Tailgating Drinks and Eats

Now that Football season is on full swing, we celebrate Tailgating Week!

What is tailgating and where did it come from?

According to our sources, mostly Modern Marvels Tailgating episode, Tailgating is a truly American past time spawned by the rise of American College Football in the late 1800s. The game of college football got it’s start on the Northeast United States around New York City.

The first game was played in 1869 between Rutgers and Princeton in New Jersey. It was a whole day of festivities that included eating and drink before, during and after the game. This started the tradition of having a picnic prior to a football game. Pretty soon, schools were building large stadiums to handle the crowds. These huge stadiums allowed for just about anyone access to the games. Another invention completed the trifecta, the car, mostly the wagon type.

Wagon type cars and trucks had “tailgates” for loading cargo, which were also perfect for laying out your pre-game feast. Although, tailgating has way surpassed a meal on the back of a wagon, the name stuck. Once car culure hit full stride, the tailgate was already an American tradition.