Remember the days when you used to go to a football or a basketball game, and all you did was watch the game, then just go home?  Some people might argue this point, but a game without a tailgate party is just a game.  Your team will either win or lose, and you’ll either go home ecstatic or dejected.  Add a tailgate party, though, and you won’t care who wins, because it will be worth the trip either way!  Well, maybe it won’t be quite as much fun if your team loses, but at least your stomach will be happy!

But tailgating parties don’t just happen.  Okay, maybe they do.  But the best tailgate parties have had some serious thought put into them.  Here are some tips that can help you make your tailgate party a righteous one.

1. This is a no-brainer - make sure that you’ve got adequate insurance coverage (not just cheap auto insurance) before you even head out to the game. Accidents happen, even in parking lots, even when your RV is stationary.  Think about the thousands of other party goers (celebrants and mourners alike) who may have indulged a wee bit more than you did.  Now, think of them hitting your RV.  See, a no-brainer.
2. Bring more food and drink than you think you need.  Heck, it ain’t going to go to waste, is it?  Who wants to cook dinner when you’re so jazzed from your team’s win or despondent over their loss?
3. Bring lots of ice.  Use it to keep your food cool, allow it to melt for water, pour it over your head if you’re hot, or have a snowball fight.
4. Bring disposable plates and stuff.  Oh, you’re a greenie?  Consider this, do you really want to go home and wash dishes after the game?  Or ask your significant other to do it?  Do you want to live in your garage?  No.  Didn’t think so.  Go disposable.
5. Consider bringing a small generator to power up your music, run your margherita maker, or plug your portable electric ice chest into. Your battery and your alternator will thank you for easing the pressure.
6. Bring jumper cables (in lieu of a small generator).  If you’re going to be stuck in a parking lot after the game, let it be for a good reason (i.e. your tailgate party) and not because your car battery is dead.
7. Bring incidentals that make life, partying and clean-up easier - bottle opener, cork screw, first aid kit, kitchen knife, bottled water, toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizer or wipes, zip top bags and garbage bags.
8. Bring something to sit on, unless you don’t mind everyone propping their derrière on the hood or eating a drippy muffuletta sandwich inside your car, while sitting on your fine Corinthian leather seats.
9. Go with a theme, preferably team colors, but if a holiday is right around the corner, go ahead and decorate your car.  Hoist up your colors on a flag or helium balloon so your friends and family can find you at half time.
10. Go early and pick an appropriate parking spot.  What are your priorities?  Leaving quickly after the game, being near a port-a-potty, having nearby grass under your feet or shade over your head, or parking close to the picnic tables?  Don’t leave it up to chance, or you’ll wind up tailgating in the satellite lot.
11. Don’t forget to bring your tickets.  There is absolutely nothing worse than sitting in your car, in the stadium parking lot, listening to the game on the radio - a game for which you have tickets, which are, right now, sitting on your kitchen counter.
12. Actually, there is one thing worse:  you forgetting to renew your RV insurance policy and being forced to have your tailgate party in your driveway.