Football season is here! The game, the band, the excitement, the team spirit, the halftime show, the friends – but once the game has started, one might be torn between catching up with said friends and actually watching the game. A great way to circumvent this is to have a tailgate party before the game. Hang out, catch up and build community so that when the big game starts, you can watch it! Tailgating has so many options and can be as formal or as casual as you make it.
In the Gilmore Girls episode “Ted Koppel’s Big Night Out” (Season 4, Episode 9), the Gilmores host a tailgate party at the Yale/Harvard game. This show exaggerates the wealthy extreme, but it gives good insight into the world of tailgating. Their daughter Lorelai and granddaughter Rory meet them at 9am for the 1pm game. They bring a jumbo bag of Fig Newtons to share, which the Gilmores scoff at but end up putting out on a plate with a doily. Lorelai does not consider her outfit choices and accidentally wears Harvard colors. They pass by traditional tailgates with skewers and burgers on the grills on their way to the Gilmore’s tailgate – which is fancy. The Gilmores have a private chef, a large RV and their steaks are branded with a “Y” for Yale.
The average tailgate is not a fancy affair. Food, drinks and cornhole are the standards (gotta have cornhole!). Throw in a cute, themed dessert and you have a winning party! And with three colleges in town, plus a number of teams to cheer for in the surrounding areas, there are plenty of opportunities to gather together before an event like this.
Tailgates do not have to just be for football games. Locals Jacinda and Evan Simmons have been hosting a Rangers baseball game tailgate every summer since 2010. They have tailgating down to an art, and their suggestions can be adapted to any tailgate.
First of all, location is key. For the Rangers, certain parking lots have rules and designated tailgating areas, mainly allowing tailgates to be set up on grassy areas around the parking lots and not in the parking lots themselves. Think about timing, too, and when lots open. “We typically start the tailgate 4 hours before the game starts,” Jacinda explained. “That lets people have plenty of time to come as they please and go into the stadium early if they want, especially if it’s a giveaway night.”
Think about shade and bring your own anyway. Canopy tents usually cover a 10’x10’ area, so depending on the number of people invited, one can be over the tables with the food and another can be over the seating area. The Simmonses’ tailgate has had as few as nine people and as many as 60!
The Simmonses and Jacinda’s parents and sister and her family divide up the main responsibilities and keep the food simple: hot dogs, fruit, chips and water. Those foods are easy to scale up or down depending on the number of people. Guests can bring extra sides to share and their own drinks.
An important thing to consider is which group of people to invite and the formality of it. Will your tailgate be fancy like the Gilmores or more casual like the Simmons? Will you invite everyone or just a certain circle of friends (coworkers or extended family or life group friends or neighbors or pickleball buddies)? What will you provide versus what will guests bring? One idea is to provide the grill and everyone brings their own meat. That cuts down the cost for the host while still bringing people together to build community. Someone just needs to organize and invite.
Once the logistics are figured out, the fun can begin. Jacinda recommends setting the tone by making a themed playlist and bringing a speaker. Themed snacks and treats set a fun tone, too. Jacinda said, “Jenise [her sister] is the pro with the baseball themed cookies, and Mom has made little goodie bags with mini baseball helmets for the kids some years.” She continued, “We have frisbees and cornhole every year for games.”
As far as the most important thing to remember about tailgating, Evan Simmons would say that having enough food is the most important. But Jacinda’s mom would say the most important part is getting to talk to everyone that she only sees at the annual tailgate.
Abilene Christian University has a tradition of tailgating before their home football games. Fraternities and Sororities and other campus life groups set up food and games under canopy tents in the tailgate lot inside the football stadium gates. Fans can join two hours before kickoff time. Hardin-Simmons University will often have a Homecoming Tailgate Party in the Don Bridges Courtyard three hours before the game. McMurry University also hosts a couple tailgate parties in the Quad, several hours before the games with free hotdogs and hamburgers while supplies last.
Whether joining in to an established tailgate or creating your own with friends, this tradition can provide a fun environment to get the socializing out of the way so fans can support their team during the game.
By Laura Daulton
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