What year did tailgating become a "thing" at LSU ?

I can remember as a kid going with my parents and my friends' parents, and we'd wait in the car and hang out as they drove around to pregame house parties in and around South Baton Rouge, before they'd drive over to campus about an hour to 45 minutes before kickoff.

That's literally what people used to to. It's sort of crazy to think about now.

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I can remember as a kid going with my parents and my friends' parents, and we'd wait in the car and hang out as they drove around to pregame house parties in and around South Baton Rouge, before they'd drive over to campus about an hour to 45 minutes before kickoff.

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A lot of people don't know or don't remember this. Seems like there were always two or three house parties to stop by before the game. Hardy anyone stood around campus all day except by RV's or some isolated group. Then again, you really didn't see the 40 plus crowd hanging out like college students, either, back then. They looked and acted like grown ups were expected to behave, for better for worse.

Seemed to coincide with downfall of Murphy's.

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I've been going to games regularly since I was a wee lad in 1973 or 1974, and as a student through the mid to late 80's and I can not answer this question. One year I looked around and there were thousands of tailgaters where previously there had not been.

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Pimp I started going about the same time as you and you are right, not much of what we'd consider tailgating today going on in the 70's. We started what I would consider tailgating in the mid 80's when I was in college and there were plenty of others out there doing it as well.

I would say probably early to mid 80's is probably when the evolution to what it is today began.

We began tailgating behind the dairy along Tower Dr. in about 1984. There were several groups behind the dairy, and across the street under the porch of Virginia Rice Williams Hall, and along S. Stadium. I can't tell you when it began though.

My family tailgated at the Parade Grounds beginning in the mid 70's.

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My family tailgated at the Parade Grounds beginning in the mid 70's.

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Pioneers, ahead of the curve C-Bear. How many others out there?

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I think that hotel was the old Prince Murat.

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Yep, that's the one.

We got season tix in '67, and my dad liked to get to the game a couple hours early so he could have a beer or two, plus you could beat the traffic into the area. We parked in the grass lot just south of the stadium, as our tix were in U11. My brother and I threw the football around, Dad set up the grill, and my mom hung out with my sister. Good times, for sure. I remember hearing the term 'tailgating' for the first time in the mid-70's, I had no idea there was a name for it.

tailing was huge at least from the mid sixties when I started going to games.

AND, it was much, much MUCH less hassle and FREE!
also, there was a lot of drinking back in my day but I do not recall even one incident of binge drinking. we all actually went to the game after the tailgate and didn't pass out nor be near death from alcohol poisoning. I actually credit much of that to the 18 yr. drinking age and parents being ok with some drinking at home prior to turning 18 so it wasn't like drinking was so "cool".