subject: Tailgating And Barbecue Sauce, A Perfect Team [print this page] Two American icons, barbecue sauce and the event of tailgating before a big sporting event, have become the perfect match amongst all those who partake in these activities. One feeds off of each other to create the incredibly enjoyable experience of going to a live sporting event and making it even better. The art of tailgating turns a simple "thing to do" for so many into a day long festival, and if you live in Green Bay or Buffalo, a weekend long festival!
Can you even imagine being in the parking lot with thousands of other fans cooking your meats on that grill and when you go to eat it there is no flavor and the meat is just dry? No. Instead, we all can imagine having that savory barbecue sauce dripping from a juicy and delicious piece of meat and delighting in the fact that you were there to enjoy it. No tailgate experience is right without great food, great company, and a festive attitude. Oh yeah, a great grilling sauce as well! No glorified ketchups will do when you are standing outside the stadium in sub zero temperatures trying to eat.
The tailgating experience is so uniquely American, as is the plethora of individual grilling sauce types there are. It is synonymous with American lifestyles, American culture, and American appetites for great tasting foods. America is not a country that has taken well to boiled mutton, or soggy vegetables steamed to lifelessness. American tastes are bold, adventurous, and full of spirit just as many Americans are themselves. If you were putting a face on the giant bottle of barbecue sauce known as American you would probably be looking at the face of Teddy Roosevelt, Wyatt Earp, Sitting Bull, or Ernest Hemingway long before any mild mannered guy in a suit. That is the American ideal; where as the face of some British food would have the queen on the label.
So, remember when you are partying in the parking lot with your friends and fellow fans, slather on the barbecue sauce and enjoy the moment. You only get eight home games a year during football season so don't waste those moments with a lousy sauce. Make sure your food is as great as your team is on the field, and be sure to bring enough food to share with all of those around you. The concept of tailgating is to build camaraderie amongst the fans, and nothing does that easier than great food grilled to perfection.
