Fans Say Turkey Day Classic Pre-Game Celebration Best Yet

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By Jessica Gertler

Story Created: Nov 22, 2012 at 2:47 PM CDT

Story Updated: Nov 23, 2012 at 12:04 AM CDT

Part of the Thanksgiving tradition in Montgomery is the Turkey Day Classic football game between Alabama State University and Tuskegee University.

The 89th annual celebration started this morning with a parade in downtown and continued into the afternoon with a tailgating feast.

The age old rivalry attracts thousands to the capitol city, but this year, ASU and Tuskegee fans say the Turkey Day Classic is bigger than it's ever been.

A unique Thanksgiving tradition that 35,000 ASU and Tuskegee fans took part in.

The festivities kicked off in downtown Montgomery where Hornet and Golden Tiger fans swarmed Dexter Avenue to catch the parade.

"It's awesome! It's unbelievable," says Alicia Carson, who was a student at ASU 31 years ago.

Once the parade wrapped up, thousands headed to campus to continue the celebration and indulge in tailgate eats before the game.

Earlier in the week, many were concerned about the availability of parking since there are only 4,000 parking spaces on campus.

ASU made other arrangements including parking in and around the downtown area.

"Parking? Oh no problem at all," says Carson.

But for others like David Dawes, parking wasn't so easy to find.

"I'm trying to find a parking spot, but it looks like it is totally screwed," he says.

Dawes says he spent most of his day trying to find a place to park.

"Some people are trying to get me to pay for a spot in their yard for $25. That is a little high," says Dawes.

But in the end, fans say they've put all problems aside, because seeing the new $62 million Hornet football stadium was well worth it.

"I understand the troubles they went through to try and get this," says ASU fan William Cob. "Today it's a reality.

This rivalry dates back for more than 80 years. In fact it's one of the oldest HBCU rivalries in the country.

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