Despite the rain appearing as a sudden special guest and having to move to another location close to the Tuffy Lawn, Titan Athletics and Associated Students managed to carry on hosting the fourth annual tailgate tradition “Beat the Beach.”
The 5 p.m. tailgate served as a pregame for the main 7 p.m. event which was Cal State Fullerton’s men’s basketball team versus rival school Cal State Long Beach, referred to as “the Beach,” inside Titan gym.
“This is basically a place for students to have fun, get ready to understand the Titan Athletics spirit and what we have to offer and honestly it’s a space for everyone to celebrate Titans,” said Titan Athletics Marketing Intern Lead for Campus Engagement Jayden Fernandez.
The tailgate included fun activities for the students to participate in while they waited for the game to start. This included a photo booth, cornhole and a poster table where they could make signs to cheer for the team. There was a table displaying a “Beat the Beach” t-shirt and other accessories to be given away.
Sponsors invited by Titan Athletics tabled at the event as well, including brands such as Protein Lab and Açai Republic. Baby’s Badass Burgers catered the event by providing a food truck, giving out vouchers for free food to the tailgaters.
Eve Dowdell, a third-year transfer communications public relations major, has seen other Titan sports before, but never a basketball game. Dowdell wanted to come out and experience both the game and the atmosphere of the tailgate to feel the hype of what the tailgate is all about.
“There’s a lot of people around, I can hear the laughter, I can hear the joy,” Dowdell said. “Some people are playing with the stuff tossed behind me and so now I’m really seeing that the Titans came out to represent and beat the Beach.”
The first tailgate in this theme started back in the 2022-2023 school year when then ASI president Lydia Kelly supported the energy revolving around the coined rivalry. It was a way for both ASI and Titan Athletics to kick off the year by starting something that would later become a tradition in the long run.
For any of CSUF’s teams that are playing against Long Beach State, a “Beat the Beach” tailgate is likely to happen for students to come out and show their Titan spirit.
Women’s basketball is having their turn at it Feb. 12 with a pizza party. Women’s softball has their tailgate night in April for their senior weekend and last home series.
“I want them (students) to feel that like this is the campus life, this is what you see in the movies like this is that feel you want in college,” said Director of Marketing and Fan Engagements at Titan Athletics Carolyn Gill. “I want them to take away — win or lose — we keep our tusks up and we come in with energy wanting to beat the Beach.”