Tailgating is an American tradition. A tailgate party is a social event held on or around the open tailgate of spectators vehicles. The allure of tailgate parties has historically been associated with the consumption of alcohol and grilling food before a sporting event, or concert. You would be hard pressed to find a better way to loosen up before the big game with your closest friends, and thousands of strangers. But to some, tailgating is a tradition that's just as important as the sport or concert itself.

Whenever people are having fun (especially with alcohol) there is always somebody who ruins it for everyone else. In recent years sport teams and Universities have really begun to crack down on tailgating parties for excessive drinking and general belligerent behavior. This article is a look back to the glory days of tailgating, before restrictions were made to try and turn tailgate parties into PG rated events.

Heavy Metal Parking Lot

Source

Heavy Metal Parking Lot is a documentary made about heavy metal music fans tailgating in the parking lot outside the Capital Centre (since demolished) in Landover, Maryland, on May 31, 1986, before a Judas Priest and Dokken concert. This was the epitome of tailgating. Where else could you go see drunk metal heads in their natural habitat? These were the days when the parking lot was a mecca for copious amounts of drinking, cursing, feathered hair, and shirtless men. By the early 1990s, Heavy Metal Parking Lot was being traded on bootleg VHS videotapes, and was becoming an underground cult classic. It finally got a proper DVD release on its 20th anniversary in 2006, and was reportedly a favorite on the Nirvana tour bus.

Family Gatherings

Source

Not everyone that went to tailgate parties back in the 70s drank themselves into a hazy stupor. Tailgate parties were a time when you would show up to the sporting event early, pull out your cooler and habachi grill, and sit around on a blanket socializing with your family and friends. Just like today, this helped people loosen up and have fun before entering the event. The exorbitant prices of alcohol and food inside the stadium made this option particularly popular with fans.

Jimmy Buffett

Source

Jimmy Buffett fans, affectionately referred to as Parrottheads, are some of the most loyal fans of any musical performing act. While they share similar traits with Deadheads, and Dave Mathews Band followers, they have their own unique twist. They typically wear a Hawaiian shirt, flip-flops and board shorts, or a grass skirt and a coconut bra while drinking a margarita. Their dress is a nod to the relaxing island influenced musical stylings that Buffett is known for. The general theme of being a Parrothead is one of relaxation, even while working - although they do like to party. However, the partying before a Jimmy Buffett concert poses a dangerous problem: some Parrottheads regularly have too many margaritas, or smoke far too much ganja, and end up missing the concert altogether. But, with concert venues cracking down on tailgating, the era of the Parrotthead may be in some serious trouble.

Cars Were Cooler

Source

Muscle cars of the 70s were (and still are) hot ticket items. These street machines, which ooze memories of natural aspiring horsepower and headbanging, were so much better to tailgate with because of their stylish nature. Who wants to tailgate out the back of a minivan instead of a 1969 z28 Camaro? It doesn't take an Einstein to figure that out. While the z28 may not have been the most powerful, but it can be argued that is was perhaps one of the most stylish muscle cars ever made. These cars were about fashion, even if that fashion included bell-bottoms and concert-jerseys. Tailgating out of a minivan evokes less than stylish images of cargo shorts, and living with your parents.

Girls Were Hotter

Source

We all know that this is a matter of preference, but I believe it's the bona fide truth that girls were hotter in the 70s. There was a time when mustaches and muscle cars ruled the social stratosphere. The women were insanely hot, and spent most of their days hanging around in daisy dukes, going bra-less, and being easy. Plastic surgery wasn't being used to change every decent looking girl into an alien being who couldn't stop smiling. Boobs were filled with real fat deposits, not balloons of silicone. And dare we say they may have even had the beginning signs of crows feet from excessive sun exposure? Girls were naturally beautiful in the 70s. Which meant that there were hotter girls at the tailgate parties. The 70s win, hands down.

Police Are Cracking Down

Source

More recently, stadiums across the country have been cracking down on tailgating parties. At Dodgers stadium in Los Angeles, police have been out in force to make sure people aren't tailgating anymore. Terry Romero has been to every Dodgers opening game since they built the stadium. She picked a spot in a parking lot, threw open the back of her car, and started pulling out the food she was going to enjoy with her family before the game. That's when they were descended upon -- by stadium security and Los Angeles Police Department officers. "Literally one will come from this side and tell you you need to go in and another comes from a different direction," said Romero, exasperated. American tradition is being attacked, and snuffed out by the local authorities. We understand the need to uphold laws and make sure that people are safe, but ruining traditions should be something that Police be concerned about as well.

Universities Are Cracking Down

Source

The tailgate party is something that has, not surprisingly, become extremely popular for college football fans. Every weekend, thousands of fans look forward to the big game and the celebration associated with it: the tailgating party. But over the last few years, universities have been trying to clean up campuses and cut down on tailgating, and have begun adopting tailgating restrictions. Notre Dame and Penn State have both instituted a no-alcohol policy at tailgate parties during games. Regulations at North Carolina State came after an incident when two people were killed during a tailgate party. Back in the 70s there weren't these type of restrictions; alcohol was allowed in college parking lots and surrounding neighborhoods. Over the years the reckless actions of a few have ruined things for everyone involved; which is why tailgate parties were better a few decades ago.

Tags: