ur Auburn
Tigers may not have performed very well against USC on August 30th, but
the HSOP Kappa Psi Tailgaters did just fine that day. Chad Harrison,
Kappa Psi Social Chairman, invited the entire Harrison School of
Pharmacy student body, faculty and staff to drop by the Kappa Psi tent
on Saturday before the game. Kappa Psi has made tailgating an official
social event this year. They even bought a brand new orange and blue AU
crested tent. Chad reported that about 25 people (including Todd Vaughn,
Kappa Psi President; Lance Hagler, VP; Jessica Tate, Treasurer and
Andrea Sesler, Secretary) were there the entire time and approximately
25 more dropped by at one time or another. Food and drink were on a BYO
basis. Chad reported that some desserts showed up and a couple of people
brought the classic football snack "Pigs-in-a-blanket." As you might
expect, both items were cleaned out very quickly.
University rules have changed, of course; no one can put
up a tent or save a spot until after 4pm on Friday afternoons. But Kappa
Psi delegates kept an eye on "their" spot, and ended up with a near
ideal location. "This is probably the best spot I've ever tailgated,"
said Chad. "It was right there across from the police Department and we
were 100 yards from the stadium." Game-bound traffic was also flowing
steadily past their tent. "We saw everybody," Chad said.
Apparently everybody saw them, too. As fate would have
it, a CBS video trailer was set up within viewing distance of the Kappa
Psi tent. Most of the Kappa Psi members were wearing orange shirts.
Either the colorful tent, the bright shirts or the loud cheering
attracted the CBS cameramen. No one knows exactly which. What they know
for sure is that the CBS crew came by and asked if a group of them would
stand by an Auburn flag and yell and cheer for the camera. CBS promised
the bit would air between the closing of the US Open and the Start of
the Auburn Game.
After the taping, the cell phones lit up
immediately--everyone was calling home so their families could tape the
TV spot for posterity. That is how we came to have this still shot on
our Website. (Thanks to Charlie Staton for loaning us his video.) As you
will see by the accompanying slide show, everyone was having a great
time until it became obvious that Auburn would not win that day. Few
Auburn people felt like celebrating afterwards, so the Kappa Psi tent
came down. But it will be up again at the next home game—probably in the
same good location. If you're in town you might want to go by and check
out the Kappa Psi tailgaters. Who knows? You just might get on national
TV. And you also might consider bringing lots of those
"pigs-in-a-blanket."
Added Feature:
Thursday night, Sept 4th, Kappa Psi also held their formal rush. We've
included a slide show of some "Rush" pictures courtesy of Chad Harrison.
Go here for slide show!
October 31, 2003