How To Tailgate Like a Pro (or a college kid)

We enjoy tailgating whether it be for pro or college football games…or really for any other event.  We haven’t tailgated recently because, well, when your professional football team is the Cleveland Browns it’s hard to get excited for football games. But, we were recently invited to head to South Bend for a Notre Dame football game and to visit Beard’s family. His two cousins graduated from there and now the third cousin is a freshman at ND. We’ve never been to Notre Dame, so we jumped at the chance to check it out for a big game and also hang with family that knew the lay of the land.

Prepare
We knew we’d be in for some serious drinking since we were coming in Friday night. We prepared all week by drinking plenty of water, taking charcoal pills (more of this in a separate post) and an asian hangover tea (this will also be explained in a further post). We are too old to just be able to chug water before we start drinking. We need days to prepare for an all day (or weekend) drinking event.

Contribute
No one likes that person the shows up to a tailgate or party with nothing to contribute. The one request from our family was that we be in charge of the bloody mary bar. Broad has a thing for bloody marys (we’ve probably said that 100 times already and she’s going to write her post on that soon) and most of our friends and family know that she’s very picky about them. Broad’s very particular about having the right ingredients, and we couldn’t just get them at any old grocery store. So we made our rounds to a couple local Cleveland purveyors and transported everything to Indiana. In addition to bloody marys we brought some Cleveland craft beer to share, because a tailgate without beer is just a bunch of fools standing in a parking lot.

Rest
We left Friday afternoon to get to Indiana around 5. We wanted some time to hang with the family and explore the area. The cousins took us to the local booze store so we could snag some Indiana beers. Then, we came back to the house to have a nice home cooked meal.

Participate
After eating dinner with the family and participating in college drinking games with the youths (we learned some new ones!), we got a little nighttime tour of campus. The cousins wanted to take us to the Midnight Drummer’s Circle, a favorite tradition of the students. Every Friday night at midnight before home football games, the Notre Dame Drumline holds the traditional Drummer’s Circle in front of the Golden Dome, the main building on campus. They drum for about 45 minutes and get the crowd and fans pumped up for the game the next day. It was a really fun thing to experience. We then went to a very popular dive bar with everyone, but the line was super long so we decided to head home to rest up for the next day. We’re old.

Eat
The game was at 7:00 pm, which honestly worried us a bit. We wondered if the tailgating and partying would still start early. The answer was yes. You wake up and then drink till gametime, doesn’t matter when it is. “Kegs and eggs” was planned at the family condo, so we woke up around 8:30 and prepared our bloody mary bar and helped set up. There was a large array of foods including frittatas, breakfast burrito makings, sandwiches, etc. When you’re going to be drinking all day you need to eat! Not just one meal, you should eat all day. Luckily our bloody mary bar included extensive snacks. Broad was very proud to introduce bloodies to a whole bunch of college kids who had never had them before, and some adults that appreciate a well made one.

Pace
Day drinking is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. Be smart about your beverages. We started off the day with coffee and water (and sometimes we do a pedialyte). Then with our food we moved onto bloodies. Then we switched to some delicious craft beer. Don’t overdo it with the craft beers though. A lot of them are heavy and higher in alcohol. We usually do a few craft beers then head to the light, cheap stuff. All while drinking water. Don’t stop drinking water! After we spent some time at the house, we met up at bar with some of our friends in town for the game. We wanted to experience all aspects of Notre Dame game day. We had some beers then made our way to the tailgate. At the tailgate we indulged in a beer and grabbed some snacks. All the snacks we could find. Most people are focused on the booze for a tailgate, but snacks are equally as important.

Gametime
We made our way into the stadium for the game. At this time, we grabbed more food and drank water, time to take a break. We really enjoyed the game and the amazing weather (60 degrees in October? Yes please!). It was a blowout (go Irish!) so we headed back to the house early and watch the rest of the game with some friends and family. After the game, pizza was brought home and we stuffed our faces and hit the hay. When we’re on our quick weekend trips, we like to get a early start in the road so we can get back to our furry family and be lazy.

Pro Tips:

• If you have an all day drinking event planned, preparation starts at the beginning of the week.  Drink more water than normal so you’re well hydrated heading into the weekend.
• As with any group gathering you’re invited to, check to see if anything is needed. By now, we have a go-to list of beverages, snacks, sides, etc. that we’ve perfected and offer to bring whenever there’s a party. It’s always good a have an arsenal of dishes you’re confident in making that will be crowd pleasers.
• Know your limits and keep drinking water. No ones likes someone that doesn’t hang out and have fun, but someone who can’t handle their booze is even worse.

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