Tailgate For Cheap
Posted By :Dan Moore
Posted At : Wednesday, Nov 03, 2010
Staff Writer Dan Moore Of the traditions that have cemented themselves in American culture over the course of the past 30 years, perhaps none is more revered than the tailgate party. For those of you who have somehow managed to remain ignorant about the details of a tailgate party, the concept is simple: before sporting events (the most glorified of which are football games, however people tailgate before baseball games, basketball games and concerts, too) a group of fans park their cars next to each other in the parking lot then lower their tailgate or open their trunk, thus enabling a tailgate atmosphere to grow and blossom. Toss in a few portable grills, some sausages and hamburgers, a substantial amount of beer and soda, team memorabilia, and an ensemble of tailgate games (such as Cornhole and Ladder Golf), and you got yourself a tailgate party. And seeing how football season is right around the corner, it is only right that us here at Unlock Your Wealth provide our readership with a comprehensive guide for throwing a great tailgate party without fumbling your finances.
The most important aspect of throwing a successful tailgate party is including as many people as possible. The more people involved in tailgate party, whether in the parking lot or in your living room, the more ingredients added to the tailgate mixture, meaning you will have more beer, more burgers, more balls and more games to help your tailgate party reach its full potential. With this group mentality, you can focus solely on what you need to bring to the table instead of having to provide everything for everyone, as would be the case if you were throwing a more traditional party. A tailgate party is like a potluck; communicate with those who you are tailgating with, and coordinate who is to bring what. Depending on the event you are tailgating for, you can be sure that the fellow tailgaters you meet at the stadium will be fully equipped with tailgating necessities, so don’t fret too much if you’re a little low on chips, or if you forgot a mini-football.
Now, as easy as it is to park your pick-up next to some fellow fans and start a tailgate gathering (thus enabling the existence of the aforementioned tailgating atmosphere), establishing your open trunk as the center of the pre-game party is another task entirely. The best way to do this is to decorate your car with battle-hardened, home-team memorabilia that announces to all potential tailgaters the magnitude of the loyalty and love you dedicate to both your favorite team and the tailgate society in general. But do not buy the flags, pennants, bumper stickers, foam fingers, hats, blow-horns, signs, mini-footballs and body-paint which all accomplish that purpose from inside the stadium you are tailgating outside of–stadiums are infamous for overcharging on tailgating necessities like that. Instead, purchase your memorabilia and your tailgating games online from eBay or Craigslist. And if you can’t find things like paper plates with your teams logo on them online (which is highly unlikely), then buy them from your local supermarket (if your favorite team resides in your home town local establishments will likely support them). I repeat: Never buy any of your tailgating tools from the stadium, unless you want to pay more than three times more for them.
The same goes for food. Before you make your way to the stadium, stop by the supermarket and get all your food essentials for cheap; you can buy pounds of chicken drumsticks for just a few bucks from Safeway, for instance. And you can eat four hot dogs that you grilled yourself in the parking lot for the same amount of money you would have to pay for just one in the stadium. However, as expensive as food is inside sports stadiums, such prices pale in comparison with what they charge for beer. The biggest mistake a tailgater can make is relying on a series of $8, 16-ounce plastic cups for their beer-drinking needs. (Wine is even more expensive.) So just as one must stock up on their tailgating food supplies at the grocery store, one must also purchase all the refreshments they think their tailgate party will need before they arrive at their tailgating destination. Make no mistake: This is the most critical component of saving money on your tailgating party.
Well, there you have it. As football season inches closer and closer, now is the time to look online for used Cornhole sets and cheap body paint. There is no reason to blow your budget on a tailgate party, as such a fate is completely avoidable. Follow the advice above, and you and your favorite team will have a winning season.
