Tailgating is wonderful, isn't it? hanging out before the game, sipping some libations and enjoying every kind of protein that can be basted, barbecued and eaten with your fingers. With the Broncos in London preparing for their game against the Forty-Niners on Sunday I thought it would be a great time to find out what tailgating is like around the world. To my surprise, the tailgate as we know is as American as Apple Pie and the 4th of July!
I asked our international friends what their tailgating customs were, and the answers I got were, well, not what I expected.
Member Muse had this to say -
As far as I know is a pretty American thing. When I go to rugby matches, usually go to the pub for lunch, go to the game and go to the pub afterward. Cricket matches are a bit different – rock up at about 10 and pretty much drink solidly for the whole thing, haha.
For British sports there’s nothing really.
Most soccer games consist of you going to a pub until about twenty minutes before the game starts and walking to the stadium and maybe getting fish and chips / fast food before hand. And I’d reckon that Rugby would be about the sameThere’s certainly none of the "open your car boot and have a fold out BBQ and serve random strangers"
It was more of the same from CockneyBronco:
There is no real tradition of turning up early at the stadium in your car and having a party. I follow most live sports and they all involve meeting friends in bars, having some (or lots) drinks and then heading to the stadium for kick off. Then after the game has finished we head back to the bar to celebrate or commiserate and dissect the action.
For live rugby internationals at Twickenham a few of the hooray henrys turn up in their chelsea tractors and drink pimms and maybe do a bar-b-q but this is not normal for British sports fans.
No tailgating? What to do? Well, we all know the NFL - the premier PR and Promotions machine in sports. They'll come up with something, right! Of course, the 'Official' tailgate for Sunday's game.
Mike Birty gives us his thoughts on this as well:
AFAIK there’s a reebok sponsored official tailgate party outside the stadium on Sunday which is more just a cunning way to make you pay £10 for a burger and to give you the opportunity to buy merchandise.
And CockneyBronco has the lowdown:
I have been to the official tailgate party every year
in the hope that it improves, but there is just not enough entertainment for the amount of fans, and the prices for food and drinks are more of a rip off than is usual. Also you can get food, drink and branded NFL products inside the ground. But be warned there will be queues.
So what is a fan to do? There is, from what I've been told, an 'unofficial tailgate' going on this weekend. I'm talking, of course, of The Great British Tailgate Party! According to their Facebook page, the BGTP is the place to be before the game. Several hundred fans seem to think so as well.
Or, like any good American visiting a foreign land, simply take in the tradition of the country you are visiting! In London, that is heading to the pub before and after the game. As long as a pint of Boddington's is waiting for me, that is just fine for me!
You can see other customs in this post! Thanks for all the feedback!