Tailgaters started early for Notre Dame - Purdue matchup

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- Football fans were out and about early Saturday in West Lafayette tailgating for the Notre Dame - Purdue game.

Tailgaters in West Lafayette know how to do it right with lots of food, family and music.



Saturday morning it was all about having a good time outside Ross-Ade Stadium.



"We're just here to have a good time, support the team, hopefully see a good game," said Joe Richeson, Purdue Alum.



"We love when Notre Dame comes here every other year so we can be at Lafayette and support the Irish," said Joe Malenchik, Notre Dame fan,



Malenchik went above and beyond your typical tailgate.



"We have an ambulance that was taken out of service that we bought to keep everything in. We have two TVs, a satellite dish, generator, grill," said Malenchik.



Richeson has been tailgating for 25 years and says his experience has made him a better tailgater.



"You kind of also learn how to deploy the tailgate without a whole lot of work so you kind of kit things up," said Richeson.



And if you thought the set ups were extravagant, check out the menus.



"Today we have marinated chicken tenders. We have eight different kinds of marinated chicken tenders," said Malenchik.



"We're going to start out simple, we're going to grill some bacon, we're going to do some BLTs and kind of chill for a while. And then later on we're going to do barbecue pork, mashed potatoes, burgers, hot dogs, grilled fruit and whatever else anyone else brings," said Richeson.