"Everybody’s so welcoming," Gossett said. "We like to welcome whomever to join us. The campus has been totally accommodating so we love it."

During her time as an MSU student, Gossett said her tailgating experience was great.

"When we were here, it was always great. We’d tailgate later on and take some breaks and go to the game and enjoy this campus all night long," Gossett said. “Similar experience, but much younger, and we could do a whole lot more."

Describing some of the activities she likes to do, Gossett said she enjoys the pluck boards her friends make and cornhole, along with having her kids attend the tailgate.

Offering advice to freshmen and other students who are considering tailgating, Gossett said it would be a great thing to witness the Spartan marching band's march to the stadium.

"We have two boys that will be seniors this year (and), when we bring them here, we’d want to take them to see things," Gossett said. 

Gossett said she will "live and die with the Spartans."

"We say 'go green' to the end and we bleed green," Gossett said. "We will be tailgating out here and then heading to one of the finest establishments on Grand River to watch the game, but our kids will be attending (the game)."

Stephanie Woods, an MSU elementary education alum of 1992, says her family has been tailgating together for over three years.

"I started back because I have three children that goes to Michigan State," Woods said. "We made some great friends that are their roommates’ parents."

Woods said the tailgating experience was very different when she was a student.

"It was the tundra, a gigantic field of cars with people tailgating all over the place," Woods said. "One of the fraternity houses used to have a firetruck and it was a lot more people altogether, whereas now it’s spread out through more of the campus."

Woods said her favorite thing to do when tailgating is playing cup pong and spending time with her family.

"We play beanbags, we eat, drink, play pong, and seeing my children is my most favorite thing," Woods said.  

Offering advice on tailgating, Woods said it’s best to have parents attending the tailgates, having a lot of food and a spot to set up.

"We have an organized plan and spreadsheet with what everyone is bringing, how many people are coming so that we have enough food for everybody, and we text everyone to bring their friends," Woods said.

Woods said she loves coming back to Michigan State with her kids and her husband and spending time with them through tailgating.

"It’s like coming home and I see all of my friends that I graduated with and go visit them around campus," Woods said. "It’s a great and beautiful day for football."

Woods’ son, agriculture junior Carson Woods, said the tailgating experience with his friends and roommates has been going well.

"Luckily, our roommates’ parents get along very well and coordinate all of it," Carson Woods said. "There’s food, we always come to the same spot since I got here as a freshman, go to every game, and it’s awesome."

Carson Woods said his tailgating experience so far as a student has been spent with his family while inviting his friends to join their experience.

"I would say it’s one of the best parts of Michigan State (and) it makes it a great Big Ten school," Carson Woods said. "One of the reasons why I chose to come here was because of the football games, a lot of tailgating, lots of new people to meet."

Carson Woods said the best advice for freshmen who are thinking about tailgating is to find a group of friends that will keep each other safe and have a good time.

Carson said his favorite thing about tailgating is the food.

"My roommate is from Greece, so there’s a lot of Greek food," Carson Woods said. "They have a bunch of mac and cheese plates, they have ribs and love to cook and I love it."

Carson’s twin brother, finance junior Grant Woods, said the tailgating experience for him has been exciting with two years of experience.

"This is one of my favorite times of the year," Grant said. “I grew up watching Michigan State, it’s been here my whole life. I’ve seen the good and the bad, but I’d much rather watch the good."

Grant Woods said he believes there is a connection between the tailgating and the games.

"I've never seen a Michigan-Michigan State tailgate where people come together, because usually (Michigan is) good and then it’s a bloodbath," Grant Woods said. "Last year was great and it was a good time."

Grant Woods said his favorite memory of tailgating came from his freshman year, when his family visited during the football season.

"If your parents come to a tailgate, it’s like a sense of belonging," Grant Woods said. "It’s like going back home but you’re still here. I loved it when my parents came here and (I) got to give them a hug, and went out to eat. For me, it was a sense of comfort coming here, and that’s what tailgating really is."

Claudia Gieleghem, a physiology major and 1990 MSU alum, said her tailgating experience has been fun, especially with her son graduating soon and being part of the Spartan marching band.

"We’ve been to every game tailgating," Gieleghem said. "We’d hang out with a lot of the trombone parents, but prior to that, we’d go to games with friends that also graduated with us."

Although she didn't do much tailgating as an MSU student, Gieleghem said she would have tickets to the games and hang out in the dorms, go to the game and then a bar afterward.

"I love to play cornhole, have the music blasting, and bring friends and hang out throughout the day," Gieleghem said. 

Gieleghem said students who are planning to tailgate should bring along fun people and people who don’t mind being outside and the weather.

Political theory and criminal justice junior Kaitlyn Straub said she enjoys playing games like water pong at tailgates.

"My parents liked to tailgate when I was younger, so we’d come to MSU to tailgate," Straub said. Straub also said that her personal preference is to tailgate prior to the games, and advised those who are thinking of tailgating to be safe, to stay with a group of friends the whole time and bring people with them.

"The food is the good part, especially for us college students who aren’t used to having good food," Straub said. "Having family bring food is always good."

For international relations and Spanish junior Rachael Lee, tailgating has been fun, especially going with Straub, her roommate.

"We’d go to the MSU Crew tailgates, which are always fun," Lee said.

Lee said those thinking about tailgating should do it before every home game, but to also be safe the entire time.

"Know (the) people that you are around, and have a good time."