He's Visiting Every FBS Stadium on Game Day — The Story Behind Tailgate Connect | Dan Donnelly

It started at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena. Penn State was playing USC. Dan Donnelly had a tent set up, music going, grills running, and games happening — while a group of Penn State fans wandered past in what he calls "a nomadic state," 24-packs on their shoulders, looking for somewhere to belong. He invited them in. They had the best time. And on the drive home to Northern California, the business model clicked.

Dan Donnelly, founder of Tailgate Connect, joins host Luke Lorick for the very first episode of the Tailgate Connect Podcast. He walks through the origin story — from his blog "Dan from the Tailgate" (started in 2008) to the quest to attend every Division I stadium, to incorporating the business in 2017, to building the platform to 40+ college markets and 24 NFL markets. This is where it all started.

What we cover: The Rose Bowl origin story that sparked the business idea · "Dan from the Tailgate" — writing a blog about every stadium since 2008 · Why the 19 new Division I schools keep moving the goalposts · The Airbnb slash dating app model for tailgating · 40+ college markets and 24 NFL markets (and growing) · Why tailgating equals more friends (it's a proven formula) · The IPA debate with Luke (spoiler: Dan secretly drinks one)

Transcript

Welcome — first official episode

Luke 0:26

All right, everybody. This is Luke with Tailgate and Challenge on the Tailgate Connect podcast. This is our first full official podcast episode, and we have the founder of Tailgate Connect with us today, Dan Donnelly. Welcome to the show, sir. How are you doing? Doing awesome, Luke. How are you, my friend? Oh, doing great, doing great. Like, really excited about our podcast and just getting to talk tailgating. And I get to talk with one of the masters in the game of tailgating. So I know like you founded Tailgate Connect. So I know a lot of people are going to want to hear the inspiration. Like, what was the inspiration for you to found Tailgate Connect?

The Rose Bowl origin story — Penn State fans with 24-packs looking lost

He invited them over, they had the best time, he got the idea

On the drive home — the Airbnb model clicked

Dan 1:06

Great question. So I started writing a blog back in 2008. Um it's called Dan from the Tailgate. So almost every weekend during the college football season, you'll find me at a tailgate somewhere. And I set out on a quest to actually go to every Division I uh stadium for a game and for a tailgate. And so I've been writing a blog about my travels, and the journey has taken a lot longer than I anticipated. Two things have happened. I tend to go back to the same stadiums over and over and over, so I'm not just going to the ones that I haven't been to. And uh the other thing is, since I started the quest, they've added uh 19 new Division I schools to the uh the overall mix. So the goalposts kept keep getting uh moved back on me a little bit, as we like to say. Uh so fast forward, I started the blog in 2008. Uh I have a loyal um you know readership of that blog, and and um 2017, 2018, I think it was, I was at the Rose Bowl in uh Pasadena, and Penn State was playing USC. And I was having a uh tailgate with some friends, we had a tent set up, we had games going, music, grills, beer, all that kind of stuff. We're having a lot of stuff. All the good stuff that you you very well know, Luke. And uh we started seeing all these people from Penn State walking around in a in I'll call it a nomadic state. They had 24 packs of beer on their shoulders walking around, kind of looking like, gosh, we really don't have a place to tailgate. But we have beer, we have beer, and um, so we're we're we're seeing all these people, and then you know, lo and behold, next to us is a group of Penn State people tailgating out of the trunk of their car, Cheetos flying all over, warm beer, all of that. And we're like, Hell, hey guys, come on over here, why don't you guys join us? Uh, and they did, and they had the absolute best time, and they're asking me, Do you do this all the time? And I go, you know what? I go, sometimes I throw a tailgate, sometimes I get invited to tailgates, and I said, Sometimes I'm just like you. I'm that person sitting there out of the trunk of their car watching everybody else have a great tailgate. And uh so it was later, later on on my drive back from Pasadena, uh, at the time I was living up in Northern California, it dawned on me. I said, Well, there's the business model. Um, the business model is there are always people that want to go to a tailgate, and there's always people that love to have guests at tailgates, whether it's a family-run tailgate, a group of friends, or even a professional event. Um, and so the model really became apparent to me, and it was like, we can make this almost like an Airbnb slash dating app of connecting people that want a tailgate. And uh so we went in and incorporated the business, did all the proper legal due diligence, et cetera, and uh we set up a business. And um, that's really kind of the genesis of how it all started, Luke.

Luke 4:01

And it remind me, what year did Tailgate Connect officially kick off and launch?

Incorporated 2017, first real season 2018

Dan 4:06

Yeah, so it it was uh incorporated in 2017, our first real season was 2018, uh, when we actually had a number of college hosts around the country that we started sending guests to.

Luke 4:18

Excellent. So if I'm hearing everything correctly, so it's like an Airbnb style for tailgators. So one of the things that comes to my mind is like especially like when I'm traveling, like I can't bring all my tailgating goodies with me. So I assume like that's that's one piece of it that can make it kind of easy button tailgating. Like you fly in and you just show up at at a tailgate and they had it's all all inclusive. Is that is that a fair statement?

Dan 4:40

Absolutely. So uh you hit it right on the head because I I you know I had numerous times I'd fly into different cities and we go to a Walmart on Friday night and buy grills and coolers and all the things that we needed to have our own tailgate. Well, how am I going to get that home? I had to throw it all out on Sunday morning. Um, so how the model works is they come to our website, um, let's just say that they're going to uh a game at LSU and they notice that we have multiple tailgate options at LSU. They select whatever package that they want. Um they put their credit card into our website, they pay us. We then in turn pay the local tailgate host uh who is going to end up hosting these people at their their tailgate. And to your point, the word all-inclusive is uh or the words all inclusive are what we like to use. We never like to say all you can eat and all you can drink because that sounds a bit gluttonous or promoting too much uh too much drinking. But essentially that's what it is. They show up, they're part of the tailgate, uh, you know, they get to drink, eat, listen to music, play games, whatever's there. Uh it's their tailgate to enjoy at that point.

Luke 5:45

So tell tell the viewers at home a little bit more like college football, NFL, like how many hosts do you have out there? Like, what does that look like with the expansiveness of where they can come tailgate?

40+ college markets, 24 NFL markets

LSU has 3, Missouri has 2, Louisville has 2, Utah has 2

Dan 5:56

You got it. Excellent. So we're in over 40 college markets right now, and some of those college markets we have multiple tailgates at. Um uh LSU, for example, has three. I know Missouri, we have two, Louisville Cardinals, we have two, North Dakota State, we have two, Utah, we have two. Uh so it kind of goes on and on. Just depends on what the demand looks like that's out there. Uh NFL, I think we're up to 24 markets right now in the NFL. Uh, a few of those we actually have multiple tailgate options as well. Um, so our our uh uh Saturdays and Sundays from late August all the way through Super Bowl Sunday um are you know very much action-packed right now.

Luke 6:37

I can I can imagine, and I'm all for that. I am ready for football. Not that's the only thing we can tailgate for, but like that is really fun to get out there with college and NFL tailgating, so I'm excited about that, just like I'm sure everybody listening to the show right now is too. So Dan, tell me this, because like I know for myself, like as a kid, like I I went tailgating early on, like you know, before I was 10 years old, to like South Carolina Game Cod games. I kind of fell in love with like being outside, having food, everybody's happy. Like what like what is your why? Like, why do you love tailgating?

Dan 7:12

Yeah, that's that's a great question. So probably stems from, first of all, uh you know, I have a passion in college football, obviously. Uh my my quest to actually go to all of these different stadiums, uh, etc., started in 2004 when my brother and myself we did two different weekends that year where we hit three games each weekend, three different stadiums.

College football pageantry — traditions, songs, mascots, local food

The tailgate becomes more than the game

Going to a new tailgate is like going to a new country

Luke 7:33

That's a full.

Dan 7:34

So so for me, for for for college, it all started because there's so much pageantry around college football, the traditions, the songs, the mascots, the the slogans, the sayings, etc. Um and all of that really shows itself during the tailgate. Um it's it's it's the tailgate to me becomes more than the game itself because you get to really enjoy all of those different elements. And then depending on what city you're in, local food, uh types of food, types of drinks, etc., are gonna be different from market to market that you go in. And so it's almost like going to a new country every time you go to a new tailgate at a at a school. Um, it's always gonna be different than the last one that you went to. So probably, you know, that that's what rolls into it for me. And you know, and as you know too, Luke, I do like to drink a beer or two, so uh doing time. Just guessing just guessing here. Doing that in an environment prior to uh to a college football game, and now you know I also like the NFL as well, but you know, my my original passion was was college football.

19 new schools added — still going

Luke 8:44

Sure. Sure, and and with that passion, you mentioned it and alluded to it earlier with your quest to go to a tailgate for all Division I schools. So tell us like how is that quest coming? Let people know you said the goalpost had been moved. Like, what is the total number of D1 teams right now that are on the list for you to achieve the objective?

They will absolutely add more

Dan 9:03

Got it. So so when I started the quest, there were 117 Division I stadiums. Um so I have now hit just about 117 D1A stadiums. However, we have 136 programs now. So I have 19 more to go. Um I will probably knock off about six or seven of those this fall because I'm also going back to a number of different venues that I've been to in the past uh multiple times. So I anticipate at the rate that I'm going right now, it's it's probably another two or three years before I complete the quest.

Luke 9:37

Unless they move the goalpost again, right? And increase the number of D1 schools out there.

Dan 9:43

And they will. Absolutely. Uh to throw into that too, Luke. I I you know I go to FCS Games, Division I, Division or Division II, Division III games as well. So it's it's not just for me, it's it's uh the journey itself. Uh and in that journey, you take some side steps and you get off of the main path and you do some of the other other things like the Division II and Division III games. They can be just as much fun as a big Division I A school.

Keeps going back to favorites — Army Navy 10 times

Luke 10:10

And and I I think the whole point of this still was for you to have fun, right? It's a cool like mission and objective, but like as long as you're having fun on the way, even if you do a couple of duplicates here and there, like that's that's the main thing.

The culture matters — Penn State on White Out weekend

Dan 10:20

That is 100% true. 100% true. And that's why I go back to some of them. Like I've done Army Navy ten times now, uh, and I'll continue to do that one. Uh I've been to some stadiums over 40 times individually. Um, and you know, because it's fun. If it wasn't fun, I wouldn't go back.

Luke 10:37

Trust me, I'm the same way as I like to experience because like you said, the culture, right? Go into like a game at Penn State versus a game in LSU, like they're both amazing, but it's very different the type of culture and what you're gonna see at those tailgaten events. So I that's one of the reasons why I love this in exploring too. But sometimes you find some that are maybe either closer to home or maybe you have some friends and connections with, and you end up going to those a few more times versus maybe trying to diversify and get all of the what is it, 137 schools that are done for 136. Yep, yeah. You're all right.

What are your top tailgates?

Dan 11:12

You're right.

The Mount Rushmore of tailgates — depends on the experience

Luke 11:12

All right. So given you've been you've been traveling across the country for years now experiencing this, I know one of the things that I love to hear, I'm sure others do too. Name your top three tailgating venues. Who's up? Who's making that top three?

Dan 11:27

The Mount Rushmore of tailgates. The Mount Rushmore of tailgates. All right, so let me let me start by saying that it also, your your perception of what the best one is going to be is also based upon who you're with that weekend, where you tailgated at, um, you know, how was the overall environment, etc. And for me it goes into also how friendly are the people, how welcoming, accommodating are the people that are, you know, the the locals at that particular venue. Um let me let me think about this in reverse order because I I will I will upset some people for sure.

Bonus: Army Navy — the mission of the schools matters

Luke 12:07

I get asked that question a lot too, and it's that doesn't mean other schools are bad, it's just like like you said, there are different impacts with the who you're with, the where it is, you know, the weather. Like there's so many different things that could influence just go into a place one time and making a determination based on that.

Third Mount Rushmore pick

Dan 12:21

100%. And and let me throw this in. This this would be kind of the uh the the bonus one. Uh Army Navy. You know, it's it's at a different different venue these days. Used to pretty much always be in Philadelphia, but for for a five-year period, they're taking it everywhere else than Philadelphia, uh Baltimore, New York, Foxboro, and DC, etc. If you can get to an Army Navy game and go there early and enjoy all of the pageantry, the patriotism, et cetera, please do so. Um it's really, really unique and hard to beat. Uh, and you got the kids that are out there playing the game when you're in the stadium. You know, most of them will never sniff an NFL contract. You know, every now and then you do have that one that will do so. Um I would have to say that it's really, really hard to argue about the uniqueness of Olmiss. And you know, most of us will consider the Grove the uh tailgating mecha capital of the world just because it's holy grail, if you will. The holy grail. It is it is so unique. And what's unique about that is that you don't have guys and and gals wearing you know khaki shorts and and you know cut-up jeans and things like that. People dress to the nines for that. Chandeliers, I understand, could be out there as well. There are chandeliers, fine china, candelabras. Uh every tent is trying to kind of compete with the tent next to them, or at least stay stay on par with them. What the grove is, it's a it's a parcel of land in the middle of campus, not far from the uh Vaught Hemingway Stadium, that on Friday nights, um, at a certain time, I'm gonna say it's nine o'clock, there's almost what we would consider the old Oklahoma land rush, where I don't know, hundreds of kids basically who are hired by the people that that have all the tailgates on Saturday, they will run out, set up their their area where they're actually gonna have their tailgate, put the tents in place, and they're ready to go for the next day. So it's like get there or you're not gonna have your spot. But what I also hear is that most people always have the same spot. There's a certain level of respect, etc., that we're not gonna try to take somebody's spot. Uh it'd be like walking into uh uh Cheers Bar, uh Rest in Peace, Norm, and sitting at Norm's stool. If you ever remember the episode when I do, yeah, yeah. Uh anyway, so so so it's so unique. Uh, and again, as I mentioned before, everybody is dressed to the nines. The food is outstanding. Um, and you know, one of the things I said about the pageantry before, when you're walking around at that tailgate or just sitting in the tailgate, you'll hear people go into what they call their hottie-totty chant. It's a it's an oldness chant. Um, and people will say it repeatedly all day long. Just like if you're at the University of Tennessee, you're gonna hear Rocky Top being sung all day long. Um, so it's it to me was just so so unique, Luke. Um, that uh you know I did that relatively early in my quest, um, probably about the 10-year mark or so.

Baton Rouge for an LSU game — preferably a night game

Luke 15:19

Alright, so you've given us your first two. What's your last one that's gonna make your top three best tailgates people have to go to?

Dan 15:26

Alright. So, Battle Rouge for an LSU game, and preferably an LSU night game. And the reason I say that is that LSU night games, first and foremost, are legendary. It goes back to when uh Billy Cannon back in, I don't know, was it 1960 or 61, uh scored the winning touchdown in a game, and apparently the fans cheered so loud that it was measured on a Richter scale. So LSU was always known for night football at Tiger Stadium. The best part about that, if the game's at seven o'clock, guess what time the tailgate starts?

Luke 16:01

Uh about seven a.m.

Dan 16:02

That's about right. So you believe.

Luke 16:17

Anybody's mouth at one of some as as they went by, and the national anthem came on at the beginning of the half the stadium pulled out a flask. And I was like, they take it seriously, they are going to have fun, and it is an it is kind of an aggressive nightcrowd, so it is harder to play in there if you're the opposing team at night for sure, and that's one of the reasons why.

Been in the "watching from outside" group too

Dan 16:38

Very much so. Um so so let's talk about it. Let's just say you you showed up at 7 a.m., which um I have. I've been to multiple games down there, and uh you'll tailgate, you'll start with a breakfast uh serving at at uh whoever your host is, uh, then you'll move on to probably a mid-afternoon type type serving of some sort of food. But you're drinking the entire time. You're playing games, you're meeting some of the most friendly people, so long as you did not come from Alabama or one of the other programs that might be a hated rival. But if you're with a school that they don't typically you know see a lot or or aren't threatened, they're gonna treat you really good. Um the food, let's talk about the food. When I said before how it's almost like going to a different country every tailgate, um LSU is a country into its own or unto its own. Um we've had everything from uh do you know what uh Bodin is? It's it's spelled Bodin. Um and when you have the big witch's kettle uh pots with the the ore that they're making up, the different um uh not stews, but gumbos and and things like that or boils. The food is off the hook um at LSU tailgates. It's it's really hard to beat, and every tent wants to have something so unique, and it's not like they repeat the menu every week. Uh most of them are doing something really, really cool and different every single week, and they take a lot of pride in that. Um, and the Tiger fans are just a very proud and faithful group. And and you know, since you've been there, Luke, you also know that there's 90-some thousand people going into the stadium, and there's sometimes you might have 90,000 that don't ever even make it in. There's still a lot of people.

Luke 18:19

I've been one of those in some tailgates too, just to have a fun house out of the game's going on, no doubt.

Dan 18:24

Absolutely right. Um, so you know, to me, that's that's one of the most amazing experiences that that anybody could have. I've been there, I don't know, four or five times now, and I've I've never had a bad time there. And I've been to different tailgates almost every time. Um so high highly recommend all three of those um uh for you guys. And you know, there's there's some others that are really high on my list as well. If you go to Tennessee and you get a chance to sailgate, uh we actually sailgated at the University of Washington, which, you know, I don't know what their typical tailgating is like on land, but I can tell you when you sailgate and then pull up to it to the stadium and get picked up by a water taxi and they take you in, that is that's really unique. It's next level. A lot of fun. It is next level. It is.

Luke 19:09

Alright, so we heard about three of the ones that you gotta go to at some point. Dare I ask, is there is there a venue that someone shouldn't go to? And it's it's hard to even like think about with the tailgate, but like, is there one where you're just like, oh, this one just didn't go well?

Fresno State, pull your stuff together

Dan 19:27

I will never go back to one, and I and I actually went there three different times, but it was the last time that I went, and I'll tell you about it. So my uh oldest daughter went to Boise State, and she was there during the heyday of when Kellen Moore was there, and they had you know 18 to 20 guys go on to the NFL. So they were they were really, really good. Um by the time her senior year rolled around, they didn't have the same level of talent, and um they were playing at Fresno State. So I drove down to Fresno State. Fresno State had a quarterback named David Carr, and they had a wide receiver named Devonta Adams on that team. So they were pretty good. Familiar names. And they were looking to get some payback uh because you know they had been pounded on probably for the last five, six years by Boise State. Um so they got their payback that night. And they ended up beating Boise State, and I was there with a group of friends, and the Fresno fans were feeling their oats, we'll say. And they spotted anybody who was wearing a Boise hat, shirt, whatever, and started talking smack. But it wasn't just fun smack. It was I'm gonna kill you type smack. That is that is definitely not the fun tail games that we want to go to. So I looked around at the stadium the fourth quarter, and there's only a couple hundred boise fans that are left. And literally, uh myself and the the guys that I were was with, we ended up having to sprint out of the stadium, sprint to our car, which is about, I don't know, a third of a mile away, maybe half mile away, and then get the heck out of there. And all three of us said when we got into the car, never coming back to this place again. And and they talk smack the entire game, and it wasn't it wasn't even funny. I'm okay with you know ribbing and things like that. When people want to kind of take it to that next level, that's that's not collegiate. That just doesn't work for me. So Fresno State would never go back.

Never had an experience like that anywhere else

Luke 21:21

Alright, Fresno State, pull your stuff together, is what we're hearing on this podcast right now. But again, from my and tell me, like, my experience is I luckily have not excuse me, had any like issues like that going to different tailgates. Like, is that is that a one-off, or have there been other ones that have been close to that experience?

Dan 21:40

Nothing close. I I've never had a I've never had an experience like that anywhere else. And I've I've worn uh you know, my my I have several teams. I'm I'm a college football polygamist. So whether it's Notre Dame, Oklahoma, or Boise in the past, you know, I I will wear my colors to opposing stadiums and had never been been You know, threatened like that before.

Luke 22:02

All right. Well, Fresno State, if anyone's listening out there, if you want to invite Dan back to one and show him some hospitality, you can get in contact with us. We'd love to make that happen. All right.

When it's Luke's time — want people to have a tailgate

Dan 22:21

Okay. So I had an uncle who's my namesake, is he's Uncle Dan, and uh uh you know, he stepped in as as kind of a father figure figure throughout my life. Um, you know, lots of uh lots of inspiration. Um, you know, was drinking scotch with him at a at a younger age, uh, that kind of thing. So great guy. Great guy. Uh he passed away in 2008, and uh we showed up at his wake, and you know, we had about an hour before the actual wake started, so we tailgated in the parking lot of his wake. Uh, we had a funeral tailgate. Um there were a lot of people walking by giving giving us the eye, etc. And we're like, you don't understand, my uncle would be doing this right now if he was here too. Uh so I'd have to say that's probably one of the stranger places that I've actually tailgated at. But it you know, it didn't feel abnormal knowing that we were celebrating you know this guy's life in the same way he probably would have done it himself. But yeah.

300+ tailgates together — loses count

Luke 23:21

Yeah, no, and uh, you you may be like me in respect where it's like, when when it's my time to go, I want everyone to do that for me as well, too. It's like remember me for what it was, have some fun, don't shed a tear because live life to the fullest, right? Absolutely. Good stuff. All right, so tell me this. You've been to a lot of tail tell me how many tailgates? I know you you're quantifying by school, but when you look at the totality of how many times you've actually been to a tailgate, what's a rough number on that?

Dan 23:49

Oh man, it's it's gotta be over 300 at this point.

Luke 23:53

Yeah, I heck, I thought it might be even higher than that.

Dan 23:56

But with that being said, I lose count, Luke.

Luke 23:59

That's fair. We talked about having two or three beers in some of these. That that could impact it, right? That is correct. All right, so tell me this then. What does a tailgate need? Tell me one thing a tailgate needs to be an epic tailgate. If there's just one thing that tailgators out there can can take away and say, all right, if I do this or have this, I'm set up for success.

People make the tailgate — that's it

Dan 24:22

This is this is gonna resonate with you uh personally. It doesn't necessarily benefit any you know product manufacturers, spirit companies, any of that. A tailgate has to have a good vibe. It has to have a vibe. Um it's the same type of thing. When you walk into a bar or restaurant, if it doesn't have a vibe, which I learned years ago from one of my daughters, that word vibe. If it doesn't have that, I'm gonna turn around and walk out. So if you walk into a tailgate and the vibe is not there or it's off, it's not gonna be a good tailgate. But if you walk in, you you'll know it right away. You'll you'll pick up on the vibe. So like I said, it's nothing physical, nothing tangible. Um, you can't taste it, eat it, throw it, um, whatever, or watch it. It's it's a vibe. And that's what you have to have. And it's it's it's set by the people that are there.

Luke introduced Dan to a game — the little disc game

Luke 25:13

That's where I was gonna go. I feel like that comes back to me. The most important part of every tailgate is the people, right? And so the people are gonna dictate a positive, a negative, or an off-vibe, so to speak. So it comes back to the people at the end of the day. 100%. Alright, tell me this. You're out there. They got some games out there. What's your favorite tailgating game that you love to play when you're tailgating?

Is Dan the old guy at the frat party? Just did it at daughter's CU graduation

Dan 25:36

Alright, well, you've introduced me to a few through the years as well, too. I I got hooked on that uh that little uh dual ring toss one. Oh yeah. You and I first played that at uh uh 2019 Hornball Tailgating LSU' Hornball Tailgating. So I have a couple of those, and I I'll I'll take those and play. I even play those at home when people come over, etc. But I I'm probably a traditionalist. I still love cornball or or uh cornhole, uh, but I love table games. Um, so beer pong is your standard standard table game. But uh my daughters taught me, I don't know, it was seven, eight years ago, a game called Rage Cage. All the college kids play it, etc. It is a ton of fun, it can get very aggressive, and as long as you can bounce a ball, a little ping-pong ball, into a cup, it could be one cup, it could be twenty cups, because there's a stacking thing that happens in that. Um, you're gonna do just fine. So I I love Rage Cage and and beer pong.

Luke 26:33

So is it fair to say, are you are you that guy that shows up at like a frat party and everybody's like, oh, look at this guy, and then you just wipe the floor with people playing some of these games?

Dan 26:43

Just did it a week and a half ago at my daughter's graduation at Colorado Boulder. Um there were there were kids running away from the table after I got done.

Best tailgate food — LSU stuff stands out

Gumbos, boiled seafood — LSU is the food standard

Luke 26:52

Epic. Epic. That's what see everybody at home, 300 tailgates. You will be a professional drinking games champion as well, too, if you train my dad. Don't try it at home. If we shift gears, though, to the grill. What's the what's the one thing? If you can only have one thing at a tailgate to eat, what's your favorite all-time tailgating grub?

Dan 27:15

Wow. Okay, so this this man, it it's probably some of the stuff I've had at LSU. Um, some of the stuff, but the gumbos that they make in those pots. Um, fantastic. But you know, I go to Ole Miss, and Ole Miss does like you know, a smoked pork butt that's wrapped in bacon, um, that's you know, savory and mouth watering, all of that kind of stuff. Uh let's just go, let's go with the gumbo at LSU. If I had one, if I had to have, and it's usually with all fresh ingredients, you know, locally caught shrimp. Um there, they they don't go and get frozen bags of stuff to make it. They're making this stuff with you know their own sweat and blood, and some of them even fish for their own shrimps.

Luke 27:56

Hopefully that's not in the in the cauldron pot, so to speak. As they're making it. I don't know who that has the flavor, who knows?

Dan 28:02

In the early season it probably is because it's a hundred and a hundred and hell at uh in a September game there.

Texas in early September — checking the schedule

Luke 28:08

So I'm already like penciling games in and I'm looking at some. It's like Texas in early September or Ohio or Michigan. Hmm, which one feels a little bit nicer outside? Yep. I think we know. All right. Um, so being at all these tailgates, like one of the things that uh I don't know if I coined this term, but it came to me failgating, like a failure at a tailgate. What's the what's the worst failgating thing you've ever seen uh touring the country at the tailgates where something just went horribly wrong for a tailgate or for a person in general?

Police car story — something happened at Florida Georgia

Dan 28:43

Okay. So personally to me, two years ago, um I had I back it up. Three years ago, I had gone to the Florida Georgia game. That had always been a bucketless game for me. Uh the Florida Georgia Games played at a neutral site in Jacksonville every year, and they used to call it the world's largest outdoor cocktail party. So I'd always wanted to go. So I had gone and had a great time. And then the following year, my high school buddies, they're still a good group of us of about eight or nine that still uh get together every year, and now we always go to a different, different college football game as one of our getaways. And I said, let's let's go back to the Florida-Georgia game. It was so much fun. So I had set us up with um a company I didn't know that ran a professional tailgate, and I had everyone buy buy tickets to the tailgate. And uh we showed up at the tailgate, and it wasn't cheap. It was a professional event company as well, too. It wasn't cheap. Um, they only had warm beer, and much to your liking, Luke, it was IPA's, not not my kind of beer, which I'm old school lager, uh, pretty much, or a pilsner. And uh there was no food left except for a few little hot dogs that were floating around in a vat of grease. And I felt horrible because I was the one that had suggested this. And and there were a couple of the guys in the in the in the group that were like, wait, aren't you supposed to be the professional tailgator, Dan? Tailgate whisperer, if you will. And this is what you came up with. Yeah, so I I felt like I failed my crew, and um it was really, really bad. So so we left. Within 45 minutes, we left. And um at at the the Florida, Georgia game, they have there's some like kind of public outdoor venues, you can go and get beer, etc. So I went and bought everybody these these massive beers. They're like in the shape of a football, and I think it was like three beers, and I go, beers on me, guys. I feel really bad about this. So I thought that sucked. Uh it was bad. Now, go back to 2018. I was at a game at Penn State. I didn't know this had happened because we, you know, we were in a different part of um uh you know the area where we were tailgating. But there's an area that tends to get really rowdy, from what I understand. And apparently they sent in some uh law enforcement helicopters to break up a particular tailgate. And um it hovered up. What's a heck of a tailgate? It hovered, it hovered so low what it did. It started pulling the tents out of the ground, and the tents were flying up in the air, and apparently some of them you know spun around and then they hit people. So some people got injured in that whole thing. It was uh if you can look up the date, it was when Ohio State played at Penn State. I'm pretty sure it was 2018. Uh ESPN uh game of the week, ESPN was there that day, all that kind of stuff, uh, night game. But uh that didn't happen to me personally. I was there that day, but I thought, man, that'd be a horrible way to finish the tailgate, though.

It probably got out of control

Luke 31:42

Yeah, I feel like I don't remember hearing about this. I feel like that would have been hopefully nobody was actually injured from that, but that just sounds like if you were there watching it, you'd be like, did I have one too many drinks? Am I saying this correctly right now?

Hindsight is 2020 — still supreme tailgating

Dan 31:54

Mm-hmm. Yep. That's uh that that's probably what what what happened. I I you know, I'm sure it probably got out of control, but if you ask me, that's not the that's not the right tool to use to break up a tailgate.

Luke 32:06

Probably not. I'm sure it was one of these hindsight 2020, but that does sound like some supreme tailgating right there, if you will. So I would say good stuff, but maybe that's bad stuff in this in this particular circumstance. So, Dan, now a serious question. Like you kind of led me into this one. Let's put a hypothetical game. You're at the tailgate, you showed up, you opened the cooler. Only thing in the cooler to drink, IPAs. There's no liquor, there's no lagers, it is IPAs, everything from West Coast to uh New England hazy IPAs. Are you drinking anything or are you gonna be the DD that night?

Dan 32:49

I don't know if I've ever been a DD at a tailgate Luke, so this puts me in a precarious position. If there happened to be a blonde IPA, uh lighter to the touch, not fruity, citrusy, any of that that type of stuff, oh yeah. Then then then I won't be too picky.

Luke 33:09

So I feel like I have to ask a question too. Like, when's the last time you had an IPA? And what type of IPA was it?

It IS an IPA — and Dan drinks it

Does it actually qualify? Luke will look it up

Dan 33:16

Alright, so so technically, when I'm uh in Florida, um in uh uh we live in the Santa Rosa Beach area about half the year, there's there's a local beer called 30A Blonde, and technically it is an IPA, and I do drink that. Um so as much crap as I give you about IPAs, I guess I guess I'm uh I'm a little bit of a phony on that then, Luke, because I do like that. It's a blonde, it's not you know anything with with uh you know flavored, taste, etc. But it's I I it I find it quite tasty.

Final question: why should people buy tickets from Tailgate Connect?

Get out there and enjoy more than just the game

Luke 33:48

I'm gonna have to look that one up and see. Does it actually qualify for an IPA? I hope that it does, just so we can uh you know have an IPA together one of these days, but good stuff. All right, Dan, leave us with this. Why should people go out and buy some tailgating tickets from Tailgate Connect after the show?

Dan 34:07

Well, uh hopefully some of the stories that I told you today might might spurn some interest in people going to the tailgates again, whether it's the NFL or college, even in the NFL, every NFL team has some of their own traditions, uh, their own gear that they wear, food, etc. But get out there and enjoy more than just the game itself. Anyone can sit back and watch a game on TV from home, but you know what? You're probably getting one-tenth of the experience if that's all you do. And I I love watching the game, don't get me wrong. But get there, go to the tailgate. Uh you meet so many people. Luke, I mean, you and I became friends because of our passion for tailgating.

Luke agrees

Dan's speed dial is full of tailgate friends

Some tailgates from 20 years ago still stand out

Luke 34:47

I agree.

Dan 34:48

Um I have more people in my speed dial now from tailgating than I probably did in college and high school, and I still keep in touch with all those people. Um so you meet a ton of great people that are out there, you learn so much, um, and you're gonna have so much more of a better experience by doing that and then the game. And you know, just like you asked me some questions today, there's some tailgates that still stick out in my head that were 20 years ago because they were so much fun.

Luke 35:15

For sure. So what I'm understanding is tailgating equals having more friends. There we go, right there. So we solved all the problems out there to make the world a better place with tailgating. You got it, brother. Good stuff. All right, well, that was Dan Dolly, the creator, the founder, the guru of tailgating, and the mastermind behind Tailgate Connect. And the reason we have this podcast today, Dan, thanks for joining us. And don't worry, everybody at home, we have a lot of other fun guests. They'll try to live up to Dan's stature and stories this coming tailgating season. So make sure you stay tuned for future episodes. I'm Luke. This was Dan. Hope you enjoyed the show, and we hope to see you and Connect at a tailgate soon.

Music 35:57

Tailgate connect somewhere for you for the drinking friends under sky so blue.