Tailgating Glory Days

[Duggie35]

In another thread discussing the decline in tailgating and related issues, Turbine posted, "If the Krewe-de-Chew shut it down, you know things got messed up".

As a long time member of the Krewe-de-Chew, let me say that Turbine's statement is not the real reason the Krewe-de-Chew made the very tough decision to "shut it down". The reason the Krewe-de-Chew decided to "shut it down" was primarily due to the fact that we worked very hard for 25+ years to make our tailgate a fun place to be and a great experience for visiting fans from other schools that came by. We enjoyed feeding them and others and encouraged everyone to hang out and party with us. However, over the years we lost several of our members (including Charlie Daigle the founder) and it became a lot more work for fewer members. It took a lot of work to get our three spots set up the day before the games and then take everything down a day or two after. Some of us still very much enjoyed starting the music and party on gamedays at 8:30-9:00 AM. But over time, the crowd started getting smaller and showing up later in the day. Because many of our members are getting older now, putting up and taking down our tents along with all of the other things that made the Krewe what it was, began taking a toll. The hard work made us realize that that some of us just "Can't Roosta Like We Used To"! Shutting down the Krewe-de-Chew was indeed a very hard decision to make, but all good things come to an end. With that said, I still own two of our tailgate spots that others are now using. So who knows, maybe at some point, we may decide to have a Krewe-de-Chew reunion, tie one on and "do da Roosta" one more time! LOL!

For those that might not know about the Krewe-de-Chew, and never got the opportunity to see or participate in some of our antics and good times, below are a few videos taken during the hay days of the Krewe-de-Chew! Enjoy!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bFgCOUEZgto

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dhq_FS8ZulU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yLzD6FyYmVM

[Turbine]

Awesome times

[JayWalker]

Shoot, posters used to come on raginpagin and say we were an embarrassment to the university (I was a KDC member for several years.)

Yep, they moaned and complained about everything back then, too.

[Duggie35]

Shoot, posters used to come on raginpagin and say we were an embarrassment to the university (I was a KDC member for several years.)

Yep, they moaned and complained about everything back then, too.

Jay,

You know we made it to the "Big Time" when our claim to fame was acting like a damn chicken!!! LMAO!!!

[RedTails]

Duggie, you KDC legends have any advice or tips for people that want to start a tailgate group up? Any lessons learned?

[Duggie35]

Duggie, you KDC legends have any advice or tips for people that want to start a tailgate group up? Any lessons learned?

I would certainly be willing to visit with you at some time that would be mutually convienient for both of us. I will be out of town for a few days, but if you want to PM me, we can set something up.

[CajunJeaux]

I would certainly be willing to visit with you at some time that would be mutually convienient for both of us. I will be out of town for a few days, but if you want to PM me, we can set something up.

Grande Roosta, he probably meant post them here

[Duggie35]

I’m not sure exactly how big a group he is talking about and just what kind of tailgating atmosphere he is looking for. But I will just list a few things that I think made the Krewe-de-Chew successful for so long.

1- We made sure everyone invited to join the Krewe understood what the Krewe-de-Chew was and wanted to be and made sure everyone in the group was on the same page.
2- Our Krewe was started by a strong leader (Charlie Daigle) that kept the group focused the entire time until he passed away.
3- After Mr. Charlie passed, a group of the original members worked hard trying to continue keep the group focused and carrying out Charlie's vision.
3- For many, many years we did not allow any store bought food to be brought to our tailgate. Charlie Daigle (our founder) was a true Cajun and insisted that all food served be home made!
4- We allways prepared more food than our Krewe would eat, because we wanted to have enough to serve to visitors if at all possible. I really don't recall every running out of food.
5- We tried to encourage visiting fans to come by our spot to visit and enjoy partying with us. But we tried our best to make sure EVERYONE was welcome.
6- We did not ever bring TV's to watch other games during the day. Our deal was music and creating a party atmosphere including dancing and other crazy antics during the day.
7- Doing the "Roosta" was something that took on a life of it's own by accident. One day I happened to play the Zydeco song "You can't Roosta like you used to" and a few people started acting like a rooster! Then, everytime the song was played, more and more people began joining in. Eventually, people would walk by as ask that I play the "Roosta" song so they could join in. Eventually, we had to set certain times to "do da Roosta" so we didn't have to do it all day long! It was never planned to be what it turned out to be, it just evolved into something many people looked forward to and more and more people started showing up.
8- No individual or group of individuals financed the Krewe. We figured out how much money would be needed annually and assessed each member an amount that would cover those known expenses. On a few occassions, we had to pony up a little more during the year. If you start a group, it is my opinion that everyone in the group should share in the expenses.
9- At the beginning of each season, 2 or 3 members would select the game they wanted to be responsible for cooking the meat(s) or main entre'. Everyone knew what game they would be cooking for before the season ever began. Then, all the other Krewe members would be responsible for bringing a side dish or desert. After the cooking team decided what they would be cooking, everyone else would be notified so they could decide what side dish or desert they wanted to bring in order to compliment the main meat(s). As soon as anyone informed us what they would be bringing as a side dish or desert, the remaining members were notified so there were no duplicates and we would ensure that salads and deserts were also being added to the menu.
10- We set times that we wanted to have the food ready to serve, to make sure all the side dishes showed up on time.
11- Everyone was responsible for bringing their own beverages of choice.
12- One of our members set up a web page to help keep much of this on track and allow easy communication of menu items.

This is a brief overview of how the Krewe-de-Chew operated. But the biggest thing is to make sure that anyone that wants to "join" the group is willing to pull their weight. I can guarantee that there will be times that getting you things all set up will be inconvienient. But the work needs to take place if you want to be successful.

I'm not sure if this is what was wanted or not, or if it will even be of any assistance, but it worked for the Krewe-de-Chew for 25+ years!

[KajunKrazy]

Shoot, posters used to come on raginpagin and say we were an embarrassment to the university (I was a KDC member for several years.)

Yep, they moaned and complained about everything back then, too.

Well I want to moan and complain now because the people who used those spots all of last year had their music way to loud. Not that I don't like loud music, but it also sucked and wasn't music that you want to hear at a tailgate. Bring back Krewe D Chew DJ.



Krewe D Chew Neighbor

[BananaHammock]

Another thing to considering about tailgating is with the trending theme of more weekday games it leaves very few games on weekends to really tailgate. I'm assuming for the average fan it doesn't make sense to buy a tailgating spots and all of the associated gear (tents, tables, etc..) for just 3 times/year to set it all up.

I'm not nearly in the know like most of you are but do they have an area that's first come, first serve for tailgating? If not, does anyone think that would be a good idea for a section to be carved out for that purpose?

I do sympathize with Duggie35 as it's a lot of work and collaboration with a group to make tailgating economical and the workload shared versus a business footing the bill for everything. Some years there aren't many back to back home games allowing tents to stay up for the week as well. But there are still plenty of people that want to tailgate and go thru whatever is needed to tailgate so there has to be a solution to whatever the perceived problem is.

[JayWalker]

Another thing to considering about tailgating is with the trending theme of more weekday games it leaves very few games on weekends to really tailgate. I'm assuming for the average fan it doesn't make sense to buy a tailgating spots and all of the associated gear (tents, tables, etc..) for just 3 times/year to set it all up.

I'm not nearly in the know like most of you are but do they have an area that's first come, first serve for tailgating? If not, does anyone think that would be a good idea for a section to be carved out for that purpose?

I do sympathize with Duggie35 as it's a lot of work and collaboration with a group to make tailgating economical and the workload shared versus a business footing the bill for everything. Some years there aren't many back to back home games allowing tents to stay up for the week as well. But there are still plenty of people that want to tailgate and go thru whatever is needed to tailgate so there has to be a solution to whatever the perceived problem is.

They have started selling tailgate spots on a per game basis.

[Esqueleto]

There should be an area designated for RCAF members that is free to tailgate (first come, first served) . Credit to my buddy, Chuck, for this suggestion. That would be great incentive for some folks to become members.