It happens every weekend. One or two lonely people sit on a plot of land eyeballing anyone who gets too close. Soon, fields and parking lots that once stood empty are flooded with thousands of people, drinks in hand, wearing their orange and blue.
These mini villages are full of tailgaters who pack up their lives, TVs, trailers, tents and even couches for a few days … all in the name of football.
Whether they’re sitting outside of a camper grilling up burgers, or in the middle of a grassy knoll with a beer and a bag of chips, every tailgater has a story to tell … and everyone thinks their tailgate is the best.
Here’s a look at a few tailgates we came across at the Tennessee Tech game ... maybe you can steal a few ideas to make your own a little bit better.

RVs and other spots for the well-off
The roads near the stadium look like a campground on gameday because of all of the RVs and trailers parked around the block.
Cindy Heath tailgates at her RV parked on Donahue Street. They’re set up with the works: food, drink and satellite TV.
“My husband comes and sits over here all day on Friday,” said Heath. “He’s here usually 5:30 or 6 on Friday morning and stays until we can put the camper here at four o’clock.”
Heath and her group have been tailgating for a long time and have sat in the same spot for the last 20 years.
A grand total of 15 families show up at her tailgate to enjoy the food, the friends and the view.
“The kids thoroughly enjoy it because the eagle just went by and they get to see the escort and they think that’s all neat,” she said.
Another popular spot for those with some extra pull (and cash) is the scholarship lot.
Renee Blanton and her group have been buying tickets since 1970.
They have a tent set up in the middle of the lot with a big table full of food.
“We have a big spread every weekend,” she said.
Blanton’s tailgate is also the ideal spot for some fun.
“We are The Tiger Wave,” said Blanton.
Her whole tailgate waves to the opposing team as they drive off after the game.
“Sometimes they appreciate it and wave back,” she said, “Sometimes they don’t ... and they ‘wave’ back then, too.”
Sporting orange and blue wigs, pom-pons and face paint, Richard Blanton’s tailgate was the most festive.
His group sits between a giant tent and their orange and blue painted van in the scholarship lot.
“We tailgate just like everybody else,” he said. “We play music, decorate the van and we just have a good time, shake a lot of hands, take a lot of pictures.”
Blanton’s tailgate is planning to do much of the same when they tailgate for the Iron Bowl.
“We normally don’t do anything special because it’s not that special of a game anymore,” he said. “ We beat them 5 times in a row.  It’s not that big a deal.  We’ll just beat them one more time.”

For the rest of us…
Some aren’t so lucky to have an RV or a spot in the Scholarship Lot, but the tailgaters we spoke to still have tons of fun ... wherever they end up.
AU grad student Josh Stephens and friends have fun on South Donahue.
“We just get together and, of course, cook a lot of good food and drink a lot of good beer,” he said.
While this is Stephens’ first year tailgating with the group, they’ve sat at the same spot for the last 10 years celebrating and actually converting a few people into Auburn fans.
There were two Georgia fans in the group for the TTU game.
“That’s what we do - we grab a bunch of people that shouldn’t normally be here and introduce them to how fun Auburn is,” he said.
Even family members of football players have to find their own spot and stake a claim.
Joyce Patrick and her group are freshman defensive end Antoine Carter’s family from Florida.
This year is the first year they’ve tailgated and they already have a system.
“We staked out spot at 4 am, went back to the hotel and rested a bit,” she said, “We couldn’t sleep because we were too excited and then we just got back two hours ago.”
Complete with two grills, a turkey frier and a big spread of other food, Patrick’s tailgate on Samford Avenue has it all ... including a mascot. Patrick’s nephew, the youngest member of the group, was dressed in a tiger suit.
“We eat and we just have fun,” she said. “And we enjoy being with our family.”
Up the block, a large group of families get together to cheer on the Tigers and celebrate other things, like birthdays.
“We celebrate all things through tailgating,” said Kasey Myers. He and his wife, Kimberly, tailgate with a large group of friends and their 7-week old baby girl, Vivian.
“She was born after the Mississippi State game,” he said.
Myers’ group is full of families.
“This is baby fest 2007,” he said.
Their tailgate boasts four tents, DirecTV and multiple tables of food.
The group has big plans for the Iron Bowl.
“We usually fry a turkey out here and we’ll have the TV set up,” Myers said. “We’ll be here from six o’clock on until maybe midnight. We’ll have a good old time.”
While his tailgating plans may be set, Myers does have one prediction.
“I predict there will be someone with a mullet coming from Tuscaloosa down here,” he said. “I can predict that for sure ...and that Auburn will win.”
Regardless of where you choose to tailgate, no one can argue with that.