Whether you’re cooking burgers on a small charcoal grill or running the show in a $200k custom RV, a tailgate is a tailgate. With that said, there are a few select tailgates with traditions passed down from generation to generation that brings the scene to a whole ‘nother level.
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Ole Rocky Top
Attend a University of Tennessee game, preferably with the Vol Navy, and you’ll hear Rocky Top at least 200 times. It’s doesn’t get old either.
World’s Largest Cocktail Party
This is a no brainer. When two of the most diehard fan bases, University of Florida and University of Georgia, collide at a neutral location people take the pre-game tailgate to the extreme.
Green Bay’s “Owners” Tailgate
Very few people can actually say they’ve tailgated with the owner of the team. Since the Green Bay Packers and Lambeau Field are owned by the actual fans you can make this claim 112,000 times over.
Brats in Wisconsin
If you attend a Badgers or Packers game, you better bring an appetite. These friendly tailgaters love their beer and (perhaps even more so) their brats.
The Grove
Where some fans at big state schools like to get rowdy (see West Virginia), Ole Miss is the complete opposite. On game day tailgaters head down to The Grove in their finest outfits and hang out with fellow students, alumni and fans in a pop-up tent city, while enjoying classy cocktails and dancing under chandeliers.
Denver Micro Breweries
Denver is home to the Great American Beer Festival, which means it is at the epicenter of craft brewing. Unsurprisingly, this love for homemade beer spills over to the Broncos tailgate scene as well.
Burning Couches
West Virginia fans aren’t afraid to get down and dirty. After a big win (or loss even) there is always a post-game tailgate. Yes, tailgating doesn’t always have to happen before the game, and during these legendary post-game tailgates students will set couches a blaze to keep warm and show their inner rebel.
