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The tailgating essentials are a cooler, a portable grill, chairs, a canopy, a game, a speaker, something to keep hot food hot, grill tools, reusable cups and your team's colors. That's the list that makes every trip to the lot. Here's what rides in our truck, and the two things that are next on our list. We'll say which is which.
1. A cooler you can carry from the car
Parking is never next to the gate. Ours is the Tailgate Trekker, a 20-liter backpack cooler that holds 18 cans with ice and leaves both hands free. It's on our back every Saturday. Hosting a crowd? Add a big cooler that stays at the truck.
2. A portable grill your stadium allows
Check your stadium's rules before you buy: Arrowhead allows charcoal or propane, Ohio State bans charcoal on campus, and the Grove at Ole Miss bans grills entirely. A tabletop propane grill works almost everywhere, and it shuts off at the knob when it's time to go in. The Monument G22 is next on our list. Our stadium guides list each stadium's grill rules.
3. Chairs in your colors
Ours are Cougars logo chairs, the folding kind with a cup holder. You'll be standing plenty once you're inside, and a team chair tells the lot whose side you're on before you say a word.
4. A canopy that fits your space
Shade in September, a roof in November. Measure it against your lot's footprint first: Arrowhead gives you your space plus 8 feet behind your car, and AT&T Stadium gives you 9 x 12 feet on the grass.
5. One game everybody can play
Cornhole wins. Run a bracket. A Scorezit scorekeeper is on our list so nobody argues about the score.
6. A speaker, kept at neighbor volume
Ours is a JBL PartyBox 310. It's big, so we keep it at a volume the next car can live with. Some stadiums ban amplified sound in the lots (AT&T does), so check yours first.
7. Something to keep hot food hot
Cook at home, serve at the lot. An insulated carrier keeps chili hot and brats warm while the grill does the rest. Revo's Dubler, with drinks on ice on one side and a food pan on the other (add Revo's heat packs to keep it warm), is the other thing next on our list.
8. Grill tools
Long tongs, a spatula, a grill brush, and a thermometer, because "looks done" isn't a temperature. Here's the safe-temperature cheat sheet.
9. Reusable cups (no glass)
Glass is banned in plenty of lots; Arrowhead says so outright. Insulated tumblers or cans.
10. Your team's colors
A flag on a tall pole is how your crew finds you in a sea of the same color.
What to skip
- Anything your stadium bans. Wood fires at Arrowhead, fryers at AT&T, charcoal at Ohio State.
- Gear you haven't tested at home. Fire up a new grill in the driveway first. Game day is a bad time to find out it doesn't work.
- A second table. Your tailgate has a footprint, and gear can't spill into the drive lanes.
- Glass. See #9.
Want the full packing list? Here's the printable tailgate checklist.
Next: what to cook at a tailgate, the 12 dos and don'ts, and how to tailgate, start to finish.
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