MEMPHIS, Tenn — Tailgaters at Tiger Lane showed up in full force Saturday ahead of the big showdown at the Southern Heritage Classic.
Year after year, families and Greek organizations come to cook and enjoy time with friends.
From the kids playing their own game of football in the grass to the food hot on the grill, the Southern Heritage Classic is back, after last year’s festivities were cancelled because of the pandemic.
"It was something that we really missed,” said longtime tailgater Walter Hunt. “It's something we kind of look forward to every year. This year we got a lot of first-timers."
Hunt has been coming to the classic for the last 15 years. He's rooting for Jackson State University.
His family from Tennessee, Mississippi, and even California travel to join in on the fellowship.
"We've made friends with people that come out every year and cook and share food, share recipes," said Hunt.
Speaking of food, family designated cook Vincent Jamerson is no stranger to the grill.
"This takes probably about two hours at least," said Jamerson about his ribs.
The cook has been coming to the classic for the last 8 years and said cooking is his passion.
With so many mouths to feed, he didn't expect to make it into the stadium for the game.
"Way too many,” Jamerson explained. “Don't you see the crowd around here? Way too many people but it's going to be alright though."
Jamerson shared that at the core of it all, the tailgating is about a good time.
"Everybody is just here to have fun. There's no disruptive people here to me and I enjoy that."
