Clarksville, TN – Some people take a serious approach to having fun, and in the process elevate good times into memories that will most likely last a lifetime.
This statement could be made in regards to Chris Colburn, Shannon Ferrell and Joel Morrison, and their core group of eight, all fans of Austin Peay State University (APSU) Football who each Fall, during APSU Football home games, are known as the APSU Tailgating Professionals.
“Yes, that is the actual name for our group, we even have a Facebook page,” Colburn said. “We set up here every home game, and we’ve been doing it for three years. Being out here under the big tent, with all this good food, and a handful of great friends really gets everybody fired up. The band comes down this aisle, and the team comes along right behind them. We line up along the pathway, and root them on to show our support.”
Colburn says the Professionals attendance can swell to as many as 25 or 30 people some weekends, as each of the members invites friends and family members to join them.
“We get all kinds of people wandering into the tent, people we know , people we don’t know,” Volburn said. “We don’t really care Come eat. Come drink. The more they eat and drink, the less we have to carry back home.”
Colburn and the rest try to come up with a theme every week. For the ETSU game they built the menu around seafood gumbo, rice and french bread.
But, as usual, personal tastes got involved and the spread included everything from fried chicken and cornbread to a vast array of chips and dips. Always, something for everyone.
“I just love the environment of it,” Ferrell said. “It’s fun to get hyped up. APSU is doing great things right now, it’s pretty cool to be involved with our hometown team. I’m just a fan. I’ve known Chris for a few years, and he is the one who got us out here. He invited us last year a couple of times, now we just won’t leave.”
One of the funny things about Colburn, Ferrell and Morrison is none of them are APSU alumni.
”I was born and raised here,” Morrison said. “I just love to support the school, and I have since I was a little kid. It’s awesome out here. We have a good time, and it’s contagious We all chip in on the food, and we coordinate through our Facebook page.”
The APSU Tailgating Professionals aren’t alone. There are dozens of groups set up in the parking lot between the stadium and the Dunn Center. There is every type of food you can imagine, as well as games and music being played from one end of the lot to the other.
“All we know for sure is we’re going to have fun,” Colburn said. “And, if APSU plays today like they did against UT, they’re going to stomp ’em.”
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