

They're closing the Yale tailgates at Halftime - now THAT's insane.


Borrowing from and paraphrasing a great hockey quote: "I went to a party at the Yale Bowl parking lot, and a football game broke out". Never understood the people who don't go into the stadium for the game, but I would never support breaking up a party if it's not out of hand (whatever that means). :rolleyes:

[Husky Alum]

Pop -

In the 70s and 80s Yale was REAL good and UConn was REAL bad. The UConn fans/alumni from southern CT would flock to the Bowl and not even bother with the game because they'd get beat like a redheaded stepchild. However, Yale required anyone in a vehicle to have a ticket, so the ticket sales vs. game attendance was a joke.

The tailgates would start around 8 am and last well into the early evening.

As for the Yale-Harvard tailgates, you haven't lived until you've been chased from a Y-H tailgate by a Secret Service Agent.

[YaleFootballFan]

The reason why the tailgating at the Yale/UConn games were so wild is because the UConn students came down in droves and partied until there was no tomorrow. Back then, UConn's stadium was on campus so their version of a tailgate party was not allowed there....but it was allowed at Yale. All of a sudden, the Yale/UConn game became the state's largest party. I can recall driving in the parking lot and seeing students throwing up and pissing in the woods. It was like a scene out of Animal House. The Westville neighbors hated it and I'm sure they were all glad to see the Yale/UConn rivalry end in 1998.

Today the tailgate parties at Yale are a lot tamer, even for the Yale/Harvard game. But nothing can top the wildness of those Yale/UConn games.

Nothing.

[aceinthehole]

THIS SUCKS...

As someone who remembers the days when the Yale-UConn game would draw 40,000 fans and about 30,000 of them would remain in the parking lot, Yales decision is a bit disturbing.


Those were some great parties! I almost forgot there was a football game going on at time.

[Harvard Worship]

Hey as one of the rare few who actually watches Ivy League football for the football, it's not gonna be a total disaster if more folks actually make it in to the stadium. They even went and cleaned it up all nice for us this past summer--it'd be a shame if we didn't get to enjoy the new benches.
But I can understand everybody's disappointment. I know I sure had a lot of friends who'd go to H-Y just for the tailgate. For Ivy League kids, this is really our one chance to act wild and party hard for a day--like "normal" college students (or at least like how we envision them). I wasn't too surprised that Harvard really clamped down on drinking last year... the administration has always been a bunch of puritan spoilsports in Cambridge. But I'm quite surprised that Yale chose to make this move: After all, their kids have got a whole week to recover from any drunken mishaps (they don't have classes the week of Thanksgiving). Ahh the hated "school on monday" chant. Lucky sops.

[RadMann]

UD banned tailgating during the game time a couple of years ago and it has not been a bad policy albeit unpopular with many in the party crowd.

[bluehenbillk]

Doesn't seem to be a big deal at all. Get there early & drink all you want, but when the game starts go in. So they're stopping beer pong, big deal, you're Ivy Leaguers right? Find another game to play.

[Tribefan]

UCONN students haven't changed much. I have bought my Dad UCONN season tickets at The Rent for a few years now, partially so that I'll have tickets when I can make it home for a game. The main parking area is an old runway and their is a robust amount of tailgating before the games. It seems to me that many of the UCONN students treat the games at The Rent like a big frat party. The student section during the games is always loud and strong, but it always tails off in the later stages of the game because the students are in a hurry to get to the next party.