Sooner Tailgating: Grove-Jones Tailgate

Bill Homer treats tailgating the same way his Sooners treats college football — legendarily. He remembers sitting outside the stadium as a kid with his father and uncle the day Notre Dame came to town and ended the Sooners 47-game winning streak.

Dave Cathey | Modified: August 21, 2011 at 3:15 pm | Published: October 16, 2010 Comment on this article

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Tailgating 2010 - Jones-Grove at OU

Sep 16Mandy Grove from the legendary Jones-Grove talks about...

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verages ranged from Dos Equis to Bud Light to Sooner punch — a red vodka-based concoction — and plenty of unleaded drinks for the little ones.

Mandy, who lives in Moore and teaches special ed, set up near the union, just south of the corner of Boyd and Asp, and Mitzi Jones typically arrive some time between 7:30 and 8 a.m. on game days to prepare for a 2:30 games. As early as 5 a.m. for 11:30 game. It's a 14-hour day win, lose or draw. It works because Mandy works the grounds and the planning, and Mitzi does the cooking. The result is a family-oriented party that starts early and goes beyond sundown.

And why is Mandy a potential Bedlam-busting tailgater? She hasn't been inside the stadium much since 2008. She has tickets but has so much fun outside the stadium she decided to donate her ticket to a friend. That's either a really good friend, or someone who's game day priorities lean toward tailgating.

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