My family has taken me tailgating at least once a summer since I was just a child. We always went tailgating for Nascar Races and every year it got more elaborate. At first we would tailgate for just a few hours and now it’s an event that lasts for days, last time it was all weekend long. We started with just one big truck but now we use that truck plus 2 others and an RV. Amazingly enough I managed to marry a man who has never been tailgating, so when he asked me to tell him about it I started to wonder how it became an American tradition. I did some research and found some amazing facts about the first tailgaters and the evolution of tailgating from the American Tailgater’s Association.
While most people associate tailgating with sporting events the first tailgaters were not cheering for a team. Surprisingly they were encouraging Union soldiers at the Battle of Bull Run in 1861. These spectators brought picnics at the start of the battle and shouted, “Go Big Blue!” to encourage the Union soldiers. This was the start of a great American Tradition and in 1866 a Texan Rancher created a portable feed wagon, known as a “chuck wagon”. This was an early set up of modern day tailgating and the introduction of mobile cooking.
The first tailgate party?
It was not until 1869 that tailgating was introduced to a sporting event between Princeton and Rutgers. The game was similar to modern day rugby and as popular as football or baseball. The fans from Rutgers showed their school spirit by wrapping scarlet colored scarves around their heads. Rutgers won the game, 6-4, and started the tradition of tailgating.
Since this first pre-game party and display of team spirit, tailgating has become a beloved American tradition. Now it’s associated with grilling, and sometimes deep frying, a variety of foods. Tailgating has gotten its current name from the practice of eating or sitting on the “tailgate” of a vehicle (usually associated with a truck). Despite the modernization of tailgating the most important aspect, having fun with family and friends, has not changed. Check back here in a few days for some flavorful ways to use Grandma Maud’s Premium Bean Meals and Southern Seasoning to use in your tailgate party.
~Chef Sebion
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