By Catherine Adcock, Deputy Editor
As long as America has had vehicles with rears to unload, it'sbrhad the pastime of tailgating. Today, though, tailgating has evolved to morebrthan just an opportunity to dine before an event; it's become a destinationbrunto itself.
“People have been going to sportingbrevents and cooking food going back to the 1920s,” says sportswriter MarkbrStewart, a member of the Tailgating Industry Association. Plenty actually optbrto forgo the game altogether, instead enjoying the camaraderie of a parking lotbrgrill-out. “The people who do tailgate are extremely passionate, and they carebrmore about the tailgating experience than the game,” Stewart explains. “Itbrreally becomes an all-consuming thing.”
Like any great tradition, thebrtailgating experience centers on food. “You simply can’t have a great partybrwithout food,” says Kyle Clark, owner of Rusted Truck Ranch. “It brings peoplebrtogether. Plus, you need fuel to make it through that three-hour game.”
Combine that with professionalbrsports, and you've got a double-whammy of pure Americana. “You have a culture thatbris very obsessed with sports; that is very obsessed with food,” Stewart says.br“Tailgating is where you marry these two things.”
As times have changed, so has thebrtailgating experience. Truck beds have evolved into RVs; Smokey Joes intobrcustom BBQ rigs; radio broadcasts into satellite TVs.
“I would say over the last 10 to 15bryears, there's been a steady increase in the number of people tailgating and inbrthe amount of money being spent,” says Stewart, who adds that many value thebrtailgating industry at about $10 billion. “Even in the lean years, during thebrfinancial crisis, everything seemed to be growing.”
All of this change is due, in nobrsmall part, to the unending desire amongst tailgaters to bring the best of thebrbest to the parking lot before the game.
“There's a real spirit ofbrcompetition, not only camaraderie; everyone wants the new thing, whether it's abrjacket or an electronic item, a sauce, a cooking implement, a new grill,”brStewart says. “Everyone is really deeply fascinated by what everyone else has.”
According to Stewart, hot trendsbramongst tailgaters include the concept of home tailgating as well asbrenvironmentally friendly tailgating. “They will throw sports parties in theirbrbackyard and turn it into a tailgating party,” he says. “I also think thatbryou're starting to see people a little more environmentally concerned. Whenbryou're burning stuff, you're leaving something behind.”
The community and camaraderie ofbrtailgating keeps it going year after year and keeps people in the lot insteadbrof at the game.
“Tailgaters will cook for 40 to 50brpeople,” Stewart says. “There's a communal, social factor that is really,brreally important.”
Backyard hero Kyle Clark of Rusted Truck shares his guide to tailgating and his famous Chicken Wings recipe.