Tailgating - the Best Game in Town

Sports fan meets foodie, and it’s a beautiful match. Whether you’re inclined to pass the football or the focaccia, tailgating strikes the perfect balance. And as you prepare to grill your Bears-branded burgers, we’ll bring you back to tailgating’s beginnings, which actually have nothing to do with football.

We’ve all heard it’s a war out there on the football field, so it’s fitting that the first American tailgate documented was during the 1861 Battle of Bull Run. At the battle’s start, civilians from the Union side arrived with baskets of food, shouting, “Go Big Blue.” Five years later, the chuck wagon was born when Texas rancher Charles Goodnight transformed a U.S. army wagon into a portable feed wagon, inadvertently creating the model for tailgating setups used today, according to the Tailgater Association.

But no more war stories. Sports tailgating as we know it today may have originated at the first college football game in 1869, between Rutgers and Princeton, where spectators allegedly pre-gamed by grilling sausages at the ‘tail end’ of the horse, according to The Browns Fan's Tailgating Guide. Others claim it was at a 1904 Yale football game, when fans arriving by train brought food and beverages to the stadium prior to the game. But according to Green Bay Packers lore, their fans coined the term during the team’s first year in 1919, by backing their pickup trucks around the field, folding down the tailgates for seating and heartily downing some classic Wisconsin brats and beer. Need we add that the legend continues today? According to Food and Wine, beer brats (bratwurst cooked with beer and onions), is a staple at Lambeau Field.

Epic tailgate parties happen all over America every weekend; here are some highlights culled from Huffington Post, Southern Living, Tailgating Hall of Fame and Food and Wine:
• At Arrowhead Stadium, home to the Kansas City Chiefs, barbecue is a draw, and the massive size of the facility makes it easy—even with 25,000 cars parked, there’s plenty of room to tailgate.
• The Chicago Bears’ Soldier Field sells many a tailgate hot dog, made Windy City style, with onion, relish, tomato, mustard, celery salt, pickles and peppers; for dessert, a grilled Krispy Kreme donut.
• Buffalo Bills fans eat their share of the city’s eponymously named wings, along with “beef on weck”. But it’s superfan “Pinto Ron” who gets the most attention, tailgating at every Bills game since 1994, cooking on improvised grills on and around his 1980 Pinto, even baking pizzas in a converted file cabinet.
• San Diego Chargers fans feature spectacular Mexican food at their Qualcomm Stadium tailgate parties, grilling up carne asada and pollo asado.
• A Mobile Tailgating Unit, a repurposed ambulance in Steelers yellow, is run by diehard fans at Heinz Field, where ice cold beers and humongous portions of grilled meat, pierogies, kielbasa, corn on the cob and slices of Pittsburgh’s favorite pizza, Mineo’s, are served.
• Cleveland Browns fans are loyal to their local microbrews, even opting for beer-can chicken when it’s grilling time.
• New England Patriots fans turn out no matter what the weather, shucking fresh oysters, spooning out seafood chowder and deep frying scallops, shrimp and clams.
• Tailgates at Paul Brown Stadium include beanbag tossing by Cincinnati Bengals fans, and plenty of chili, flavored with cinnamon and unsweetened chocolate, or, as a "three-way," including spaghetti and cheese.
• Baltimore Ravens, fans lap up the city’s renowned crabcakes; almost as famous over the years is the Poe Brothers’ SWAT truck—Stop Working and Tailgate!
• College tailgaters are no slouches: Ole Miss Rebels congregate over 10 acres at The Grove, elegantly serving fried chicken on silver platters. Barbecue smokers are out in full force for the Austin Texas Longhorn. Louisiana State University Tigers go Cajun, with jambalaya, gumbo and cochon de lait (roast suckling pig), and the occasional crawfish boil.

The Ultimate Tailgate? Coming up Oct. 18 at Pier 92 in Manhattan, courtesy of the NYC Wine and Food Festival. With Super Bowl champ Joe Namath and super chef Mario Batali headlining, it might well live up to its billing. Featuring ribs, steaks and wings, accompanied by plenty of wine, beer and spirits, proceeds go to No Kid Hungry and Food Bank of NYC…a real win for all.

Fall is a season of gatherings and traditions. Nothing brings families and friends closer together than a great meal. Fall SCOOP 2014 - Homecoming is on!