Tailgating: Who Needs The Game?2

By Aydrea Walden, Oct 14, 2011 in Offbeat, Pop Culture

Few things are more American than the unhealthy love of sports. This is just one of many things that Brits Jonathan, Ryan, and Thomas of the series Boxtick America will learn as they travel across the states. The three friends have dreamed of this vacation for years and are finally on their quest to check off their to do list (or for non-Yanks: tick off all their boxes) in the land of purple mountains.

If the Boxtick boys are going to make it back across the pond with some solid knowledge of the idiosyncrasies of Yankee country, they’re going to have to understand American sports traditions including, but not limited to, tailgating. For those who may also need a brush up on pre-game parameters, here is a primer.

While the term “tailgating” may have originally referred to people having a party around the open tailgate of a truck, today’s pre-game events have evolved into much, much larger celebrations that include hundreds and sometimes thousands of people. Tailgating, today, includes several individual parties featuring BBQs, portable TVs, and games, sometimes starting several days before the actual game they’re celebrating.

Joe Cahn, the self-proclaimed Commissioner of Tailgating, describes the tailgaters as the new American community. As the former owner of the New Orleans School of Cooking, it makes perfect sense that he now dedicates his life to promoting tailgating and eating his way through the US sports seasons. Here are some places we’re sure Joe would want you to check out, if you’re in the mood for a little beer and ball.

Boxtick America – Don’t Stop Beliebing

University of Notre Dame adds tradition from the Old World to the game day traditions of today. The Fighting Irish are a close-knit community of fans, friends, and supporters who party family style. Chicken and beef dishes are laid out on tables that sport fancy flower arrangements and everyone gathers under Irish tents. It’s an event that you can come to if you’re a drunk frat guy or the drunk frat guy’s grandpa.

Louisiana State University uses down home Southern tradition to swell its stadium. Tiger Stadium can seat 90,000 people. But on weekends, an extra 20,000 fans who can’t attend the game itself show up just to enjoy the jambalaya, roast pig, and baby-back ribs in the parking lot.

Auburn University fans show up two days before the game starts and often stick around almost a day after the game’s over. Tiger fans booze on bourbon pre-game and afterward celebrate by toilet-papering the campus trees.

It’s hard to tell what makes tailgating at University of California Los Angeles more spectacular: the historic Rose Bowl where the team plays or the always-perfect weather that makes eating, drinking, and watching a pleasure (whether your team wins or loses). Okay, so the weather’s not that great. But it’s close!

People start lining up for Kansas City Chiefs games like they do for the latest Twilight movie. As early as 48 hours in advance, fans can be seen staking out their spots. On game day, things are in full swing by 9 a.m. There’s more barbecue than you can shake a stick at and many a fan has been known to forgo their season tickets inside for a spot near a spit to watch the game from a TV outside.

The University of Washington gets classy before big games. While some gather outside the stadium, others partake in what is known as “stern-gating,” tailgating on a boat. These boat-owning fans take advantage of the school’s proximity to the water and take tailgating to a whole new level. Locally-sourced crab and salmon is usually on the menu along with wine and champagne to compliment the micro-brewed beer.

If you like your tailgating to look like a Halloween party, then partying with the Oakland Raiders is for you. These fans have been called the craziest in the NFL. Considering they start stacking up their RVs two full days before games, don sport masks and costumes that pay homage to George Clinton, and display skeletons and everything in between, that title is well earned. The look is just part of the fun. Raider fans also throw great parties that rival the best Mardi Gras.

Penn State University tailgaters are doing something right. Most Nittany Lions fans are more interested in the party than the game. School officials in Happy Valley had to make it an official rule that the 100,000 Lion fans who crowd the college campus every game day had to shut their parties down after kickoff.

Everything’s bigger in Texas, and football parties are no exception. At 100,000 seats, University of Texas Longhorns enjoy the biggest stadium in the state, the largest in the Big 12, and the 9th largest (non-racing) stadium in the world. That’s a lot of people, a lot of Texas-style barbecue, and a lot of fun.

Four words sum up why Chicago Bears tailgating is an amazing experience: Grilled. Krispy. Kreme. Donuts. That’s it. Why are you still reading? Go get one!

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Watch more episodes of three Brits fulfilling American fantasies in BOXTICK AMERICA

Aydrea Walden ten Bosch, a former news reporter, has also written for Nickelodeon, NBC/Universal, Hawaii Film Partners, Highlander Films, the Now Write! Screenwriting book series, Improv Olympic, The Second City Los Angeles and Disney. She regularly performs sketch and improv comedy and runs the satirical blog, The Oreo Experience, about her life and times as a super white black person.