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There are all kinds of tailgaters, novice to expert. Some join the festivities by simply bringing their favorite beer and/or food, and setting out plastic chairs. Others don't even go this far, they just arrive and enjoy the party at another tailgater's expense. But the true tailgaters, the true followers of the team and party, plan and scheme to create the most epic and perfect tailgate set-up conceivable. These are 20 essentials of the tailgater extraordinaire.

The Beer

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Whatever style of food you'll be serving, whichever method of cooking, and whomever you invite, the beer should be the first thought on your mind. This sudsy deliciousness sets the tone for the entire event - whether you're going to buy cheaper light beer to be consumed in quantity, or buy artisan brews that excite the palate and pair with your complex tasting menu. The true tailgater covers both options to ensure every guest that joins decides his/her own beer drinking fate. The current artisanal of choice: Estrella.

The Grill

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The grill on which you cook must directly relate to the style of food and number of people you are trying to accommodate. For instance, you are not going to attempt to grill for thirty people on a portable table-top grill. And conversely, you don't want a converted oil barrel grill to feed four people. A couple important question to ask yourself when choosing your grill: can I transport it? And, will it make the adjacent tailgaters green with envy? If you answer both 'yes', it is surely appropriate. The ultimate in tailgate grilling: The Freedom Tow-Behind Grill FG-800.

The Meathead

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Everyone has a buddy like this, or at least some variation thereof. This is the guy that's constantly discussing "having your back" and finding excuses to aggressively confront others. But, at your ideal tailgater, he is a great resource to have, if only because of the amount of testosterone flowing in and around the stadium. If something does go down, who better to have on your side than someone who considers a headlock to be a display of affection?

The Football

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Before actually entering the stadium to watch the game, it is a cliché but necessary step in the tailgate process to pull out your own football and toss it around. Typically this is a one-handed activity, as your other hand is appropriately busy either drinking your beer or eating some form of grilled meat. This one-hand toss around usually involves discussing sports accomplishments of your youth and reenacting events with greatly decreased speed and agility.

The Eye Candy

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Whether man or woman, eye candy is a completely necessary aspect of the tailgating experience. If you're a guy, you need the motivation to drink that next beer and gain the liquid courage to talk to the girl making eyes at you down the row of cars. And if you're a girl, you need over-muscled guys to have a reason to take their shirts off and throw the football around, without it looking completely out of place.

The Wings

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Every legitimate tailgater needs to involve wings. Not even just hot wings either, any sort of deliciously flavored wing will suffice for a tailgate. The wing is one of the few food items that most tailgaters will have - which makes it a great gauge of "who serves the best food?". In other words, take pride in the wings you serve, for they indicate you prowess and command in the tailgate arena.

The Cooler

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The cooler(s) you bring with you to the tailgate can make or break your entire experience. The last thing you want is to run out of anything mid-festivities, especially ice-cold beer. If you are properly tailgating, you should make sure to have separate coolers for beer and food, and a spare full of ice, just in case. A good rule of thumb for quantities - whatever you think you are going to need, double it. That way you can be generous with your neighbors in the parking lot and still have enough for the after party.

The Beer Helmet

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True tailgaters understand that to properly host (or even attend) a tailgate party, you're going to have your hands busy a lot of the time. And although necessary, stopping what you're doing to take a gulp of beer can really slow you down. So the real experts take steps to free their hands for other important activities; such as cooking, playing beer pong, eating, throwing the football, or anything else that requires both hands. A word of caution - continually sucking down two beers at a time can lead to pre-game pass-outs and no memory of the game at all. Helmets do not always equal safety.

The Fanatic Friend

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Similar to the Meathead, we all have one of these buddies in our arsenal of friends. This is the guy that just wants to "talk shop" with anyone that will listen. He can give you every statistic from his (and likely every other) team in the league...since their inception. Also, he is happy to heatedly describe why "this is the year" for his favorite team, backing his statements up with every fact and rumor in the book. Usually you can find him hanging out with other fanatics chugging beers, dressed in complete team attire, and reciting stats. This is a great friend to have around if you ever find yourself defending your team to an opposing tailgater.

The Snacks

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These are one of the essential aspects to a successful tailgater, without a great selection of snacks, your tailgate will be found wanting. As everyone drinks, and drinks, and drinks, they need to eat as well. And while they're waiting for the grill to start producing inappropriately large slabs of cooked meat, they need something to help absorb all the alcohol they have sitting in their stomachs.What better way to stave off complete drunkenness than with a random assortment of chips, cookies, veggies, cheese, and whatever else can be thought up. Just make sure their is enough dipping sauce to cover whatever spread you put out, otherwise you could have a full blown mutiny on your hands.

The Gear

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The ultimate tailgater is a huge supporter of the team they're out tailgating for. And with that, they have every conceivable piece of clothing, bunting, accessory, and option you can imagine that screams "I SUPPORT". Having flags streaming from your car on the drive - novice. Having custom made leather seats in the colors of your favorite team and with their logo splashed across them - professional. Anyone can doll themselves up on game day, but showing your team-worship 365 days a year with permanent installments in every aspect of your life takes commitment.

The Games

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The games played at your tailgater are likely one of the most memorable experiences your guests will have, and with that they are of the utmost importance. The classic games you'll see played at any given tailgater include beer pong and flip cup - but really any game you can play while standing and snacking will do. Preferably, you want games that involve pacing everyone's drinking - the last thing you want is to create a drinking game that involves everyone chugging whenever they hear the word "game" or "football". You would quickly run out of beer, food, and likely the use of your un-cuffed hands.

The Meat

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The meat you choose to grill can make or break your tailgate. You must choose a meat that everyone will enjoy, isn't going to break the bank, is easy to marinade and prepare, and doesn't involve you slaving over the grill for four hours to make sure everyone gets fed. A couple great options are ribs, tri-tip, and sirloins. All three involve minimal preparation, low maintenance at the grill, and all will make you the hero of your tailgate and the envy of all those around.

The Table

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The tables you use at your tailgater seem like a small detail, but this is where many go wrong - they don't bring any, or enough. Plan for a table for your food, for people to eat at and for games afterward. This means you'll need some light-weight, sturdy, spill proof tables that collapse easily and you can paint with your teams colors. Even if you have all the basic tailgate bases covered, subtle attention to these details will separate you from the competition.

The Music

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As the king/queen of tailgating, you need to make sure your music is louder, has more team spirit, and is more singalong-able than the competition. This means knowing the fight song of your team and playing it every fifteen minutes, which is the memory span of most parking lot creatures. This also means making sure you have all the latest hits loaded on your iPod so your guests squeal with joy when their favorite new hit comes on. Having as much classic rock as possible is always a safe bet.

The BBQ Sauce

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A expert tailgater knows that whatever he bastes his meat in will ultimately be what's remembered by his guests. People expect their steak/ribs to come out cooked perfectly, and if they've had enough to drink they won't notice if things are a little dry. What they will notice, however, is what sauce you use to smother your grilling meat with. There are many schools of thought on whether to go store bought or homemade - just make sure if it's homemade you didn't just toss some ketchup and spices together. Take pride in your sauce and you will be the talk of the parking lot.

The Drunk Buddy

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Another character that's necessary to the arsenal of friends you have at your side is your drunken buddy. This is the guy that will save you from any hiccups you have in the tailgating event. Just make sure you feed them enough beer early in the day so that if need be, you can use them as a distraction while you fix whatever issue you're having. Food taking a while? Challenge your buddy and say he can't chug five beers in five minutes. Everyone will be too excited/interested/entertained by your stumbling friend spilling beer on himself to actually notice you hurrying your steaks along and feeding everyone a few minutes after you should have.

The Canopy

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As the host of the ultimate tailgater, you must be prepared for inclement weather. Having a few canopies set up around you parking spot is a great idea, rain or shine. It's a great way to get out of the sunlight if guests don't want a sunburn; and if it rains, the party will go on. A true tailgate artist will have canopies with their team on them, to further drive home that they are the ultimate fan, and not to be challenged in the tailgating realm.

The Ride

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The car/truck/SUV you drive is likely the most important aspect to a successful tailgate. This is the epicenter of how you are tailgating, as well as the transportation for all your equipment, food, beverages, music, friends, and yourself. If you pull up to your tailgate spot in a crummy two door sedan, you'll receive stares from all the neighboring spots. However, if you pull up in a shiny SUV bumping the latest hits and piling out with all your buddies to set up, you'll be receiving much more admiring, jealous looks.

The Babysitter

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Last but definitely not least, the babysitter is an important friend to have around at your ultimate tailgater. By no means will they be sitting babies, instead, this is the responsible friend you have that probably won't drink too much, and has their head on their shoulders at all times. In case you, as the host, end up biting off more than you can chew, this is the person you can turn to that can bail you out. If a guest gets too rowdy or sloppy, this is the buddy you plead with to distract them or toss them in a port-a-potty.

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