Inside Tailgating | Spring 2011

grill s & gear - food & drink - fans & thrills

t ge r u o y LL I GR !

N O

www.insidetailgating.com

SP

/su RING

mme

1 r 201

TAIL G

ATE B

EER

p.10

PS p.14

UR STO 011 TO

2

GRILLING

NAS CA

R CO

OLER

S p.6

NS p.6

INNOVATIO

to s t O u t s y a o M 2 0 W e h t G e t i l g at i n g a T s i h t of n o s a e S

10

Welcome!

My first meeting with Tailgating Ventures Managing Director Stacey Moore and his team was in Vegas at the 2010 Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show—I knew almost instantly that this was a group with which I wanted to be associated. While their overwhelming passion for tailgating was immediately evident in the way they spoke about it, it was the following line in their marketing packet that cinched it for me: We are sports fans that enjoy tailgating as much, if not more, than the actual games and events.

I love that statement because it perfectly captures the essence of what Tailgating Ventures’ various properties—live events, insidetailgating.com and this magazine—are all about. These platforms and outlets were created to both embrace the tailgating lifestyle and enhance the experience. Whether it’s a high school, college or pro game, NASCAR race or concert, the anticipation and celebration of the event has, in many ways, become bigger than the event itself.

6 8

We’re constantly striving to create a vibrant community of shared experiences, and in doing so we wish to educate, facilitate, originate and entertain in new ways. To that end, I hope you share with us your sincere thoughts on what we’re producing in this magazine, on the Web and in the parking lots throughout this great country of ours.

Because if you’re reading this magazine, you’re clearly one of us.

12

Enjoy the issue,

5

Scott Gramling Editor-in-Chief

E d i t o r i a l C o n t e n t c r e at e d B y 10Ten Media, New York City:

Scott Gramling: Editor-in-Chief

scott@10TenMedia.com

Ian Knowles: Creative Director

ian@10TenMedia.com

For more information on American Tailgating League games and events:

AMERICANTAILGATINGLEAGUE.COM

facebook.com/americantailgatingleague // Twitter @ATL_Fans

Anthony Scerri: Art Director

Ta i l g at i n g v e n t u r e s c o r p o r at e :

888-504-2654

W. Stacey Moore III: Managing Director

smoore@tailgatingventures.com

Bernie Nabors: Director - On Site Events

bernie@tailgatingventures.com

For Marketing and advertising I n qu i r i e s , c o n ta c t :

Stella French: Marketing Manager stella@tailgatingventures.com Chuck Morrison:

Director - Business Development chuck@tailgatingventures.com

t-bone@10TenMedia.com

For information about distribution, newsstand sales or investment and franchise opportunities, please contact Stacey Moore at smoore@tailgatingventures.com.

Inside Tailgating Volume 2, Issue 1, Spring/Summer 2011, Copyright© 2011 by Tailgating Ventures, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited. Inside Tailgating™ is the trademark of Tailgating Ventures, LLC. Printed in the United States of America.

Check out more at: www.insidetailgating.com

3

Drink Pager > NASCAR Coolers > Beer Can Chicken

Grills&Gear rill ummoictiaG l area S r e b e W with S Center

r e g g i B ly is real er! beett en out ev te tches u It str r than Man farthe l once did!

Bo

T

o say that the new Weber Summit Grill Center with Social Area offers outdoor grilling enthusiasts more prep and storage space than a standard grill is a bigger understatement than claiming CheddarWurst is a clever innovation. The good folks at Weber asked Tailgate Nation what it wanted most out of its grills—“consumer research,” as they call it in the biz—and the response was: More grill!

Behold, this 57.1" H x 91.125" W x 30" D behemoth built upon the company’s top-of-the-line, luxury Summit 670 grill platform. The entire unit has adjustable legs for leveling on uneven ground, and it can be disassembled to move elsewhere. It comes in both stainless steel and black. $4,500; www.weber.com

Tailgaters clamored for...

More Grill!

Weber responded with a beast of a 417-pound “Grill Center”:

Gather your entire tailgating party around the meat!

Check out more Grills & Gear at: www.insidetailgating.com

5

grills&gear Identification

Grill Charms!

Never again get stuck eating the wrong slab of meat It was five years ago when, while sitting down to eat at a dinner party she was hosting, South Carolina mother-oftwo Leslie Haywood was served an extraspicy Jamaican Jerk piece of chicken by her husband instead of a mild one.

“He had forgotten which pieces were which,” Haywood explains. (it’s always the guy’s fault, isn’t it?) “After this . . . I felt what I can only describe as a compulsion to ensure every American gets what they want— how they want it—

Fill ’er Up!

Coolers you can collect!

Show up to a tailgate with one of these and everybody’s going to be popping your hood

R

emember way back in oh, 2010, when you’d go to a NASCAR tailgate with your favorite beer or liquor loaded into an uncool cooler? Were it not for the fact that you were decked out from head-to-toe in licensed merchandise, no one would have known who your favorite driver was.

The company Cool Works Cup changed all that last fall when it

6

launched its Grandstand Series of coolers capable of holding 12 cans of beer—each Grandstand cooler is first released as a collector’s edition limited to 999.

CWC followed that offering up this spring with its Infield Series, which are coolers so massive that they can hold eight times more cans than the Grandstand cooler.

You could probably cram Matt Kenseth himself into a space so large, but we don’t suggest trying. www.coolworkscup.com

us io ic ky l De his W ot d n de u cl in

Check out more Grills & Gear at: www.insidetailgating.com

hot off the grill.”

That assurance comes in the form of Haywood’s Grill Charms, dime-sized solid stainless steel charms that are placed in food before grilling.

The serrated stem holds the charm in securely while flipping, moving and grilling any meat. $20 per six-pack; grillcharms.com

WE JOURNEYED TO VEGAS...

PRESENTED OVER

TO 40+ MEGAGATE PARTICIPANTS

grills&gear GET THIS . . .

Enter the Man cave!

Three ways to crank tailgating up a notch

W

ith such vital innovations as canned ham, Nerf balls and Bisquick having been hatched in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, it was only a matter of time before a Minnesotan made a similar contribution to the world of tailgating.

That Minnesotan is Brandon Miller, whose line of Man Cave products includes, but is not limited to, the following: 3-Piece BBQ Tool Set, $59 The highlight of this set is the spatula, which is made of one solid piece of stainless steel from the tip through the handle to the bottle-opener end. The steel is 2.5mm thick—other BBQ tools are typically 1.3mm.

Beer Pager, $30 Once you’ve lost your beer, press the button on the remote control and the beer not only lights up, but belches at you from up to 60 feet away. The remote control has a belt clip, making it virtually impossible for even the most pie-eyed tailgaters to misplace.

Beer Can Chicken Roaster, $35 It’s hard to beat the succulent tender flavor of a beer can chicken. Man Cave’s contraption has a built-in cup to either hold a beer can, or into which you can pour liquids. And it’s removable for easy cleaning. www.mancaveworldwide.com

8

Check out more Grills & Gear at: www.insidetailgating.com

The body of a tailgater requires special nourishment

Food&Drink

VARSITY

LETTERWINNER™ ENTERTAINMENT MOTORHOME

Brewmaster

It’s the official beer of tailgating!

Seriously . . . does it get any better than a beer brewed by a tailgater, specifically for tailgaters?

FAN CAVE LOUNGE W/ WET BAR

All Hail the BBQ Fountain!

It’s just one of the highlights from the first event of the 2011 Kingsford Points Chase

hen such an authority as Maxim pegs you as one of the top brews on its annual beer list, you know you're doing something right.

That was the honor bestowed earlier this year upon Blacktop Blonde from TailGate Beer, a San Diego brewing company founded in 2007.

“Blacktop Blonde is our homage the tailgater,” says CEO/founder Wesley Keegan of his light-colored, easy-drinking ale that’s available in both draft and, as of earlier this year, 12-ounce cans. “It is our way to say, ‘We see you out there on the blacktop and we know you’re thirsty.’” www.tailgatebeer.com

W

10

Kingsford Charcoal and the Kansas City Barbeque Society are continuing to elevate the sport of BBQ this year with the Second Annual Kingsford Points Chase. The 25-event series, which culminates on October 22 at the Jack Daniel’s World Championship Invitational Barbecue in Lynchburg, TN, kicked off earlier this spring with the Hammond (LA) Blues & BBQ Challenge.

And what a first event it was.

While a team that calls itself Pellet Envy walked away as Grand Champion, it was the outstanding BBQ Sauce Fountain (pictured above), courtesy of Team Bite and Booze, that created the most buzz.

“Talk about a show stopper,” said Team Bite and Booze captain Jay Ducate. “We had to fight the crowds away.”

The 25-event schedule is online at www.kcbs.us/kingsfordpoints.php.

Check out more Food & Drink at: www.insidetailgating.com

AVAILABLE FOR:

SALE

LEASE OR RENTAL

VARSITY ENTERTAINMENT PLAZA

OUTDOOR INN™ BEVERAGE CENTER STAINLESS STEEL TRAINING TABLE™ 











   

NOW YOU ARE PLAYING ON THE VARSITY™

“It’s a beat-up old school bus with a stage on top!”

Fans&Thrills

fans&thrills

the magic bus

plan your fall road trip now!

Pencil in Iowa’s Sept. 17 game against Pittsburgh to check out our pick for the Big 10’s most underrated tailgating scene

T hgei c ma us b

melrose place

The Magic Facts The Miller High Life guy from the beer commercials on TV makes it out here at least one fall Saturday.

Get there around 9AM before it fills up. It’s not a huge area so it gets crowded closer to kick-off.

Girls occasionally go up to the top of the bus and expose themselves in exchange for shirts and beads.

Go elsewhere if you don’t like being in a tightly crammed area.

A band plays on top of the bus.

Music varies by the week but usually they are good acts. A couple of small TVs are situated on top of the bus as well.

T

Best place to tailgate: The Magic Bus

he Fieldhouse parking lot used to be the locale of choice for Iowa fans with coolers in tow—until a whiny Michigan fan, who got a little bit of beer spilled on him (and by “spilled” we mean “thrown on,” and by “little bit” we mean “whole can”), ruined the fun. Hawkeyes marched on to the vast open field at the end of Olive Court, which has now also closed. But, thankfully, the stalwart that is the Magic Bus remains. And it’s easy to see why: a beat-up, old school bus with a stage on top, where bands can rock out and beer-chugging contests can be won. Pair that with a trailer stocked with kegs, TVs so you can watch the game, and a tolerable Porta-potty line, and this Bus truly is magical. There’s a small cover, but proceeds from the tailgate benefit local charities.

12

Check out more Fans & Thrills at: www.insidetailgating.com

Where to eat after the game: Sam’s Pizza

441 S. Gilbert St., 319-337-8200 This place really should be called Sam’s Calzone, because you’d be crazy to not order the doughy yet flaky bundle of heaven, stuffed with such ingredients as green peppers, mushrooms, onions, black olive (in the Vegetarian) or ground beef, red onion and lots o’ cheese (the Cheeseburger). Sure, you’ll find deep-dish and thin-crust pies here, too, but stick with the calzone.

It's right across the street from the south side of Kinnick in the backyard of a house.

Alternate Tailgating Options:

L

dental lot

$10 for one person or $15 for two. Unlimited Miller High Life beer once you’re inside.

ocated next to the basketball stadium, the Dental Lot is fun but not too crazy—a nice place to converse with Iowa fans who will surely offer you a brat and a beer. For the younger crowd, Melrose Place is a side street off Melrose Avenue with a dead end close to Kinnick Stadium. Every house on this street hosts a keg party that anyone can walk up to and join in on the fun. People start tailgating at Myrtle Lot before the sun comes up. A bit farther away than some of the other tailgates, it’s still only a half mile from the stadium, near the law building on top of a hill facing the Iowa River. This is the spot to go to if you want to see how tailgating is done in the Midwest.

Myrtle lot

Where to eat the next morning:

The Hamburg Inn #2

the hamburg inn #2

214 N. Linn St., 319-337-5512 Open since 1948, the “Burg” or the “No. 2” (no one really knows what happened to the first one) is an Iowa City institution. The small, family-owned diner more often caters to hungover college kids downing one of its 12 specialty omelets with perfectly crisped spuds.

Undergrads in desperate need of relief go straight for the chicken fried steak.

Check out more Fans & Thrills at: www.insidetailgating.com

13

COMING SOON TO AN EVENT NEAR YOU!

ScoreBig Presents Another Tailgating Fail

What type of tailgaters bring more fun and passion to an event? Inside Tailgating searches for that answer this spring and summer as we take our tour to a variety of exciting stops, including: St. Patrick’s Day 5 Points Festival, Jimmy Buffet, Food Lion Speed Street Festival, The NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race, The Coca Cola 600, Gold Cup Soccer Matches, Manchester United vs. Barcelona and more! Have an event you want us to attend? Hit us up on Facebook (facebook.com/insidetailgating) or Twitter (@insidetg).

photo credit photo credit

Football kicks off in late August, and for the second straight year we will be barreling through the country’s most passionate regions of tailgating fanatics.

We are finalizing our fall football schedule and it’s outstanding.

We’re going to the best games to tailgate with the best tailgaters, so look for us to roll into your town this fall. Check out insidetailgating.com for the latest schedule and tour information.

14

Check out more Fans & Thrills at: www.insidetailgating.com

With no fees on thousands of sports, concerts and theater tickets all priced below retail, buying tickets at ScoreBig means you can pack your cooler with cold ones.

Go to ScoreBig.com and enter code TAILGATE to get your free membership.