The best Tailgate Parties
I love a tailgate. I have been going to football games and hanging out at a tailgate as long as I can remember. Football, tailgates and fall are a major tradition in my family. In the Pacific Northwest, the football tailgates are fun, festive, and casual. If the PNW is anything, it is casual.
But for more than 40 years my family has been tailgating and making our spread a fancy affair - but PNW fancy, not SEC fancy. One day we may hang a chandelier, but until then, we’re serving up fabulous snacks, cocktails and decorating a lot.
That’s me almost 20 years ago
I’m not the only one with a tradition of tailgating. Obviously you’ve seen the photos from Ole Miss and other southern schools, but the history of the tailgate is actually pretty crazy.
Tailgating in some form has a legacy that goes back as far as the Roman Coloseum. Fans would eat outside of the stadium “picnic” style before heading into watch the match. The American evolution of the tailgate has a more gory history - and an exact date to go with it.
July 21, 1861 sightseers came out from Washington DC to the Battle of Bull Run to watch the Civil War in real life. Because it was a 25 mile carriage ride from DC to the battle in Virginia, they packed their carriages with picnic supplies, laid out blankets, and watched the war unfold. Literally right in front of them. In several instances, the war came into the area they were picnicking in.
By 1866 the chuck wagon had been invented and food was more easily brought from one location to another - and the first “food truck” came to life.
In 1869 we finally got our first college football game. Princeton played Ruters and the fans arrived early to picnic before the game. Chuck wagons arrived to serve food for those who didn’t pack picnics, or for those who’s children decided they didn’t like what you packed (because I can’t imagine that’s a new phenomenon). As college teams continued to play football games, fans continued to picnic before a game. The Ivy league schools were the first to elevate the tailgate to something a little more lux - just before the turn of the century, there is documentation of champagne being served in parking lots.
The term “tailgate” does not come into the lexicon until an actual tailgate is created. The tailgate comes into invention in the 1930’s when the station wagon with its iconic wooden sides makes its way into American parking lots. Rather than picnic on the ground, the ‘tailgate’ of the wagon can now hold the buffet of snacks for football fans.
Post World War II, America embraced the tailgate like never before. Suddenly cars were in every garage, pro football began, grills were an American staple and beer in cans can be found in refrigerators. The tradition exploded and expanded and has become one of the most iconic American traditions.
I have a lot of cheat codes for making a simple tailgate look upscale.
Chili Cook Off
A really fun tailgate is a chili cook off - this is if you tailgate with people who normally bring something and are somewhat decent cooks. Even a brilliant cheat code works for this - you can buy giant cans of chili. But if you win with a giant can of chili, then you are a total cheater.
Bar Food Buffet
The Huskies have had weird schedules lately. Some games start at noon, like we’re used to. Some games start at 8pm, which is very late. The best games start at 4pm. It’s perfect for getting down to the stadium in time to have a leisurely tailgate, but still get a few things done in the morning. It’s also the perfect time for a bar food buffet. When a tailgate starts after lunch but is done well before dinner, bar snacks are epic.
Bucket list moment at an LSU Tailgate
Why are tailgates only for football? They aren’t entirely, I’ve been to tailgates before concerts and baseball games, but the football tailgate is the only iconic tailgate. The reasons aren’t entirely clear but the best guess is that the fall is the festival of the harvest. We are engrained as humans to celebrate the harvest in the fall season and gather with our friends.
