Tailgating

    I thought of this subject yesterday while watching the Vanier Cup, which was played in Quebec City and won by the Western Mustangs. Although it was the national championship game, the crowd was a small and shivering one. University football is not as important here as it is in the United States, only partially because it is played in much colder conditions.  The temperatures during the game had a - in front of them and catching a football and being tackled after doing so while freezing, is surely very difficult. So is tailgating. 

Tailgrillin'

   In Baton Rouge, when the LSU Tigers play the Florida Gators, gator is on the menu and it looks like it would be fun sampling it under such balmy conditions. It would also be interesting to know how the guys hooked up the windshield motor to the barbecue and what they would do on the ride home if it rains.  The finished product looks like this:

 It was caught in a ditch and carried to the game where it was rubbed in Tony Chachere's Original Creole Seasoning. Even Gator fans are invited to feast on the gator. “Laissez les bons temps rouler.”

High Livin'

   I mentioned that the Americans take their college football seriously and as proof, I offer the photograph above. The fellow giving the thumbs up is Brian Kelly who was the highly paid football coach at Notre Dame. He is now paid more highly at LSU where he will pocket about $100 million over the next few years. He is only being given a salary of $9 million for the first year, but there are some bonuses - for example: 

Kelly will earn an additional $500,000 if LSU makes a bowl game. LSU has been bowl eligible for 20 seasons straight, earning them the fourth-longest active streak in the NCAA and the second-longest in the SEC.

For his first SEC championship, Kelly will receive a $250,000 salary increase for the remainder of his contract. He will receive a one-time $75,000 bonus if LSU appears in an SEC championship, and $150,000 if they win the game. If LSU wins a national title, his base salary will increase by $500,000 for the remainder of his contract....

He will also receive two courtesy vehicles or two car allowances worth $1,000 a month along with an interest free home loan of up to $1.2 million to buy a house. LSU will also cover 50 hours per year of travel on private planes, relocation funds, and the cost of his buyout at Notre Dame, which remains unspecified due to the school being private.

Unfortunately he left his daughter behind in South Bend to finish her classes at Notre Dame and her fellow students there are not too happy about his sudden departure. 

Sources, etc.

  For more about LSU and gators see: "The Gator Finds a Place at the Tailgate: Alligator, long a food source for Louisianians, has become more popular nationally. But its big moment comes at an annual football matchup in Baton Rouge, By Christina Morales, New York Times, Nov. 30, 2021.  The Cajuns are also mentioned. 

  For details about the Kelly contract see: "Inside Brian Kelly's 9-figure Deal: New LSU Coach Set to Make $100 Million by 2031," Gabby Jimenez, Dec.1, 2021, lsureveille.com.

  For the few of you who are wondering if it is okay to eat alligators or to buy some new shoes or a belt, it is. They were classified as endangered back in 1967, but "In the last 50 years, farming and hunting regulations have helped to increase the alligator population to about two million, from 100,000, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife & Fisheries." For more details, the image above comes from the USGS.