Mercer students gathered on Black Field beginning at 4 p.m. to celebrate the kickoff of Mercer’s football season against East Texas A&M on Aug. 29 at 7 p.m. The tailgate, part of an annual series put on by Mercer, was jointly hosted by Campus Life and Academic & Advising Services, and featured food, two artist performances and a variety of student organizations.
Set up began well before 4 p.m., with some organizations claiming their spots starting at 6 p.m. the night before. Tents had food, drinks and games set out as students started to arrive.
“I've just been looking forward to this experience since last semester. I love the tailgating vibes,” Jillian Burke ‘27 said.
Burke, who is affiliated with both Alpha Gamma Delta and the Mercer Maniacs, said she was feeling emotional about her last first tailgate.
“It just feels very weird, but I'm trying to take it all in, trying to soak in the memories that I can make today,” she said.
The Maniacs, who began in 2012 as an organization dedicated to generating sports attendance at Mercer, painted up at 5 p.m, and Burke said that they love seeing everyone come out to the games and cheer on the Bears.
“The biggest goal that the Maniacs do is to drive that student attendance and to make that student section loud and proud for the Bears,” she said.
Paula Santamaria ‘28, who is the athletic director for both Chi Omega and MU Miracle, said she was going between both tents throughout the tailgate and wanted to encourage students to get engaged in campus life at Mercer.
She said tailgates were the spots where she started meeting people and gaining connections to get involved.
Although it was hot and she was a little nervous, Santamaria said the tailgate was looking good and that she was looking forward to even more people showing up.
Grant Geddes ‘30 said the vibes were friendly as he was eating chicken tenders from one of the tents. He was looking forward to meeting new people and having a good time, describing the tailgate as similar to a fair.
“It has me very pumped and excited,” Braylon Bates ‘30, who was with Geddes, said.
Bates said the tailgate was lively and that he would probably visit every tent set up on the field.
Both Micah Fletcher and Conner Smith played at the Ford Concert series on the stage on Black Field. Students gathered in groups in front of the stage to listen and dance to the music.
Tucker McGhee ‘27, who was at the Beta Upsilon Chi tent, said he was excited to see Conner Smith perform.
“I've been listening to his music since like it came out,” he said.
Conner Smith's energy brought people to their feet as he performed original songs as well as famous covers like Miley Cyrus's "The Climb," known for being written for Hannah Montana: The Movie.
Smith also donned a Mercer hat throughout his performance, and explained during his performance that he's always loved Mercer, especially after he got the honor of participating in a football game's coin toss last year.
