As I said last week, bowl game trips are memorable for college fans. Even if fans take public transportation (planes, trains and buses) to a bowl destination, they still can plan for an adequate tailgate party before and after the game. The only problem is that they’ll have to cut a few corners because they won’t be able to bring [...]
Bowl games are great for college fans. These contests give a college fan one more chance to socialize, and don the school colors. It’s also a great chance to bask in the sun if you’re going to a warm weather bowl like the Rose or Orange bowls. It may even be a chance for a family mini vacation. Do your [...]
For a recent tailgate opportunity the weather forecast worsened all week. On game day the actual weather had temperatures in the low 40s and occasional rain. Early on, as we planned our menu, we thought that or chicken noodle soup would be a warm treat for our guests. Later, we had to decide on how we were going to make, [...]
It’s after thanksgiving and you are going to be having a cold/cool weather tailgate on Saturday. Don’t go out and buy a lot of stuff. Use the Thanksgiving turkey to provide a warm and hearty tailgate treat with special noodles. Then serve the last of the pumpkin pie for desert. Making Stock 1 Remove all the usable turkey meat (the [...]
Today we are bombarded by the thought that it’s good to be “green.” This doesn’t mean you are a Dartmouth or Michigan State fan or even a Zionsville or Valparaiso high school supporter. Being green really means that you care about preserving our God-given resources. As a tailgater, you can be green, too. Over my years of tailgating, I have [...]
One-upmanship can be defined as the art or practice of successively outdoing a competitor. In our case the competition is not the opposing team, rather it’s the other tailgaters in our parking lot. Way back in 1992, I remember when a man attached a flag pole and flag to his minivan. His flag, sporting the team name and logo, waved [...]
Tailgaters generally park in the same spot, every game, next to the same people. They like it that way. Some universities, such as Penn State, encourage this by assigning every space a number so that strangers really don’t have a chance to park next to regular tailgaters. Some colleges, like Northwestern and Indiana, have lots where they separate the louder [...]
Over the years I’ve been asked to judge tailgate contests at stadiums of huge BCS colleges all the way down in size to local prep schools. Every single contest had a central theme thought up by its planners. People were judged, on a small part, as to their adherence to a central idea. It was fun to see all the [...]
Tailgate parties have their ups and downs this time of year. No, by Ups and Downs I don’t mean temperament, I mean the red stuff in the thermometer, temperature. During this period of the fall, temperatures can burn you up and then almost freeze you, all in one day. This morning the temperature was below 40 degrees and by afternoon [...]
After a long day or night of cheering, singing and enjoying delicious food at a tailgate party, the typical fan just wants to get home, relax and unwind. This can be the perfect ending to a great day; unfortunately, this is also the time when those nasty little symptoms from improper care of food occur. These folks are experiencing symptoms [...]
