The blistering heat of a September Saturday in the South will never be enough to discourage tailgaters. Whether it's 90 F or 30 F, football fans in the South will don their summer shorts or winter coats and proceed onward. In fact, most of them take it as a point of pride that, despite the scorching temps, they're throwing down fancy hot spreads by grilling and smoking for hours.

Sometimes starting as early as Thursday, parking lots around stadiums at Southern universities begin filling up with tailgaters. Many of these folks may not have tickets to Saturday's football game, but that's all right with them. The real sport is taking place on the asphalt.

Long before the whistle blows or the first tackle is made, a different kind of sport unfolds - one that involves smokers, coolers and more team spirit than you can shake a foam finger at. Welcome to the world of Southern tailgating, where the pre-game festivities often outshine the main event, drawing in millions each college football Saturday.

Why Southern tailgates leave the rest in the dust

It's no wonder that most lists of top college football tailgating scenes are dominated by Southern schools. Southern hospitality gets kicked into high gear when football season rolls around. As Cindy Andrews, a longtime Auburn University tailgater, puts it, "Auburn and tailgating have kept our entire family very connected and close. My parents passed on the love of Auburn to me, and I passed it along to my kids, and now my children are passing it along to their children."

It's this spirit of friendly competition and welcoming hospitality that sets Southern tailgates apart. Reddit user turtleviking shares, "Tailgating in the SEC for visiting rival fans has to be the best. Every fanbase thinks they are the best at tailgating and will go out of their way to prove it to you if you are polite."

Traditions unlike any other place on earth

Drive through any stadium parking lot in the South on game day, and you'll witness a transformation that would put HGTV to shame. Pop-up tents become palatial party zones, complete with flat-screen TVs, booming sound systems and enough food for a small army.

Over in Knoxville, Tennessee, the famed Vol Navy starts showing up a day or two before the game for their sailgating. More than 200 vessels, from yachts to small fishing boats, dock along the banks of the Tennessee River in the shadow of Neyland Stadium. Everyone boat hops and everyone is welcome.

At Mississippi State University, there's a cowbell tradition from alumni to students. Cynthia Graham says, "Every serious bulldog fan has a cowbell collection. In the last several years the tradition has been for an alum to give a new student a cowbell. These large cowbells are painted maroon or white and have a handle attached. Students decorate the bells with decals, stickers or original artwork."

Some fans, like Andrews' family, even invest in RVs to take their tailgate game to the next level. "My mother first started tailgating with her parents in Auburn in 1957, then after my parents got married and moved to Macon, they started tailgating together in 1962. They bought their first RV in 1985 and have been parking and tailgating at the Colosseum ever since. We are at the end of the Tiger Walk, so it's always so much fun to see the fans, players and coaches," she recalls.

Home of the Junkyard Dawgs

In Athens, Georgia, there's nothing like the sea of red and black that spans for blocks around Sanford Stadium. ESPN has hosted multiple "College GameDay" broadcasts from Myers Quad, a lovely grassy area surrounded by some of the university's oldest historic buildings. There will be plenty of games, cornhole boards and football tossing, and the famous Dawg Walk is not to be missed.

In Georgia, fans like to celebrate in a big way, and a favorite area of UGA tailgating is known as Bulldog Park. It's a luxury RV tailgating facility where fans purchase their own lots and build permanent tailgating setups and outdoor kitchens. There's a playground for kids and live music on Friday nights.

A special place: The Grove

While every college has its own tailgating traditions, few can compare to The Grove at the University of Mississippi, also known as Ole Miss, heralded as the premier tailgating spot in the country. These folks hang chandeliers, display professional floral creations, feature rival team decor, hire live bands and, of course, they bring food. Mounds and mounds of food.

The famous Zebra Tent

Jane and Lantz Foster have been tailgating at Ole Miss for nearly three decades. Their famous Zebra Tent has been featured on ESPN's "College GameDay," the Food Network and numerous other publications. The family founded the tent to bring people together and offer Southern hospitality to everyone.

"Southern hospitality is welcoming everybody, meeting new friends," Foster says. "We want everybody to be welcome."

It takes hours to set up the tent, and the group usually begins around 5 a.m. They hang chandeliers, add tablecloths and chair covers, and wheel in cart after cart filled with food. They expect to feed anywhere from 2,000 to 7,000 fans, both from Ole Miss and whatever rival team they're playing. "We might lose the game," Foster says, "but we're not gonna lose the party."

Southern food is always the MVP

If there's one thing Southerners know how to do, it's cook. And when it comes to tailgate fare, they pull out all the stops. From classic barbecue to regional specialties, the spread at a Southern tailgate is nothing short of legendary.

While in much of the South, pulled pork barbecue is a ubiquitous menu item, over at the University of Texas tailgates, beef is the star, mainly in the form of sausages and brisket. At LSU, a legendary custom roasting box known as the "Cajun microwave" slow-cooks whole hogs to perfection, a feat that can take up to 12 hours.

And then there's LSU

When pressed to choose, many football fans in the South acknowledge that LSU is tops when it comes to welcoming in opposing fans and the food that's shared. JoeSugar on Reddit notes, "Never have seen a fan base that can compete with LSU when it comes to tailgating. Hands down, LSU is the best."

Saturdays in Death Valley are a Disneyworld mecca of food: Smoked mac and cheese, huge vats of jambalaya and gumbo, whole grilled fish, grilled oysters, boudin, crawfish boils, whole hogs slow-cooked for hours and usually a version of the opposing team's mascot on a few grills.

"Once when we played Florida, there was a whole smoked alligator," says Michael Anderson. Apparently, this is a regular fixture at LSU tailgates.

Southern desserts and drinks are unrivaled

The heart of any tailgate is the booze, be it beer, bourbon, batches of homemade spiked lemonade or flowing champagne fountains. No one shows up to a tailgate in the South without a cooler of something to share: Cokes, beer, water and maybe a bottle of something special, too.

Then there are the desserts. Over at the Zebra Tent, they feature an entire dessert bar filled with goodies. Others set up a special table, often draped in a monogrammed tablecloth, to showcase the baking skills of the locals.

Southern tailgating is about the people

In the South, tailgating isn't just a pre-game ritual - it's a way of life. It's where traditions are passed down, friendships are forged and the spirit of the game comes alive long before kickoff. Whether you're feasting on homemade delicacies, exchanging friendly banter with rival fans or simply soaking in the electric atmosphere, Southern tailgating offers an experience that's hard to beat.

Lucy Brewer, a seasoned writer and editor with over 30 years of experience and a master's in professional writing, knows that Southern traditions run deeper than just food. As a fourth-generation Southern cook and founder of Southern Food and Fun, Lucy blends her passion for preserving classic Southern recipes with her talent for crafting easy, crowd-pleasing dishes that are perfect for everything from family gatherings to game-day celebrations.