Saturdays in Death Valley
Jul 20, 2026 03:16PM ● By Jen Gennaro
How did your family first end up with this tailgate spot, and when?
We started tailgating there when we first got season tickets in 1998, the year Ginger and I got married. It was originally my dad, my brother, and their families. Back then, the area near the Ag buildings had lots of open grassy space and old stables. We were driving around looking for somewhere to park and found an oak tree that gave us some shade. We parked there and never left.
Our kids were only four, five, and six years old when we started, then Ashton came along in 1999. We had little kids running around everywhere playing football and wearing themselves out before the game. The kids are all grown now, but we still have season tickets and they come back whenever they can.
What started as just our family has grown into four or five families and a whole network of friends who stop by throughout the season.
Have you ever had to defend the spot?
Only once, and I wasn't even there. A group of college students had been displaced from their normal tailgate location and set up in our area. Beth and Russell (Ginger’s sister and her husband, who kept the tailgate going while the Corcorans lived out of state) were there that morning and had to do a little negotiating.
That's why we get there around 7 a.m. on game days. The regulars all know the routine—we arrive early, claim our territory, make breakfast, and start setting up the smokers and the rest of the cooking setup.
What does a typical game-day morning look like?
One thing I always do is take a walk around campus before it gets crowded. I'll circle Tiger Stadium, stop by the gift shop, and go see Mike the Tiger. I love seeing campus wake up before the chaos starts.What are the non-negotiables of your tailgate setup?
The TV has to go up first. Russell also has a chair that's completely off-limits. Nobody sits in Russell's chair.
And then there are the superstitions. We hang the same flags every week, and I wear the same LSU shirt as long as the Tigers keep winning. Once they lose, the shirt gets retired for the season. Last year, I had to rotate shirts quite a bit.
What’s one of your favorite memories?
One of my favorite memories was putting my son Micah on top of a portable toilet so he could see the band coming down the hill. He was cheering with one hand and holding his nose with the other!
Which game day was absolutely miserable—and somehow still memorable?
The rain-delayed Oregon State opener. We ended up taking shelter inside one of the barns nearby. There were three completely different groups stuck inside together: our crowd with little kids, a group of college kids painting themselves purple and gold, and an older couple who had set up a proper dinner with a checkered tablecloth, wine, cheese, and muffulettas.
A few hours later, that same older gentleman was getting his chest painted by the teenagers. It perfectly captured what LSU tailgating is all about—everyone becoming friends for a day.
What's the secret to a great LSU tailgate?
It's never really been about football. The games are important, but it's the people who keep you coming back. The kids growing up together, old friends stopping by, sharing food with strangers, celebrating birthdays, and spending Saturdays with family—that's what makes it special. Football is just the excuse to get everyone together.
