Two years ago Selena and I joined our buddies Duke and Ken and a whole group of their frat alumni at the University of Delaware homecoming pre-game tailgating. We set up in the parking lot with them and drank and played beer pong and has general merriment. Because UD is really stupid, they start their homecoming games at noon, and force all celebration and merriment to cease and desist at that time. Cops on ponies come around and act tough and yell at the drunken co-eds to get in their cars and leave. Two years ago when we experienced this, we were unsure where to go, but the frat alums we were drinking with had an idea; lets go back to the old frat house and party there. This was not the best option to either Selena or I, both not part of the frat, also both in the latter half of our twenties and feeling we would be radically out of place in that house.

Fortunately, we never really went IN the frat house. We took our grill, tent, beer pong table, coolers and other elements and just set up camp in the frat house backyard. The current brothers came out to kick us off their land, but upon seeing their “bigs” and other legends of frat lore in their yard, they recoiled. We spent the afternoon that homecoming drinking, playing beer pong, and ordering around pledges who didn’t really understand who we were, just that we were apparently important. (At one point, when we noticed at least half the frat party was out loitering around our tent and drinking the beer we brought, we sent a pledge inside to go grab a keg and bring it out to our tent). That was a fun homecoming, and we swore it would be our last.

Then the next year came around and our friends Tanya and Jason wanted to go to homecoming, so we caught up with Duke and did one last pre-game tailgating. (Note, we never go to the game, don’t even consider it, homecoming was and always will be just the tailgating). That next year, also known as last year, it was pouring rain the whole time. This made the whole experience a bit more subdued, but still memorable, with events including one of the girls punching a frat boy in the face, just cause she was bored with talking to him. It was still a fun homecoming, and we swore it would be our last.

Well, wrong again, because we are heading back to Delaware in a few weeks to tailgate some more. Selena booked us a hotel near the stadium so we have a home base to crash at, also to get a jump on the tailgating. We expect to be out in front of the ice rink by about 8:30 AM, and go strong until the pony cops come shut us down around noon. We’ll have eggs and bacon and breakfast, and of course plenty of consumable beverages. So, if you are a Delaware alum, or just in the neighborhood, come on by and say hello Sat., October 14th, for what SHOULD be our last homecoming.