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Practicing for a pregame ritual

A Brandon club makes tailgating good, clean fun.

By S.I. ROSENBAUM
Published October 13, 2006

BRANDON - The name sounds like a joke: Future Tailgaters of America.

But it's fast becoming one of the most popular school-sponsored clubs at Brandon High School - and administrators take it seriously.

Principal Leslie Granich is a big fan of the student club, which started two years ago. She says the club has recharged school spirit and provided a safe place for kids.

"Everything they've done has been awesome," she said. "The group that's doing it, I trust them."

Before last week's football game, FTA threw one of their tailgate parties. Students showed up at a wooded patch on the high school's grounds and paid $5 for a ticket. There was music, three-legged races, Italian ice and cotton candy.

And despite the name, there was no alcohol in sight.

"I come to all of these," said Sarah Drake, 17, standing in line for cotton candy. "There's no drinking or anything - we just hang out before the game."

"And eat," said her twin sister, Stephanie.

At first, FTA president and BHS senior Jason Ruff said, BHS administrators were "skeptical" about the club, "Probably because they were worried about promoting alcohol."

But they came around, he said, when they saw that the club was strict about barring alcohol, even turning away students who came to tailgating events drunk.

"Now they think it's absolutely wonderful," he said.

"After we invited them out and they saw what we were all about ... they love us now."

The club was invented by students Lance Robinson and Andrew Shippington. The name, he said, was meant to be funny.

This year, FTA has had as many as 250 students at its pregame events this fall, Ruff said. That's up from about 50 at each party last year.

Last Friday, Granich showed up at the tailgate party to show her support.

"See?" she said, as students gathered for a three-legged race. "Good clean tailgate fun."

Ruff concedes that as students get older and pass the legal drinking age, they may add booze to their parties. For now, he said, they're having a good time without it.

He said he hopes the club will spread to other high schools and even colleges.

"We're going to go on to college and try to start it up there," he said. "We're going to keep on tailgating."

S.I. Rosenbaum can be reached at 661-2442 or srosenbaum@sptimes.com.

[Last modified October 12, 2006, 08:53:00]