Photos Courtesy of Tailgaters

Long before kickoff, the smell of hamburgers and hotdogs wafts not from the concession stand, but the parking lot. Whether it’s tailgating at dawn of the first day of school, home football games, or the soccer state championship game, if it’s a big event, the students of Center Grove will be there. Brian Gudeman is the tailgate czar; he is in charge of making sure that everything runs smoothly before the big game.

“It all started last year on the last day of school, and it was such a success that we have tailgated everything since,” senior Brian Gudeman said.

There is extreme pressure being in charge of the tailgates; trying to organize with teenagers is difficult while trying to outperform the last tailgate can be stressful.

“To host a good tailgate can get pretty pricy, but we have a solid group of guys who always answer the bill,” Gudeman said. “My goal as the czar is to improve one tailgate at a time.”

The tailgaters have organized live performances, corn hole championships, and recently Coach Moore provided food to honor their enthusiasm.  

“Having Matt Hill perform live country music was a complete spectacle that I assume has never been done by Center Grove students before,” Gudeman said. “The competition to earn the WWE belt in the corn hole championships was intense.” 

The tailgate czar himself wanted to clear the air about girls attending the tailgates.

“Girls were allowed to attend the tailgates and we enjoyed their company, but they did not help out with any of the food or the activities so we stopped inviting them,”  Gudeman said.

The tailgaters have one goal in mind: to give our athletics the extra support they need to earn a victory.

“Center Grove athletics have been extremely successful so far, and I would have to say they have used our energy to propel them to all these dubs,”  Gudeman said.

The tailgaters do not just support football; they want every team to be the best.

“We love every team who dons the red and white; we plan on tailgating even after football season concludes,” Gudeman said.