Tailgating at Clemson is truly an unbelievable experience!  The little town of approximately 16,000 suddenly starts filling up with 85,000 orange clad fans on fall Saturdays.  I have seen RV's pulling into the lots as early as THURSDAY for a Saturday night game!  As soon as you pull off the interstate (15 miles from campus) you see orange Tiger Paws painted on all roads leading to Clemson.  Most fans start tailgating 4 to six hours before kickoff.....many others start much earlier.  Orange is everywhere!  Flags waving, grills cooking....  There is one guy who owns an antique fire truck that is painted all orange and decorated with paws.  I have also seen an orange hearse with "Paw Bearer" painted on the side.  A visit is never complete without a walk down to the famous Esso Club, an old gas station that is now a bar/hangout. After a day of tailgating, you then get the payoff.......The Tigers take busses from their locker room to The Hill at the other end of the stadium.  The cannon fires....Tiger Rag can barely be heard over 85,000 screaming fans...and the team runs down The Hill for what has been called "The most exciting 25 seconds in college football"!

I work for a company based out of Oklahoma that recently opened a center down here in Alabama.  Several Auburn faithful joined our Oklahoma brethren last fall in Norman for a chance to cheer against the Crimson Tide.  The folks in Oklahoma were extremely friendly and treated us to a spread of chicken and steak fajitas.  They had the satellite set up so everyone could watch the under card (Miami-Florida) and there was beer a plenty.  This year us Bama natives get to treat the Sooners to a tailgate party at Bryant-Denny.  I hope we prove as impressive as the OU crowd was....from Stuart in Mobile, AL

At Youngstown State University we begin at 7am cooking the usual breakfast menus of eggs, sausage, bacon, ham, home fries and toast.  As soon as we finish we begin the lunch menu with any thing from subs and pizza to deep fried turkeys and stuffed hot pepper with sausage or on cold fall days home made soups of all kinds.  All of this is great but best part of tailgating is the socializing and fellowship.  We especially enjoy hosting the opposing teams fans who have traveled to support their team. This year we had a great time with the fans from McNeese State. We are looking forward to our visit to their house in 2004.   All who come to share our tailgate leave as friends....GO YOUNGSTOWN STATE UNIVERSITY PENGUINS!

I have to say that there's nothing like a beautiful Fall Saturday spent along the "banks of the Red Cedar" at Michigan State University. From the crazy student section to the more tame alumni area you just can't beat it!! The sounds, smells and sights are a thing to behold....from Kristen

I've attended 39 Buffett concerts and have been tailgating at Buffalo Bills games for 17 straight years. Have only missed 5 games in that time. 2 preseason games and a few others because I was stuck in a airport or something. I won't let anyone else buy the meat or cook it's got to be done right you know!!!.  For Bills games we always cook the opponent (Dolphin steaks when we play Miami, this year I will season with a lot  of Sage, he's their new backup QB, Sage Rosenfels, ironically the son of one of my sales reps, Lamb when we play the Rams, tenderloin of bear when we plan the Bears, tenderloin of colt when we play the Colts, tastes just like Beef., Cornish game hens when we play the Flacons, etc.). About twice a year I do a standing rib roast (prime rib) after getting to the parking lot early so it has lots of time to slow cook. 

Buffett concerts usually include ..... a gross of clams, steamed and raw, tenderloin cooked perfectly on the Webber grill and Margaritas mixed to Jimmy's secret recipe (found in his Parrotheat handbook). By the way, the Western NY Parrothead Club is the 100th in the nation, I' m a founding member and the 1st treasurer (we've raised tons of money for Alzheimers, Make a Wish and other charities).   After a few years of tailgating in the same place at Starlake Ampatheater (Blitzburg), regulars who park near by, expect us and are amazed at how fast we set up our "party" and start cooking. It's easy after lots of practice before Bills games and many Buffett concerts...Tom in Buffalo

I have been to a lot of tailgate parties. From Daytona 500 to Coca Cole 600 from Tampa Stadium to the Superdome.  But I have never in my life ever experienced a time like I do everytime I go to Tiger Stadium in Baton Rouge. I have been a Tiger fan all my life but the party that goes on there is unbelievable. Tailgating usually starts the day of the game, but not at LSU.  They are out there on Thursday night for a Saturday game. They are friendly to everybody. As long as you are friendly back. I go to one LSU game and 2 tailgate parties each year...Jeffro in  Tampa,Fl

The best tailgatin' I've seen is at the Coca Cola 600 NASCAR race in Charlotte, N.C.. I'm sure that half of the annual 150,000+ fans tailgate. We have seats in Turn 2 and park in the field behind the track. That's where the campgrounds are, (looks like the old pictures of Woodstock) there' nothing but tents as far as you can see. And those people know how to have a good time.  

If you want a good spot, get there early (7:30 a.m.). The race starts at 6:00 p.m., so you have lots of time to relax and cook up some outrageous food and slug a few libations. And the fans are the best. I think NASCAR fans get a bad rap. They're not all "good ol' boy beer guzzlers". I'ts always different and we always have a great time.

So if you like NASCAR, you've got to try the Coca Cola 600. And the best part is, it's on Memorial Day weekend, so you'll have an extra day off work to recover...from Dino, a tailgater from Miami, Florida.

I am, and always have been an Ole Miss fan, and will remain one until the day I die. The greatest experience I have ever had is the first time I went through the gates of the University of Mississippi on a beautiful day in October of 1956. When the world was simple, and we the whole country had the highest of morals. I took my first look at that old and tradition rich campus and I have never been the same again since that day till this. Ole Miss has always retained the soft and it's beautifully serene quietness for which the Old South is best known. It is a place where deep friendships that blossom down through the tough times and the great times form a true bonding effect, and are passed on from one generation to another. The every day living of the simple life in the deep South. In towns, were almost everyone knows everyone and they all care about each other. My first tailgating party of my life in the grove was the biggest experience of my young life, and something I will remember on my death bed. The Grove is in the dead middle of the campus. It looks just like Margaret Mitchell's, Gone with the wind. Surrounded by old live Oak trees and is something to behold. Seeing all those people, thousand's of them dressed in red and blue and cheering the most famous cheer of the school, Are you ready, hell yea, dam right.Hotty Toddy gosh almighty who the hell or we, flim flam,bim bam, Ole Miss by dam! Plus the rebel band playing Dixie in the background. It made goose bumps jump one inch high on my body, and the hair on my head stood straight up. It's really a special place in this world of anger and pain that our kids have to live in today to be able to see. To stop and reflect on something left as beautiful as Ole Miss still is today. Stop and spend time thanking God for what he gives us every day. Be happy for all God has given us always as an individuals and a country Yours very truly...Johnnie Elmer January29, 2002

We are devoted fans (24/7/365) of the NFL and our BUFFALO BILLS !!!!!   When we go to Buffalo, it's a different world. :>)  Even though we are Canadians, we are treated like family during Tailgating  at the Bills games. If you are a Bills fan, you are family !!!  We can lock our car and walk around the Parking Lots,  knowing that our car is safe.  Total strangers will yak our ears off talking about the Bills  and families are real friendly as well.   Cheer the local team and your family, oppose them and "look out".  Visiting teams get "friendly" hassles, but nothing vicious.  We were surprised to see that the only rule for Tailgating in Buffalo seems  to be: "if your not a problem, then there is no problem".  The local Sheriff patrols the Parking Lots on Horses and Golf Carts.  The smells we have experienced are mind boggling.  Steak, Lobster, scrambled eggs (in the rain), Ribs and sides of beef ... what a smell !!  The last thing I wanted to mention is the feeling of "American Pride"  we feel walking up the ramp into the Bills Stadium... from Nancy and James Hobart in  Ajax, Ontario, Canada  (just east of Toronto)