Most equivocate tailgating with a home football game in the middle of September.
However, for several hundred Pittsburg State football fans, they had no problem bringing out the grills, burgers and hot dogs to tailgate on Saturday.
Mind you, the Gorillas’ season doesn’t start for another two weeks and the first home game is almost a month away.
“This is preseason and we are practicing for the regular season,” said Girard resident Dave DeMoss. “We are regulars here and, when we read in the paper what was going on today, we thought that we needed to come out and be supportive and be a part of the team.”
For Greg Jennings and Joe Fisher, they made quite a trip just to take part in the “pregame” tailgating.
Both made the drive from Garden Plain — which is west of Wichita — just to grill out and watch the first fall public scrimmage Saturday night at Carnie Smith Stadium.
A little crazy?
“No, not really, not when you think about it,” Jennings said. “We are very excited about it.
“We can kind of figure it out and get things going,” Jennings said. “We have come here for two years and it is just an exciting time.”
Jennings’ son Miles is a senior outside linebacker while Fisher’s two sons Kendall — a junior wide receiver — and Derek — a freshman wide out — all play for the Gorillas.
“We just want to support our boys,” Fisher said. “We love the campus and we like a good barbecue with a cold beverage.
“We are big supporters of the team and that is what we are all about.”
DeMoss said that there is even more to it that just firing up the grill.
“You meet a lot of great people out here,” DeMoss said. “A lot of the incoming players’ parents are out here and we are getting a chance to talk to them and it has been a great atmosphere.”
He said that he has been a regular at football games since he graduated from PSU in 1970.
“We have probably been coming just about every year since,” DeMoss said. “We really got started a couple of years ago and we just don’t miss a game any more and there is nothing like the atmosphere of Pitt State football in Division II.
“Other teams would kill for the atmosphere that we have.”
To see the number of people at a preseason tailgating event is something that even caught the eye of a veteran like DeMoss.
“This is a scrimmage for gosh sakes, and we have all these people coming though,” he said. “We are looking forward to supporting the kids and Pitt State is the right place to be.”
Pitt State opens up their regular season at Edmond, Okla. against Central Oklahoma on Saturday, Aug. 30. The first home game is the annual Miners’ Bowl Saturday, Sept. 13 vs. Missouri Southern.
Matthew Clark can be reached at matthew.clark@morningsun.net or at 620-231-2600, Ext. 140
PITTSBURG —
