Poor weather can't spoil USA tailgate

MOBILE, Ala. (WALA) - Try as it may, not even Mother Nature could spoil the fun for those tailgating at South Alabama’s season-opener against the West Alabama Tigers.

“Rain or shine, I’m here for the Jags,” said fan Jeff Bennett. “The weather kind of came, and it us hard. We had to hide some of the stuff, so that’s just part of the game. You got to play out here.”

If the Bennett name rings a bell, it’s probably because Jeff’s brother Paul is the team’s senior tight end. He gets to don the coveted number five jersey.

“Last summer, a player on the team was killed in a motorcycle wreck, and so now, they have a tradition,” Bennett said. “A senior every year is named the new number five that’s got certain qualities that they want the other players to have, and we’re happy that Paul got it.”

However, some of the fans' outfits were rather unorthodox. USA sophomore painted his whole body red for the big game.

“My friends were like, ‘Hey, we’re going to the game, and we got to spell Go Jags,’ and they needed a space. Hence the no letter, but I’m right in the middle there,” Battle said. “Without that, it’s just ‘GOJAGS.' Now, it’s ‘GO JAGS,’ so you got to have the space.”

However, a "17-1" sign at the rear-end of a tailgate meant not everyone was there to root on the Jaguars.

“UWA is going to win this ballgame,” said UWA fan Charlie Fincher.

Tiger cheerleader Jeromy Shaw agreed.

“Our football team has been practicing, and a lot of people aren’t expecting us to win, but we’ve been preparing really hard to take them on and beat them, so I think we can do it,” Shaw said.