By JAN McLAUGHLIN
BG Independent News
Tailgaters at football games may boast about their marinated beef brisket, their fiery chicken wings, and their custom mac and cheese.
But they’ve got nothing on Kim and Kyle Lehman, the self-described “crazy band parents” who plan to feed all 600 members of the Bowling Green State University Marching Band before each home football game this fall.
The couple from Ottoville, Ohio, has worked their way up to serving the biggest marching band in the land this season. They started small after their son Wyatt’s freshman year playing euphonium in the band.
While feeding the football team was a priority, the marching band often went from morning practice to the game without eating. And since eating in their band uniforms is discouraged, aside from granola bars and water, the students were running on empty by time the game was over.
“That’s just not enough to sustain them,” Kim Lehman said.
So during their son’s sophomore year, the Lehmans came stocked to feed all the fellow euphonium players – about 30 or so. Other band members caught whiff of the tailgating food, and scarfed up any leftovers.
The Lehmans didn’t like to see some band members go hungry, so they reconsidered their audience.
“We’re getting more people each week, so let’s just feed everyone,” Kim recalled of their conversation.
So when Wyatt’s junior year rolled round, the Lehmans – with the help of some other parents – took on the volunteer job of feeding all 475 band members. And this year, as the band mushroomed to 600 members, the Lehmans and others scrambled to meet the need.
While the parent tailgaters are not affiliated with BGSU, they do have the blessing of BGSU President Rodney Rogers, who arranged for them to have a spot just to the south of the stadium.
The menus are mostly planned for the season. For early afternoon games, a breakfast buffet will be served, including scrambled eggs, sausage, ham, hashbrowns, biscuits and gravy, fruit and danishes. For later games, the menu will include variations of pulled pork, tacos, smoked chicken, and mac and cheese.
“The kids walk out after practice and the food’s right there,” Kyle said.
“The kids plop in the grass” and fill up for the game, Kim said.
In previous years, leftovers haven’t been an issue. “Those kids eat a lot,” Kim said.
For those not accustomed to feeding 600 famished college students, the grocery list for a breakfast will include 1,200 eggs, 600 sausage patties, 1,000 biscuits and 13,000 ounces of sausage gravy. A lunch of pulled pork will require 120 pounds of pork, the tacos will need 120 pounds of hamburger, plus enough buns and taco shells to go around.
Besides the mass quantities of food, the tailgate meals take a lot of logistical planning to make sure there are enough griddles, warming trays, roasters, smokers, coolers and generators to keep it all running.
Prior to becoming master tailgaters, Kyle Lehman had some experience feeding groups of Boy Scouts. And he prided himself on his backyard grilling skills.
The Lehmans, who live 70 minutes from Bowling Green, will leave their home at 4 a.m. on breakfast game days, so they can start cooking the food at 5:30 a.m. outside the football stadium.
On a recent trip up to BGSU to see a practice performance of the band, the Lehmans were decked out for their role as band parents. Both wore neon orange BGSU shirts, Kim’s nails were tipped in bright orange, and her hair had been freshly dyed a noteworthy orange. That was actually a mistake, since she had requested a different color from a hairstylist in training. “It was supposed to be red,” Kim said with a smile.
Feeding a small village of band members isn’t cheap, with the couple estimating it will cost about $3,000 per home game.
“We’ve got enough to do the first two games,” Kim said.
Other band parents pitch in, with some donating money, some dropping off cookies or brownies, and some taking turns at the griddles or roasters.
“We’re just a bunch of crazy parents who want to feed kids,” Kim said.
Though this is the final year in the band for Wyatt, his parents are planning to enlist in the “parent portal” to continue their tailgating for the marching band.
“There’s nobody waiting in the wings,” Kim said. So the couple said they will keep filling their role until other “crazy” parents pick up the griddle.
The benefits are priceless.
“The only recognition I want is a smile from the kids,” Kyle said.
Anyone interested in donating to the tailgating effort may go to the Facebook page for FMB Tailgate. The FMB Tailgate LLC has been established, with all donations going toward the meals for the marching band.
