The 2004 Tailgating Season Goes Live for the Thundering Herd on Sept. 11

The inaugural 2004 USC Thundering Herd Tailgate will take place on September 11 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum when the Trojans take on the Colorado State University Rams. Game time is 5:00 PM, tailgating will begin around noon for the early birds--and you know who you are :-).

The menu will probably consist of 'Bratwurst in the Style of George' (BSGs), a Chris Schlesinger recipe from his must-own cookbook,
Big Flavors of the Hot Sun. This menu has been one of our standbys for the past three years. To me, nothing says football quite like a grilled brat, some potato salad, and an ice cold beer.

The 'Style of George' reference in the recipe's name comes from a Fenway Park sausage vendor, appropriately enough named George, that makes what he calls a sausage 'bomb.' The brat is smothered in a topping of carmelized onions and bell peppers, fresh herbs, and spices. I usually spend the better part of the Friday night preceding the game making the tasty topping (it takes forever to carmelize about 15 pounds of onions).

First things first though, the Herd is off to Washington, D.C. next week to meet the Virginia Tech Hokies in the BCA Football Classic. We'll have more the game and our tailgating plans later.

Fight On! and Beat the Hokies!