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While we all know the addition of Jack Daniel’s Tennessee Honey can make a tailgate, nothing can break it faster than violating local ground rules and getting shut down. Know before you go with this helpful refresher.
1. Indiana tailgates aren’t legally allowed to commence unless there is a picture of a baseball with the words “baseball sucks” written on it.
2. In Oregon, it is not only impolite, but also a misdemeanor to host a tailgate on public property without going door-to-door and inviting everyone who lives in your same zip code.
3. Tailgating in Minnesota requires one to give a thinly veiled backhanded compliment about anything someone new brings to the game—the more passive-aggressive the better. For example: “I’ve never heard of cinnamon being used in dip; that’s neat!” or “Oh, wow, these crackers are interesting!”
4. Every tailgate application filed in Maryland must ultimately be approved by governor Martin O’Malley after winning a majority approval from the voters in the state.
5. In Tennessee, opposing tailgaters must challenge one another to a fight in order to decide once and for all whether the game at hand is to be called “Bags” or “Cornhole.”
6. Tailgating formalwear is not only encouraged in New Hampshire, but in some cities, it is required.
7. In Wisconsin, groups of friends are expected to claim and colonize specific parts of the parking lot. They must live and hunt there for generations, passing on a proud lineage of children with their faces painted the appropriate team color.
8. At tailgating events in California, all ketchup must be applied via Super Soaker.
9. You can’t actually start a tailgate in North Carolina, for there is already an everlasting tailgate you must join that has been going on since long before you were born and will continue long after your children’s children have perished from this earth, as it is written.
