Top Ways To Tailgate College Football During A Pandemic
Tailgating is the holy grail of American traditions. As the world continues to adjust to the ‘new normal’ caused by the coronavirus pandemic, what does this mean for die-hard football fans?
Many schools have opted to cancel their tailgating seasons until further notice, especially those in the SEC. Other schools have imposed tailgating and game day restrictions on their fans and are limiting capacity to around 20%.
So, what is the safest way to celebrate and watch football during a pandemic? While times are changing, that doesn’t mean the festivities must be boring.
Host A Tailgate Kickback
If you want to avoid COVID-19 but still watch your team with a few friends, you could host a kickback to celebrate the game. Limiting your surroundings to a few close friends will greatly reduce your chances of catching COVID, and you may save some money.
If you host a kickback, you could avoid the cost and hassle of:
- Scrambling for tickets
- Fighting traffic to the tailgate lots and stadium
- Paying an arm and a leg for a parking spot
- Walking half of a century to the stadium (or flagging-down the expensive golf cart guy)
- Guzzling all of your beer and food before entering the stadium
- Dragging yourself back to the car to leave…or to sleep-off certain beverages
Fine, tailgating is still awesome and these activities don’t dissuade us from participating. However, the hand we’ve been dealt with has forced us to be creative.
With a few outdoor activities like cornhole, decorations and food items your tailgate kickback can be a safe way to enjoy football during the pandemic. You can also rotate whose turn it is to host between your friend group to get a change of scenery.
Choose A Cozy Area To Host
If you’ve decided to host a tailgate kickback, you don’t need to worry about decking-out your entire house. You can condense the get-together to one area of your home, like the living room, to serve as the main source of entertainment.
However, the best area to host a kickback is outdoors. An outdoor entertainment area, and maybe even a fire pit, is a great place to host as it will allow plenty of social distancing.
If you choose to go this route, you should try to temporarily set-up a TV or projector outdoors to let everyone enjoy the game. This is a great way to allow everyone to socially distance outside and celebrate the football season.
Along with the football decor, providing outdoor lights and comfortable furniture is a must. So, don’t be that guy that makes everyone sit on stools in the dark.
Prepare Some Delicious Foods
For all of you amateur chefs out there: this is your time to shine. Now, you don’t have to cave to the expensive stadium foods, or to the hot dogs that your buddy grilled four hours ago.
Now, you can easily prepare fresh foods for your tailgate kickback. Your buffalo chicken dip can come fresh out of the oven, and your grilled hamburgers will actually be warm and tasty.
However, keep in mind that we are in the middle of a pandemic. So, maybe everyone’s cheesy nachos and the guacamole dip should be on separate plates. Additionally, keep the hand sanitizer readily available to squash any of those COVID germs.
If You Still Need Convincing…
If you still need convincing that to host a tailgate kickback is better than going to a bar to watch the game, just think about the activities you can’t do at bars.
You can’t easily get a refill on your drinks, you can’t quickly run into the bathrooms, you probably can’t even hear the game, but you can do all of these things in the comfort of you or your friend’s home.
Also, you can smoke cannabis at your kickback, unlike at the many bars across America. You can turn your get-together into a trifecta of football, beer and cannabis activities. Now, you don’t have to perfectly time and hide your pre-game joints.
If Your Team’s Stadium And Lots Are Open:
So, your team has decided to go ahead and open their tailgate lots and stadium to 20% capacity. Does this mean that you can go every weekend? Probably not, as tickets are getting harder to come by and the tailgate lots are heavily monitored.
If you get the opportunity to enjoy some tailgating at your team’s stadium, just be careful to follow the rules and regulations in place. If tailgating gets out of control, it may shut back down until further notice.
The Bottom Line
So, you can still have fun during this football season if you’re a die-hard fan. You don’t have to tailgate at your team’s stadium this year to create lasting memories.
Hosting a tailgate kickback is the best way to enjoy the 2020 football season without putting yourself at risk of catching COVID, and you can save some money in the process. Lastly, if your team allows tailgating and fans at the games, ensure you follow social distancing protocols and don’t get too bummed if this year’s tickets sell-out quickly.