Sports//Top 5 Tailgating Essentials #LookBeyond

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This post was sponsored by Look Beyond as part of an Influence Central campaign and all opinions expressed in my post are my own. #LookBeyond

It’s week 4 of football season, and honestly, I’m feeling defeated. I am a NY Giants fan and they’re 0-4 so far… Meh. And with fantasy football so far I am 0-3…. I’m doing as well as my Giants are so far. We have Monday Night Football so I am hoping my opponent’s remaining players don’t score too many points and my standing will be to 1-3! Yes, I do play Fantasy Football,  it’s a paid league, and it’s the same league as my husband LOL. It’s quite comical when I have him helping me beat some of his co-workers (and failing just because my players don’t do well that week). Last year, I went to my first regular season football game, and we tailgated from early morning starting with a delicious breakfast and ending with a late dinner before heading home. We’ve tailgated previously and even did some “home” gating before/during the games we watch. So CA helped me put together the top 5 tailgating essentials for all your tailgating needs!

1.Grill – Charcoal or Gas, either way, a sturdy, reliable grill is the top need for any tailgate. Your crew isn’t going to want to hang with you for hours before the big game on an empty stomach. Make sure that before you head out, you have enough gas or charcoal to make it through multiple meals. Once you have the grill or your choice loaded up, let’s discuss the next essential…

2. Food – Let’s be honest: a tailgate without food is like a book without words. It would be pointless! Our typical tailgates are about 4 hours. Within this time you can cook breakfast and lunch. Eggs, bacon, sausage, and hash browns are my staples for breakfast. I also like to bring rolls and bagels (which can be used for lunch too). Since I usually have some days to prepare, I will marinate steak and chicken at home to bring for lunch. Chips and crackers are quick snacks to have while the food is being cooked and the beers are being consumed; which leads me to the next essential…

3. Drinks – Depending on the number of people in your tailgate party and the things they want to drink will obviously alter what you have. Water and soft drinks are good choices for anything because hydration is important too for tailgating beside eating. If you and your party are so inclined you can also include alcoholic beverages as well! All of these would go inside… 

4. Cooler (or coolers) – We’ve had some wacky weather here in New York the last few weeks. Make sure you have all your food and drinks on ice for a day of tailgating. No one likes lukewarm beer or spoiled meat. If you can stock everything up the night before, it will make your morning easier. While you stock up the coolers, don’t forget to load up…

5. Games – Hours of tailgating is better with some one-handed games. My suggestions include Cornhole (if you have space in your vehicle), KanJam (which takes up virtually no space), and FlipCup or Beer Pong (you’ll have a table for food anyway). I would also have a football with you; after all, who doesn’t love emulating their favorite players that you’re about to see in person!

There you have my top 5 Tailgating essentials! Some Honorable Mention items for a successful tailgate are a tent, chairs, blanket scarf, outerwear, sunscreen, and a TV or a Bluetooth speaker, and Look Beyond The Tailgate! What does that mean really? If you take a minute and look around your tailgate all of the different items, they have more in common than just helping you have some fun! They all contain several different components made from plastic, rubber, synthetic & waterproof fibers, such as vinyl and polyester and so much more. Which, if you didn’t know are all byproducts of natural gas and oil. There is a great initiative helping raise awareness of the importance of the natural gas and oil industries, called Look Beyond. There is a blog post called Look Beyond Tailgate that you can check out! They are helping us look beyond what we know about the natural gas and oil industries and to see how it actually makes so many different aspects of our tailgates possible! The next time you’re tailgating (maybe for week 5?), take a moment to look around and see if these are part of your tailgating essentials like they are for us.

How will you look beyond the tailgate?