There’s nothing like tailgating at Southern University on a football weekend

If you’ve never tailgated at an HBCU game, you haven’t really tailgated.

Folk showed up, and showed out, hours before the game – grilling, eating, commiserating and fellowshipping – eagerly anticipating the bands and their school’s dancers. And, oh – there was a game, too – a matchup that would go down to the wire, with Southern University holding off South Carolina State 14-8 in the season-opener for both teams on Sunday in Baton Rouge, Louisiana.

“I’d much rather be here than at the LSU game,” said a white police officer who made himself quite comfortable with a plate of food passed to him by a happy grill-master. “This is a small community, but on a day like today, we’re all family – and, I can walk to the field from here with no issue.”

The smells and the sounds of HBCU football is intoxicating. Yes, there’s trash-talking on both sides, but that’s part of it, too. As people walk by and children chase each other between tents, there’s a familial feel that you can only understand if you see it up close.

The Undefeated tried to capture the day through photography – giving you a feel for the bands, the drum line, the dancers, regular folks who bleed for their alma maters. – Mark W. Wright