Wacky Gators apparel, lucky alligator heads and tons of food are the standard at Gators tailgates.
And now everybody knows it.
The "Masters of the Tailgate: University of Florida" special aired late Wednesday afternoon. The show featured all of the classic Gator tailgate traditions and the legendary UF school spirit.
The show is one of four of its kind that premiered this year, each featuring a different school's tailgate culture. "Masters of the Tailgate" creator and producer Craig Remsburg said he had the idea for the show back when he was a student at the University of Iowa.
"It highlights the traditions that tailgates do, the food, the school traditions," Remsburg said.
The "Masters of the Tailgate" crew were wandering around campus and talking to Gators fans before the UF-Tennessee game in September. The hosts of the show interviewed tailgaters in their "parking lot palaces" about their orange and blue cars, their crazy headwear and their array of tailgate food.
There was a trivia challenge between a team of current students and a team of alumnae and a relay race, "The Berg Challenge," between show host The Berg and a Gators tailgater.
"Gainesville definitely has a lot of character, and we tried to show that," Remsburg said. "We met a lot of good people."
Remsburg said he had a good time hanging out with the Gators. He met a group of people who had been tailgating at the same spot for 15 years.
"Everyone takes tailgating seriously, and they all take it to the next level," Remsburg said.
This is the first season for "The Masters of the Tailgate" series, and it only featured UF, Ohio State University, University of Georgia and University of Central Florida. Remsburg said he hopes to shoot about nine shows next year.
"It's just so cool to see the different cultures from each different school," he said.
Highlights from the show, if not the whole thing, will be available online by the end of the month.
