Whether you’re tailgating for a Georgia Souther football game or up in Atlanta getting ready to watch the Braves play some ball, here are some tips to help you get through your tailgate like a champ.

• Get there early

Tailgating is all about the party before the game so the first rule of thumb is to start the tailgate hours before the game, no matter how early or late it may happen to be. You may be thinking: “What am I going to do with all that time before the game? Is it really necessary to start that early?” There are lots of things to do during a tailgate. Play some corn hole or bounce from place to place and visit everyone. Or set up the grill and make food for you and all your friends and save money by not having to eat at the game.

• Pack the cooler

Whether it’s soda or over-21 required beverages, be sure to have everyone chip in to keep the cooler stocked all day long. It’s also a good idea to delegate who is going to carry/watch the cooler because that can lead to the cooler getting lost and not very happy tailgaters. Water is also a must; though football may be in the fall, that doesn’t mean the Statesboro heat is completely gone yet and it won’t be gone for a while. A day partying in the sun equals dehydration so no matter what you stock your cooler with, be sure that water is part of it.

• Have a game plan

Are you going to stake out a spot by the stadium in the student tailgate section and set up a canopy to keep you nice and shady and post up there all day until the game starts? Or do you have friends that live on Robinhood who host tailgates at their houses? Maybe Greek Row is more your style? No matter where you like to tailgate be sure that your group has a game plan of where you want to spend the day. This helps to avoid a lot of confusion and lost friends. Also every place has pros and cons. For example the new student tailgate zone will be great because there will be entertainment, food and plenty of space however, it is technically a part of campus so there are a lot of rules that have to be followed. Robinhood is tailgate central, everybody knows that, but that also leads to it being super crowded and leaving you without anywhere to go to get out of the heat. Greek Row has big houses that can handle a lot of people which means you don’t have to worry about the heat all day but you might be rubbing more elbows than you’d care for.

• Dress the part

There are different levels of game day dressing when it comes to girls. Most traditional southern girls will be wearing nice dresses in blue or yellow with pops of white and gold here and there. Game day fashion is a big deal and both girls and guys enjoy showing off their school spirit by dressing to impress.
Some people want to be more laid back and go for a more sporty approach with cool GSU t-shirts and shorts.
Whether you want to strut your stuff on game day or just want to wear what will be most comfortable it’s completely up to you as long as you’re wearing white, blue and gold.

• Don’t forget to accessorize

The perfect way to top off your game day outfit is to accessorize. From face tattoos, sorority stickers, hats, koozies and GSU jewelry, the ways to show your True Blue spirit are endless. And when it comes to game days for the Eagles, more is more. So show as much True Blue spirit as you can handle.

• Tickets, tickets, tickets

Waiting until the last minute to get game tickets sounds like a good idea in theory but always turn into a disaster because everyone else has usually decided to do the same thing. Getting tickets for friends and family that don’t go to GSU in advance means you’ll get to breeze past all the crowds, get great seats, go straight to the game and you’ll save money.

• Go to the game!

Last but not least the ultimate tailgating foul is to tailgate so hard you never actually make it to the game. The new stadium wasn’t built for its seats to remain empty, so round up all your friends and make sure you watch the Eagles GATA.