UGA Pulled Pork Wins Title For Best Tailgate Food

Every fall Saturday in Athens, before the first whistle blows between the hedges, there’s another competition already underway. It happens in parking lots and under tents, where smokers hiss and grills glow, where the air thickens with hickory and the kind of pride that doesn’t need a scoreboard.

This year, according to a survey of football fans nationwide, the Georgia Bulldogs won something that matters almost as much as the game itself: best tailgate food in America. The weapon of choice? Pulled pork barbecue.

For Bulldog fans, this isn’t just pregame fuel. It’s ritual. It’s family. It’s what ties together generations of red and black before kickoff.

The survey, conducted by LiveSportsonTV, ranked game-day dishes from across the country — college and pro, North and South, beef and bird. What emerged was a map of American football culture told through smoke, spice, and regional stubbornness.

Chicago Bears fans swear by Italian beef sandwiches, dripping with au jus and giardiniera. Philadelphia Eagles tailgaters argue over Whiz versus provolone on their cheesesteaks. In Buffalo, wings are identity, tossed in hot sauce and blue cheese, fueling the Bills Mafia. Kansas City Chiefs fans serve burnt ends like sacrament. Dallas Cowboys tailgates feature brisket sliced thick on butcher paper, smoked over post oak until it barely holds together.

Down in Clemson, it’s fried chicken. In Knoxville, ribs. In Lawrence, Kansas, brisket sandwiches. Each one a point of pride. Each one defended like a playoff berth.

Georgia had another entry on the list, too. At number 21: lemon pepper wings at Atlanta Falcons games. Crispy, buttery, tangy, and unmistakably Atlanta, they show up in parking lots outside Mercedes-Benz Stadium by the basketful. Some fans go wet with sauce. Others stick to the dry rub. Either way, they disappear fast.

The survey didn’t stop at rankings. It asked what makes a tailgate worth showing up early for. 44 percent said the food. 33 percent said the people. Music, drinks, and rivalry barely registered by comparison.

As for what people actually want to eat? Burgers and hot dogs still lead at 40 percent, followed by chicken wings at 25 percent, BBQ ribs at 18 percent, brats and sausages at 12 percent, and chili at 6 percent.

But the survey also asked which foods are overrated. Wings took the top spot at 27 percent — a curious result given how many fanbases swear by them. Hot dogs, chili, and desserts each pulled 16 percent. Even burgers got called out by 10 percent of respondents.

And when it comes to sheer volume, the Dallas Cowboys were voted the fanbase that cooks the biggest portions, followed by the Green Bay Packers, Houston Texans, and Kansas City Chiefs.

Back in Athens, the pulled pork will keep smoking. The tents will keep going up. The Bulldogs will keep running out between the hedges. And before any of that happens, someone will pull a shoulder off the smoker, shred it with two forks, and serve it to a crowd that knows exactly what victory tastes like,even before the game begins.