Colin McEnroe Show: The Risks And Rituals Of Tailgating
We talk to students, scholars and a man obsessed with tailgating across America.
I was in the parking area next to Yale Bowl two Saturdays ago as word spread around the clumps of tailgaters that there had been a fatality in one of the lots. Details were sketchy, but everyone seemed to know that people had been hit by a motor vehicle. And for a lot of us, the shadow of that tragedy hung over the whole day. My son was with me, and he has a knack for summing things up. "Imagine dying because you decided to go to a football game," he said sadly.
The next day, I hopped in the car after stopping at the house of a friend to watch, yes, more football, and This American Life was running a repeat of its 2009 show about Penn State when it was rated the Number One Party School. I'm sure they picked it because of the current pedophilia scandal, but what jumped out instead were the descriptions of the hard-partying tailgate culture which seemed wholesome and sad and fun and dangerous all at once.
Today, we look at the risks and rituals of tailgating.
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EMAIL FROM LYNNETTE:
The 1st tailgate party I attended was about 25-30 years ago down in the Leesburg/Middleburg, Virginia area at the steeplechase events. Silver candelabras & serving pieces, elegant food, white linen tablecloths, champagne in crystal goblets, etc., with the cars parked along the fence rails and the horses thundering along nearby. It was great to get out of DC for a day in the country!
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