Serious Tailgaters Prepare Days Ahead Of Birmingham Football Rivalry Game
Serious tailgaters fill the lots surrounding Birmingham's Legion Field.
In Birmingham, tens of thousands of football fans will watch Alabama A&M face Alabama State in the Magic City Classic, a big game between two black colleges.
TONYA DAVENPORT: Yeah, we’re doing cabbage. We’re doing baked beans. We’re doing turkey wings. We’re doing barbeque wings. We’re going to fry a little wings.
STEWART: That’s Tonya Davenport. She’s here with her cousin Edmund Nelson, and they began setting up on Monday.
EDMUND NELSON: Grills, smokers, deep freezers – refrigerator’s on the way – couches, the full bar. I got speakers, TVs to hang.
STEWART: Nelson roots for Alabama State, but he’s more of a tailgating fan. He drove 800 miles from Miami to Birmingham two weeks ago to start preparing. He opens the door to a large cargo trailer stacked with supplies.
NELSON: Inside here there’s more TVs. We’re just getting ready for the Classic, something we do every year. It’s a big get together. My mom, she went to Alabama State. And every year, it just get’s bigger and bigger.
STEWART: Hundreds of tents have popped up, and in Nelson’s, there’s artificial turf on the ground, a matching sofa and loveseat and five barbecue grills. No matter where you go, you hear music.
(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)
STEWART: Freddie Jones parked his RV across from one of his buddies. They set up a little courtyard in the middle, decked out with lights and a sound system. He says the Magic City Classic is popular because it’s different.
FREDDIE JONES: You can go tailgating for the other teams and Tennessee and what have you – Alabama. And you have these restrictions where you can’t play your music. But at the Magic City Classic, you can just about do what you want to do within reason – clean fun.
STEWART: At kickoff, for the 60,000 people inside the stadium, it’s about the bands, dancers, football. But for folks like Jones, the serious stuff happens outside, beyond the gate.
JONES: Everything that comes this way is going to get cooked. Don’t put your hand on the grill. We’re cooking that, too (laughter).
STEWART: Once the game between Alabama State and Alabama A&M is over, it doesn’t mean that the fun ends. Some of the tailgaters stick around through Sunday. For NPR News, I’m Sherrel Wheeler Stewart in Birmingham.
Copyright © 2016 NPR. All rights reserved. Visit our website terms of use and permissions pages at www.npr.org for further information.
NPR transcripts are created on a rush deadline by Verb8tm, Inc., an NPR contractor, and produced using a proprietary transcription process developed with NPR. This text may not be in its final form and may be updated or revised in the future. Accuracy and availability may vary. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
The U.S. men’s hockey team to face Slovakia for a spot in an Olympic gold medal match
After an overtime nailbiter in the quarterfinals, the Americans return to the ice Friday in Milan to face the upstart Slovakia for a chance to play Canada in Sunday's Olympic gold medal game.
NASA eyes March 6 to launch 4 astronauts to the moon on Artemis II mission
The four astronauts heading to the moon for the lunar fly-by are the first humans to venture there since 1972. The ten-day mission will travel more than 600,000 miles.
Skis? Check. Poles? Check. Knitting needles? Naturally
A number of Olympic athletes have turned to knitting during the heat of the Games, including Ben Ogden, who this week became the most decorated American male Olympic cross-country skier.
Police search former Prince Andrew’s home a day after his arrest over Epstein ties
Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor, the British former prince, is being investigated on suspicion of misconduct in public office related to his friendship with the late convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Violinist Pekka Kuusisto is not afraid to ruffle a few feathers
On his new album, the violinist completely rethinks The Lark Ascending by Ralph Vaughan Williams, and leans into old folk songs with the help of Sam Amidon.
Supreme Court strikes down Trump’s tariffs
The 6-3 ruling is a major blow to the president's signature economic policy.
