1. How Much Beer to Bring
Try to figure out the most beer you could possibly drink. Then add six. You never know who you’re going to run into over the course of a day. And those people are usually walking between tailgates and don’t have coolers with them. So make sure that you have extras to hand out.
2. Remember to Bring Your Tickets
Come up with a system so that you never leave your tickets at home. I personally leave my season tickets in the car that we always use for tailgating. I put them in an envelope and then lock them in the glove compartment.
3. Be Prepared for Actual Football
Make sure you have a roster, a schedule of televised games, and smart phone apps to keep up with scores.
4. Keep Your Keg Cold
We don’t all have keg koozies or an extra trash can. So a cheap and easy solution is to take a large trash bag and put it around your keg. This will hold the ice and water in place for several hours.
5. Protect Your Tailgating Gear
In some situations, it’s too hard to get all of your tailgating gear back to a car before the start of the game. Drag all of your coolers and tables to the center of your tent. Use bicycle locks to lock everything together. Lower your tent so that it’s only 2-3 feet above the ground and use a lock to connect your gear to one of tent’s top braces. Log lock combinations in your phone or get multiple keys so that each person in your party has access if they get back from the game first.
6. Permanent Tailgating Supplies Box
Get a plastic tub that is dedicated to tailgating supplies. You can never have enough paper towels, trash bags, plastic silverware, plates, cups, and headache medicine. Also make sure to keep a good knife in the box for carving meat.
7. Bring a Tool Box
You can leave it in your car but you need to have access to a tool box. I’ve needed tools to fix satellite tripods, broken tents, hammer in stakes, and a variety of minor emergencies.
8. Warm Weather Tailgating
Though it’s great to have games again, a 90° September Saturday can become grueling. Bring extra clothes so you can shed sweaty shirts throughout the day. Make sure you have sunglasses and sunscreen. In addition to beer, bring more water or sports drinks than you could imagine drinking. You can also plug a small fan into a generator to help cool off and keep bugs away.
9. Rainy Weather Conditions
Bring ziplock bags to place phones, ipods, and wallets in. Grocery bags for wet clothes, purses, and other smaller gear. If you have two tents, it’s common for water to drip in between them. Bring a tarp to bridge the gap over the two roofs. Bring extra clothes for the ride home.
10. Cold Weather Tailgating
Make sure you bring several layers, gloves, a hat, and blankets. Use a grill as a fire or plug a heater into a generator. Keep hot drinks in a thermos or heat up some cider on a grill and mix it with bourbon.
Please leave any tailgating tips you have in the comments.
Tagged as: beer, keg, weather
