Our favorite season is officially upon us! Nope, not fall – football season. For anyone else whose ideal Saturday involves a few hours spent at a college stadium (GO RAMS…or GO BEARS…or insert your favorite team to make this post most applicable), it’s time to listen up. We’ve got all the tricks and tips to make your tailgate the best in town.
The Preparation
Attire – You should really have a jersey or t-shirt that clearly represents your team. If you can’t find something that at least has their colors, what are you even doing there? Extra kudos for gaudy face paint.
Flag – Fly a flag that everyone recognizes on a pole so your friends don’t lose you in the crowd.
Safety – Accidents happen, come prepared. Bring a first aid kit or in the very least a box of Band-Aids.
Timing – Get their early enough (about three or four hours before the game) to secure your spot and have enough time to get cooking. Which brings us to…
The Food
Chili – We’re not here to share recipes, but check with someone’s uncle. Chances are good one of them will have three variations of “The World’s Best Chili.”
Wings – If you forget your portable grill, just go home, because it’s not a tailgate without some good ol’ smear-sauce-all-over-your face hot wings.
Trail Mix – For the last time, it is NOT an 8-year-old’s field trip snack. This is a cheap-beyond-cheap crowd pleaser that is highly necessary to include in your repertoire.
Guacamole – And lots of it. We all have that friend (or two or three) who forgets the rest of us would please like a scoop thank you very much. This goes without saying, but load up on chips too.
The…Er…Adult Beverages
Types – We’re not going to waste your time listing out all the types of beer you could bring. You know what you like, you know what your friends like, just make sure there’s enough for everyone. Now let’s get into some more specific advice.
The Cooler(s) – Get plenty of bags of ice to replenish throughout. Better yet, freeze plastic water bottles to use as ice packs so you don’t have a small lake in your cooler after an hour.
Safety – Now we want you to have fun out there, but in all seriousness, be smart and don’t do anything that could get you hurt, get someone else hurt, or get you arrested before the game even starts.
There you have it: the basics to a killer tailgate. This year will be the year everyone in that parking lot is wishing they could ditch their pickup and come join your party.
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