Tailgating Tips For Beginners

With the NFL and College football seasons here, its time to review some tailgating tips to make you feel like a champ! Many people that go to games are getting into the tailgating party. For most people they have no clue what to do or how to do it. I am going to give you a few tips to make you look like your a "seasoned" veteran.

Here are the main things you need to consider as a rookie in tailgating:

1. Pack the things you need before you have the party! Assess everything that you will need to bring from home; trash bags, fold out chairs, coolers, beer and all the other necessities. Go to costco a day or so before the game and load up on the hot dogs and hamburgers and anything else you might think and don't forget to properly package them so they don't spoil.

2. Plan out the location of your tailgating party. If you can drive by where you will be tailgating and make sure you have enough space to actually have a party.

3. This one is the most common tailgating failure of all. Don't forget to fill up your propane tank before leaving for the party. You can not cook without the propane.

4. Bring separate coolers for your raw meats and your ready to eat foods! You don't want to make all of your tailgating guests really sick because then they will never go to another one of your parties and a party is no fun with only yourself.

5. This is an easy one. The night before freeze all of your drinks instead of putting them in a cooler full of ice. That way your drinks will be cold and you won't have to deal with the mess of the melting ice. As you become more seasoned at tailgating than you can use the cooler and the ice technique.

6. Go to a store and buy some of your team flags to hang everywhere. After you do that than you can move onto buying balloons and whatnot. The reasoning for this is so that you guests will be able to recognize you easier and locate you faster.

7. Always have food ready to go. Anytime a guest wants to eat there should be food awaiting them. Do not put yourself in a panic mode if your food is not ready.

8. Remove the ashes after grilling and keep them in heavy duty tin foil. Dip the foil completely in water before placing it in a container for trash. That way the trash or the container doesn't catch fire.

9. Lastly, after the party is over remember to clean up your own mess. So, make sure you have plenty of trash bags to dispose of all the garbage.

By doing all of these things, you can consider yourself as one of the Veterans in tailgating.

Christopher Ayers http://omgebook.blogspot.com Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Christopher_Ayers

Football Weird Facts

The only two days of the year in which there are no professional sports games (MLB, NBA, NHL, or NFL) are the day before and the day after the Major League All-Stars Game. ~~~~~No NFL team which plays its home games in a domed stadium has ever won a Super Bowl. ~~~~~In 1916 Georgia Tech's football team beat Cumberland U., 222-0. ~~~~~It takes 3,000 cows to supply the NFL with enough leather for a year's supply of footballs. ~~~~~When the University of Nebraska Cornhuskers play football at home, the stadium becomes the state's third largest city. ~~~~~Herman Moore holds the NFL record for the most pass receptions in a single season. A female's definition of "eternity":ETERNITY (e*ter*ni*tee) n. The last two minutes of a football game. ~~~~~"Nobody in football should be called a genius. A genius is a guy like Norman Einstein."Football commentator and former player Joe Theismann, 1996. ~~~~~"You guys line up alphabetically by height.""You guys pair up in groups of three, then line up in a circle."Bill Peterson, a Florida State football coach. ~~~~~Clemson recruit Ray Forsythe, who was ineligible as a freshman because of academic requirements: "I play football. I'm not trying to be a professor. The tests don't seem to make sense to me, measuring your brain on stuff I haven't been through in school." ~~~~~Torrin Polk, University of Houston receiver, of his coach, John Jenkins (1991): "He treats us like men. He lets us wear earrings." ~~~~~Darrell Royal, Texas football coach (1966) asked if the abnormal number of Longhorn injuries that season resulted from poor physical conditioning: "One player was lost because he broke his nose. How do you go about getting a nose in condition for football?" ~~~~~Steve Spurrier, Florida football coach, telling Gator fans that a fire at Auburn's football dorm (1991) had destroyed 20 books: "But the real tragedy was that 15 hadn't been colored yet." ~~~~~Lincoln Kennedy, Oakland Raiders tackle, on his decision not to vote in 1996: "I was going to write myself in, but I was afraid I'd get shot." ~~~~~Jim Colletto, Purdue football coach and former assistant at Arizona State and Ohio State, on his 11-year-old son's reaction after he took the job with the Boilermakers (1991): "He said, 'Gosh, Dad, that means we're not going to any more bowl games." ~~~~~LaVell Edwards, BYU football coach and one of 14 children (1986): "They can't fire me because my family buys too many tickets." ~~~~~Jim Finks, New Orleans Saints General Manager, when asked after a loss what he thought of the refs (1986): "I'm not allowed to comment on lousy officiating." ~~~~~ Bob received a free ticket to the Super Bowl from his company. Unfortunately, when Bob arrived at the stadium he realized the seat was in the last row in the corner of the stadium. He was closer to the Goodyear Blimp than the field! About halfway through the first quarter, Bob noticed an empty seat 10 rows off the field right on the 50-yard line. He decided to take a chance and made his way through the stadium and around the security guards to the empty seat. As he sat down, he asked the gentleman sitting next to him, "Excuse me, is anyone sitting here?" The man said "No." Very excited to be in such a great seat for the game, Bob said to the man next to him, "This is incredible! Who in their right mind would have a seat like this at the Super Bowl and not use it?!" The man replied, "Well, actually, the seat belongs to me. I was supposed to come with my wife, but she passed away. This is the first Super Bowl we haven't been to together since we got married in 1967." "That's really sad," said Bob, "but still, couldn't you find someone to take the seat? A relative or a close friend?" "No," the man replied, "they're all at the funeral!"~~~~~"Anybody who watches three games of football in a row should be declared brain dead." -- Erma Bombeck (1927-1996) - US journalist, author, humorist.

Did you know.........More Amazing Football Trivia

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In 1060, the Danish invaded England, which started a war. In the early 11th century, if somebody was walking along and they turned up a skull from the invasion, they would start kicking it around, to start the game of futballe. Later, America changed the rules and name to football.
Also, other things have been used for a football like a pig's bladder blown up, rocks, and other things put into a leather hide.


Have you ever wondered how the Green Bay Packers got their name? There once was a meat packing company that worked in Green Bay, Wisconsin. A man named Earl Lambeau worked there. Lambeau was born and raised in Green Bay, and then went to college in Notre Dame, where he was a star football player. A while later he decided he wanted to start his own professional football team. He went to the company's president and asked for $500 to buy pads, footballs, jerseys, and pants. In return he promised to call the team the Green Bay Packers. A couple of years later, the Packers were a professional football team. The Green Bay Packers are the only team named after a meat packing company.



A person who returns punts or kicks usually needs more than a lucky break. He needs speed, quickness, and the ability to follow his blockers. But a fast halfback named Abler Haynes from Texas State College returned a punt just by using his head. Haynes dropped back for a punt, and the punt was short. It dropped a few yards away from Haynes. It took a high bounce, and rolled to a stop. Players from both teams gathered around the ball. Referees started to come in, but hadn't blown the whistle yet. Cautiously Haynes picked up the ball casually as if to toss the ball to the referee. But instead, he picked up the ball, and sprinted off. When Haynes was 20 yards away from the opponent team they realized what he was doing. The opponent team argued that the referee was late blowing his whistle, but the referee said the play was legal, and the touchdown counted.

The Minnesota Vikings and the San Francisco 49ers were playing a game on October 25, 1964. The Vikings were ahead, 27-17 in the fourth quarter, when the Vikings had a fumble. Jim Marshall, playing for the Vikings, picked up the ball and started running. All the players, coaches and fans started yelling. Finally Marshall looked back, and saw the Vikings quarterback pointing the other way. Then it hit him. He was running the WRONG WAY! He threw the ball back to the quarterback. Instead, it went out of bounds, giving the 49ers two points. Marshall ran 60 yards the wrong way, without realizing it!

Lamer Hunt, the owner of the Kanas City Chiefs, couldn't believe it. His daughter had just bounced a small ball that was red, white, and blue over the roof of their house, and into their backyard. "What's that?" he asked. "It's a super ball daddy, a super ball." "No wonder it's called a super ball, it bounces super."
One day Hunt was on his way to a final Kansas City Chiefs game. All the players and Hunt kept referring to the game as the "final game" or the "the Championship game." Before they got there Hunt gave his usual pep talk. He accidentally said, "Now when we get to the super bowl..." All the players knew what he was talking about. Later he said it must have come from the super ball.
Later NFL adopted the name Super Bowl as the official name.

In 1903, Michigan discovered they left a little brown water jug in Minneapolis, where they had played their last game. When they got back to Michigan, they called the Minneapolis equipment manger and asked for it it back. His reply was "Come and get it!" Michigan and Minneapolis fought over the little brown water jug for over 80 years! (I never found out who ended up with it though.)

November 17, 1968 was probably one of the worst days for the New York Jets and Oakland Raiders fans. They were playing in Oakland, and the game was very close. With the score 32-29, New York's favor, NBC started playing a new movie version of Heidi! Everyone was sure that New York would win...
In Oakland, the Raiders' quarterback, Daryle Lamonica threw a 43-yard touchdown!

Two of the smartest coaches were Percy Haughton of Harvard and "Pop" Warner of Carlisle Institute.
In 1908 the two teams were scheduled to play one another. About a week before the game "Pop"Warner had a trick to defeat the tough Harvard team. He sewed pads to his player's pants and jersey. When the Carlisle team came out to practice on Harvard's field, Haughton noticed the pads on the Carlisle teams pants and jersey.
"That's not fair " said Haughton.
"It's not against the rules," said "Pop" Warner with a laugh. " I can put anything on my player jersey that I want." But Haughton had some tricks up his sleeve also. Just before kick off the two coaches met in the center of the field to pick out the ball for the game. When "Pop" Warner reached in the bag to pick out a ball, he pulled out a red one! Haughton had dyed the ball red, the same color as the Harvard jerseys. "It's not against the rules," laughed Haughton. "Does the ball have to be brown all the time?" "Pop" Warner went back to the bench mumbling to himself.
Harvard won 17 to 0.

In 1930, when Knute Rockne was the legendary coach of Notre Dame football team, he said that his Notre Dame team could beat a NFL team any day. Soon it was arranged that they would play against the New York Giants. Way too soon, the big game came. After a while, Rockne found out the Giants were a rough team. When the score was 17-0, Benny Friedman, the Giants quarterback showed some mercy. The final score was 22-0, but fans from both sides said the score would have been 70-0, if Friedman hadn't showed some mercy.
Rockne learned to never boast about things like that again. It just might turn out bad!

History of Football - BEGINNING OF PROFESSIONAL FOOTBALL

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Welcome to the history of football. Here you will learn more about the history of football. In 1895 the first professional football game in the United States was held in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. That game was against a team that represented Latrobe, Pennsylvania and a team from Jeannette, Pennsylvania.

Over the next 10 years many professional teams were started including The Olympics of McKeesport, Pennsylvania; the Bulldogs of Canton, Ohio; and the Duquesness of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Willie Heston, Jim Thrope, Knute Rockne, and Fritz Pollard where all among noted college players who took up professional football. During the first thirty years the professional game didn't attract many people. There were many military men that wanted to play football, but if they did they were put in jail for not doing their military duties.

The first league of professional football was founded in 1920 and it was called the American Football Association. The admission fee was 100 dollars per team. The teams promised not to use any student player who still had college eligibility left to play football.

In 1922 the American Football Association ended and NFL, the National Football League, was born. Red Grange, a famous halfback from the University of Illinois provided a great stimulus for the league when he joined the Chicago Bears in 1925. His exciting plays drew a large crowd. Professional football attracted many good college football players at that time. The early NFL game was hardly different from college football. College play books and rule books made no attempt to break away from the NCAA, National Collegiate Athletic Association rules. In the league's early years, playing NFL football was a part time job and players held other jobs during the day. Professional football coaches arranged to practice in the evenings, sometimes only three or four times a week.

Freeney To Miss Two Weeks

The Indianapolis Colts Dwight Freeney will miss up to three weeks with a strained quadricep. Read full story here.

Football Funnies

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NFL, Grid Iron, American Football. Call it what you want, but I'm calling it American Football in this site, so here are a bunch of funny jokes for America's favorite game!

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Q: What's the difference between the Buffalo Bills and a dollar bill?
A: You can still get four quarters out of a dollar.

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Q: Why is the Oakland football team like a possum?
A: Because they play dead at home and get killed on the road.

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Q: What do Billy Graham and the Buffalo football team have in common? A: They can both make a stadium of 50,000 people say "Oh, Jesus."

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A football coach was asked his secret of evaluating his new recruits. "Well," he said, "I take 'em out in the woods and make 'em run. The ones that run round the trees, I make into running backs. The ones that run straight into the trees, I turn into linemen."

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Q: What's the difference between the Green bay Packers and Cheerios?
A: Cheerios belongs in a bowl.

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Q: What has eight arms and an I.Q. of 60?
A: Four blokes watching a football game.

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The Definition of an optimist: A Buffalo Bills fan waiting at Buffalo Niagara International Airport for the Bills to return from winning the Super Bowl.

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Football is a mistake. It combines the two worst elements of American life. Violence and committee meetings. -- George Will.

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The L.A. Rams have a new line of cologne. It's a little different though; you wear it and the other guy scores.

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Q: Why does John Elway eat his cereal from a plate?
A: Because he's lost all three of his bowls.

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After spending all day watching football, Jimmy fell asleep in front of the TV and spent the whole night in the chair. In the morning, his wife woke him up. "Get up dear," she said, "it's 20 to 7" He awoke with a start and said, "In who's favor?"

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Know why the new football stadium they built in Warsaw could'nt be used?
No matter where you sat, you were behind a Pole!

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Q: What is the difference between a sofa and a man watching Monday Night
A: Football? The sofa doesn't keep asking for beer.

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What do you get when you cross a defensive lineman with a prostitute? A quarter-ton pickup.

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Why can't John Elway use the phone anymore? Because he can't find the receiver.

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Oakland Raiders Attempt to Rebuild Franchise in 2009

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What can we say about the Oakland Raiders? After an amazing start to the decade (think back to the dominant days of Gannon, Rice, Brown, Garner, Woodson, and others), the Raiders simply haven't been what they used to be. As a Jets fan myself, I can remember fearing the presence of the almighty Raiders year in and year out. Times have obviously changed.

Even bringing in high caliber players like Randy Moss at wide receiver and LaMont Jordan at running back failed miserably, as the Oakland Raiders have had more consecutive seasons of losing football than I can count at this point. They do have a very talented secondary, but there's not much else to say that's good about the team. Their offense is simply horrible.

The bad finishes to each season have given the Oakland Raiders the benefit of some early draft picks. Take two of their picks in recent years, JaMarcus Russell (quarterback) and Darren McFadden (running back), both very talented football players and arguably tops in the nation at their positions while in college. It looks like both players are finding their ways as they've improved so far this season.

While Russell hasn't been as good as they'd like him to be, he's undoubtedly better this year than last, and he's making less mistakes than he did in 2008.

The Raiders somehow almost beat the Chargers during the first game of the season. In front of the entire nation on Monday night football, they carried a lead into the 4th quarter and would have won if not for the heroics of Philip Rivers on the final drive. In week 2 though, the Oakland Raiders beat the Chiefs.

While a win against the Chiefs is nothing to brag about, I do believe that the Chiefs are better this year than last, thanks to the addition of Matt Cassel at QB. Dwayne Bowe seems to get better by the year too. Despite this, the Raiders came up with a nice win over the Chiefs.

We'll see where things end up at the end of the season, but for now, the Raiders have a sense of hope that they haven't had in years. Raiders nation will gladly take that.

Stop in at the Oakland Raiders forum at RootZoo, where you can answer over 15,000 original NFL trivia questions.

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