Traveling Tailgate Part I: Organizing the Trip

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By Yelena Johnson
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Traveling Tailgate Part I: Organizing the Trip

The Joys of Tailgating

Round up the guys and start an annual tradition of visiting one new stadium each year to watch your home team play.

Plan your yearly guys' getaway until you've tailgated at all 32 stadiums. Inspired by our friend Matt Walker (and his very own group of traveling tailgaters), we'll cover all the details in this two-part guide to the traveling tailgate.

According to Walker, the inspiration for the traveling tailgate started during a family trip down to watch the Jets play in Carolina. They always had season tickets to Jets games, but this particular trip prompted Walker to form a group of guys that were gung-ho about the idea of making it an annual tradition.

If you have a group of friends who all root for the same team, then you've found your perfect travel team. But you can also look past the obvious and use this as a way to help strengthen family bonds between generations -- get Grandpa, your sons, brothers, and close cousins involved to create meaningful memories that will last a lifetime. For details on how to implement your Traveling Tailgate on game day, check out Part Two.

Tips

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How To Begin Planning Your Trip

Here are some essential tips to get your traveling tailgate started.

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Choose Your Destination

Once you've formed your group of tailgaters, it's time to pick your first destination. Here are some suggestions on how to do it:

Create a Game Plan. Would you like to start on one coast and make your way over to the opposite one? Go North to South?

Decide How Many Games to Attend Each Year. Walker and his friends decided to aim for at least one traveling game (by air or a long drive) and one or two closer games.

Check the Schedule. Once you know how many games you plan to attend, check the game schedule against everyone else’s. You’ll come up with a shortlist of games that are contenders for the upcoming season.

Be Democratic. As always, the best way to choose your destination is by majority vote. If there’s one place you would love to go in particular, lobby your case before the vote. But once the votes have been cast, remember -- majority rules.

Arranging Logistics

The best way to do this is to divide the tasks up amongst the group.

Designate:

One guy to book the airfare

One guy to book the hotel

One guy to buy the tickets

One person in charge of all game--day logistics including buying food and drinks before the game and transportation to and from the game.

Have everyone keep track of their portion of the expenses, and make a pact to settle the bill on the trip back home from the game. That way no one has to worry about shelling out and not being paid back.