Kegs canned; tailgating party goes on

The afternoon before the first Missouri Tigers football game of the season, not a lot had changed for the tailgaters at Memorial Stadium parking lots. Tigers fans were still grilling bratwursts while kids tossed footballs around. And, people were still drinking beer.

The only difference between this season and last is that fans were drinking the beer out of bottles and cans instead of kegs.

A new MU rule banning kegs and “excessive amounts” of alcohol at informal tailgate parties at Memorial Stadium parking lots went into effect this season. People who violate the new rules may be asked to leave or to pour out their alcohol. The new rules have been the subject of some controversy among Tigers fans, but from the looks of things before Saturday’s kickoff, not a lot has changed.

Jim Taylor, 55, is a manager at a textbook distribution company and has tailgated for the past 15 years. Before the game began, he said he expected to feed 25 to 30 people, about half of his average number, owing to people traveling over Labor Day weekend.

Beyond the switch from kegs to bottles and cans, Taylor said things remained much as they had for the past 15 years, not only for his tailgate party, but for tailgate parties in general.

“I doubt very seriously if there are any significant changes,” he said.

Lt. Richard Fredendall of the Missouri State Highway Patrol helps regulate game-day traffic. Fredendall said he believes the new regulations against excessive alcohol would help decrease the number of intoxicated drivers after the game.

“Anything that makes us a little more sober makes us a little better off,” he said.

Kyle Thacher, 22, of Boonville, has made the trip to Columbia for the past four years to tailgate with his family and friends. They had planned to have a keg at the party, but instead brought five cases of mostly Bud Light beer for their 20-to-30-person party. While things were the same this season at his tailgate party, he expected the parking lot to be different.

At 4 p.m. there was no sign of the party in the middle of the lot. “There’s a party in the middle of this lot every year,” Thacher said. “I don’t know if it will happen this year since they can’t have kegs.”

Like the Columbia police, Thacher knows excessive alcohol when he sees it.

“Those people have ‘bulk alcohol,’” Thacher said, laughing.

Thacher and Taylor agreed that police were a presence in the parking lot, but neither believed they were giving tailgaters a hard time about excessive alcohol.

“Usually, in this lot, all you see is a few bike cops,” Thacher said.

Ramzi Mefrakes, manager and owner of Southside Liquor, said the new rules against kegs and excessive alcohol had little effect on business. He said he wouldn’t know until the end of the day, but half an hour before kickoff, business was equivalent to last season — right down to the number of kegs sold. Mefrakes said he wasn’t concerned about the effect bans on kegs and excessive alcohol might have on business.

“Why would I be concerned? People will buy beer no matter what.”