ASHLAND — Many Ashland University students attempted to conquer Toxic Meltdown’s whirlwind of inflatable obstacles on Thursday.
Many failed.
Most students gave it a college try for a few minutes before they grew tired of having their feet swept out from under them. Then, they resorted to limply stepping over the rotating rod.
The Ashland University cheerleaders, however, had greater success. Their acrobatic skills allowed them to leap over the obstacles. But in the end, they too succumbed to the limits of the human body.
“My tummy hurts,” one of the cheerleaders said, signaling she was done with the Toxic Meltdown.
This was one of many colorful sights at Ashland University’s first Football Fan Fest of the 2022-2023 school year.
Around 100 college students flocked to Lot E starting at 3 p.m. to play cornhole, enter raffles, socialize, and eat free ice cream before the Ashland University Eagles took on Notre Dame College.
AU junior Gabe Del Valle, speaking over the sounds of cornhole bags hitting boards, said that the tailgate event is a great way for students to meet new people.
“If you’re a political science major like myself you never see people from the biology department or things like that,” he said. “So we all kinda gather and do fun things like tailgating. The games are free for students so it’s just a great time.”
Just two years ago, Ashland football games and tailgates were nonexistent during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tailgates and the games returned for the 2021-2022 school year, but were often smaller affairs.
But this year, with COVID restrictions in the rear view, the tailgate party has room to grow, AU junior Alyssa Tarney said.
“The events are definitely not as strict as they were before so it’s nice, you can actually like meet everyone unlike previous years,” she said.
Despite its billing as a tailgate party, actual tailgates were mostly absent from the event. That’s because the university closed the parking lot for the event, forcing cars to park elsewhere.
Also absent from the event were alcoholic beverages; the university prohibits them at tailgates.
Ashland University will be hosting a tailgate party for every home game of the season. The next party will be on Oct. 1 at 4 p.m. when the Ashland University Eagles take on the Northwood University Timberwolves.
