Food & Football: Hurricanes’ Guide to Tailgating Virginia Cavaliers

Following two unbelievable performances as the marquee game of the week the past two weeks, the now #3 Miami Hurricanes are back in action this Saturday against the Virginia Cavaliers. After answering a slew of questions over the past weeks, the only question left is can the Canes handle success and perform when they are not playing under the bright lights? This question will be answered at 12PM ET at “The Rock”. Canes fans, we have our own challenge this week as well. First, ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit doesn’t believe we can bring the same “atmosphere” to a noon game. "I want to see how Miami plays without that atmosphere ... they've got Virginia at home at noon this week. It's not going to be what it's been the last two weeks, atmosphere-wise.” I still find the irony amusing that the joke used to be Canes fans didn’t show up, but now we are suddenly creating an atmosphere. Things change quickly don’t they? Second, it’s the last regular season home game for the Canes which means it is Senior Day! We owe it to the players, Chad Thomas, Braxton Berrios, KC McDermott, and the others to show up and send them off right. As hard as it was to be a fan and watch many of the games with the prior staff, they had to experience it first hand on the field, but they stuck with it through the dark times. Now, before we get into the Game Meal let’s learn a little about UVA.

The University of Virginia was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, author of the Declaration of Independence and third U.S. President. UVA is Virginia’s first public university and its location in Charlottesville was the prior site selected for Central College, a preparatory school that existed only on paper. Football at UVA started in 1890 and it was the first football program south of the Mason-Dixon Line at a University. UVA’s official colors became orange and blue in 1888, and their Cavalier mascot was not adopted until 1923. Despite its late adoption, UVA’s ties to this name go back to the 17th Century, prior to the existence of the United States. Before the Revolutionary War, Virginia was known as a Commonwealth that was populated by many loyalists of Great Britain. During the British Civil War, much of the Virginia Commonwealth’s population took the side of Royalist supporters, also known as Cavaliers. In addition to the Cavaliers, UVA’s sports teams are also known as “Wahoos”. This term was coined in 1940 to describe a fierce baseball rivalry. While its exact meaning is unknown, whether it be the fish that drinks twice its body weight, a school cheer, or just a student at UVA, it’s up to the UVA students to define it for themselves.

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

Food: For the food, I decided to use inspiration from the Wahoo nickname and self-define it as a fish. While Wahoo is a fish found mostly in the pacific, you can pick your favorite type of white fish and serve grilled fish tacos for this week’s game.

Donovan Hutchins

Drink: I was motivated by two things for this week’s game drink. First, the time of the game. With a noon kickoff on a Saturday, it’s the perfect time for a brunch type cocktail that includes champagne. Second, I wanted to add a tribute to the Royalists that are the Cavaliers and mix in some maple Crown Royal. Top it off with some apple juice and you have the perfect cocktail for a noon game against the Cavs.

Donovan Hutchins

Be safe Canes Family and drink responsibly! For full recipes of this game and previous ones, see “2017 Hurricanes’ Cooking Guide”

Let me know your food and drink choices for this game!