When football season begins in a few weeks, fans across the country will be showing up early to stadiums to prepare for one of the best parts of going to a game - tailgating.
Tailgate parties are a bonding experience between families, friends and fans. It gives them an opportunity to eat, socialize, and talk trash about their favorite (and not-so-favorite) teams while chowing down on snacks and freshly-made grilled foods.
Of course, while most football fans still prefer to "Homegate" and watch the game from the comfort at home, there's something special about setting up a grill in the middle of the stadium's parking lot and grilling up a few hot dogs and burgers before the game begins.
With National Tailgating Day coming up on Sept. 1, Offers.com decided to survey 1,000 Americans about their tailgating and game-day party plans.
The first thing any good tailgater needs for their pre-game party is supplies, so where do Americans go to stock up on the eats and drinks?
According to the survey, Walmart was the number one destination for tailgaters to stock up for their game-day parties, with Target and Amazon.com rounding out the top three.
Of course, tailgating is about more than just eating and drinking (even if some disagree). There's also the games people play to help pass the time while waiting for the food to cook or the game to start!
Cornhole (tossing beanbags through a raised platform with a hole on it) was far and away the favorite of tailgaters across the country with 49% of respondents saying they play it at their parties.
Another favorite for pre-game partiers is the always-popular beer-pong, which makes sense when you think about how it allows people to have fun AND drink at the same time.
People's third favorite game to play while waiting around is to throw the ball or a Frisbee around, while pretending you're on the field scoring the game-winning goal.
(OK, we don't know if people are actually pretending they're catching the game-winning goal, but you have to know at least some people do).
And now, the most important feature at your tailgate party (besides the alcohol): The food. What are fans serving up at their tailgate parties across the U.S.?
According to the survey, chicken wings were the clear favorite for hungry football fans, with hamburgers being the second most popular option.
Surprisingly, fans seemed to prefer a slice of pizza over a hot dog while hanging out at a tailgating party, but only just barely according to the survey.
Finally, the alcohol. It's no surprise that beer is the clear favorite for tailgaters (people aren't looking to get so wasted they miss the game). A strong 15% of people said they prefer liquor as their drink of choice while tailgating with a third of tailgaters saying they had at least 1-2 drinks while partying.
For the non-drinkers, popular drink choices included Sweet Tea and Gatorade.
- Beer – 53%
- Liquor – 15%
- Sweet Tea – 13%
- Wine/Wine Coolers – 11%
- Gatorade – 8%
What do you think? What kind of things do you need to make your tailgating experience complete? Do you bring along a full grill or do you just bring prepared food from home? Weigh in with your opinion in the comments!
Photos: Getty Images & Offers.com.