Thousands of people go to NFL or college football games. Many of these people are not necessarily going for the love of the game but because they enjoy the atmosphere that they will find there. What many people love about these games is the tailgating. This, for many, is the main attraction and they may not even go into the stadium.
Tailgating is an American tradition. Culturally, it stems from early harvest celebrations, so it starts towards the end of summer and into the autumn and beginning of winter. It is marked by music, food and a lot of community spirit.
Tonya Williams Bradford, associate professor of marketing at the University of California says “The notion of people gathering around food is not new – when contests emerged for entertainment, it was natural for food to be part of the gathering…For practical reasons, people would travel to watch and would bring meals. This turned into more festive gatherings, transforming the pragmatic into part of the overall experience.”
Tailgating is fun and if you’ve never participated, you sure are missing out. Likewise, if you have never taken advantage of an Everygame casino bonus, the time is now!
But what is it about tailgating that makes it so popular?
Tailgating is not exclusive to football games. It is possible to tailgate almost any event. The central aim of tailgating is to enjoy the experience and having fun, grilling, enjoying the good weather and meeting friends.
Anticipating the event
Knowing that part of the reason you are buying that ticket for the game is to enjoy the tailgating at the event really adds to the excitement. And these tickets are not cheap so it’s nice to know that there is another reason to be there.
The excitement that everyone brings to the event, and the energy of the fans add to the atmosphere. Fans are hyped up to watch their favorite game or, in the case of a concert, their favorite musician. The tailgating fun often starts way before the actual event and may go on much longer after the event has finished.
Everyone at the tailgate is there for the same reason, to enjoy and to share the excitement with others. They’ve come to watch their team play or to see their favorite band perform.
Great food
Obviously, the food is a big attraction. Anything that goes on a grill will be there including hamburgers, sausages, and chicken to name only a few things. Whatever you want to grill is fine.
Other non-grilled foods will also be on offer, like potato salad and chips and dips but be prepared to leave your diet at home for the day because tailgating isn’t the place for it. Also don’t forget that sharing and drinking, especially cold beers, is also a part of tailgating.
Tailgating in good weather
The season for tailgating has the nicest weather. Tailgating is of course possible all year round, but the best tailgating events are usually those that take place when the weather is warm and comfortable. What’s not to enjoy?
Tailgating is best when the weather is good. Great food and great company. Hugely popular with college football, especially in the south where the good weather is for the most part very reliable. Tailgating is a weekly event when fans will get together to eat, drink and enjoy the weather before the winter sets in.
Tailgating season
One big reason why tailgating is hugely popular, is because it is limited to certain times of the year, making it something that you just need to do when you can. Tailgating season is precisely that, seasonal. The fact is, tailgating isn’t much fun when it’s freezing out so even though the football season is still ongoing, everyone tailgates in the earlier part of the season.
You’d think that tailgating would happen all the time, but the truth is people tailgate at concerts and football games and these don’t happen all the time. Football games take place, maybe once during the week and concerts only now and then.
Tailgating doesn’t take place at basketball games because there are so many of them during the season and it would be much less exciting because it would become habitual. When there are less opportunities to tailgate, it means you appreciate the experience so much more and really make the most of them.
Everyone can enjoy tailgating
Everyone can have fun at a tailgate. You can still have a fun time even if you are not a sports fan. Tailgates are social events, eating, drinking and hanging out with friends. What’s not to enjoy. At many tailgates the opportunity to play games is also part of the day’s event.
You can play games like ladder toss and cornhole. There’s nothing to dislike about tailgating, unless perhaps the weather is bad. The whole point is to have a good time and “leave your worries behind”. Just relax and enjoy the day.
There is also no age limit to tailgating. Young and old get to enjoy themselves. The adults get to drink a beer with friends and unwind a bit. Kids get to enjoy the junk food that they are often denied but young adults probably get to have the most fun. Tailgating for them means a party. So, all round, tailgating is fun for everyone.
And in order to guarantee a great experience for all, be sure to check out these Tailgating Do’s and Don’ts