FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — "Tailgating is about camaraderie, friends, family, having a good time, getting amped for the game, 2:30 kick off ESPN, two top-ranked teams, it doesn’t get any better than this,” said the Manuel family.
The Manuel family drove in Saturday morning from Oklahoma to support their daughter on the Arkansas Pom squad. This is their first tailgate and it definitely won’t be the last.
“No tailgate without a football," they said. "You get to toss the football around, and then we have good food, everyone chipped in, we’re going to have some good food, good eats, good friends laughs, and have a good time, that’s what it’s about."
The Manning family arrived at Razorback Stadium at 8 a.m. Saturday morning to start their tailgating tradition. The family owns a catering business called Coy's Southern Eats, however, they weren't charging for the food, they just were excited to cheer on the Hogs and to help bring more exposure to their business.
"We unloaded today, we're cooking bratwursts with our seasoning, we've got some sausage kabobs, we've got burgers, we've got all kinds, we got our house dressing. That's what we're famous for, is our house dressing and it's here," they said.
Tailgating is a time-honored tradition, and a lot of Arkansans have been calling the Hogs all day. The UARK Black Alumni Society created a culture that makes everyone feel welcome.
"Just having the space is really the tradition creating this space and making it permanent is a tradition that we want to establish and want to keep going," said Synetra Hughes, President of the UARK Black Alumni Society.
Arkansas Alumni traveled from all over to tailgate and to continue building relationships with one another.
"While faculty, staff, students, alumni are definitely our focus, this is also about community and so really thinking about how we make our campus and our community more welcoming for all,” said Yvette Murphy-Ervin, Vice Chancellor of Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion.
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