I went to a college that had a strong football tradition. I remember the week of a home game was quite different from any other week. People in recreational vehicles would arrive as early as Wednesday (the game was on Saturday). They would set up camp and get out their grills and have a good time. Students learned quickly to change their route to class so they could go by the RV parking lots. If they got close enough they found they could score a free meal. Some of those RVs came equipped with full kitchens. Others relied on the grill for making meals. In any case there always seemed to be a lot of food and fellowship.
This practice is called tailgating, and it is part of the American football tradition. Have you ever wondered why we do this? What is so special about this sport (and country) that makes tailgating a phenomenon? You don’t see this in other sports (maybe in NASCAR, but that is about it). And you don’t see this much, if at all, in non-sporting occasions. Can you imagine what it would be like to drive to a church service and see people in the parking log grilling out? Or what about in the parking lot of a movie theater? It is a strange practice indeed.
The first thing that could reasonably be called a tailgate happened during the Civil War. People from Washington packed picnic baskets and set up shop in the countryside of Virginia to watch the First Battle of Bull Run. People who came to watch had to bring food with them, as a carriage ride from the capital took about 7 hours.
People brought their own food to the earliest college football games too. Back then the best teams were in the Ivy League, and the people who watched the games were wealthy enough to own their own cars. I wonder what it was like to see a large group of early automobiles, probably all the same model and color, parked together? How would you ever find your own car after the game? I have enough trouble finding my car after a trip to the grocery store, and we have so many different kinds and colors of cars now.
So people starting driving to football games, and they often brought their own food with them because there were not many food or restaurant options around. Football stadiums kept getting bigger and therefore had to be constructed away from downtown areas. This meant there were no restaurants nearby. You could eat inside the stadiums, but if you chose to do that you would be subjected to monopoly pricing. As a result people would have “trunk picnics” before the game in the parking lots. The term tailgating came to be when station wagons became popular. You could fold the rear tailgate down and use it as a seat or a buffet table. It also helped that football was played in the fall during the harvest season. Food was more plentiful then.
These are all good reasons, but I would argue that there is another reason for tailgating: community. People often share food at a tailgate. Maybe this is because you have a bunch of people all around you that are all rooting for the same team. Maybe it is just because there is a spirit of camaraderie. People gather together to celebrate each other, using the football game as a kind of common ground for gathering.
When you think about it that way it starts to sound a lot like Thanksgiving. For Thanksgiving, we usually eat with family or friends in someone’s home. For tailgating (or “outside Thanksgiving”) we eat with anyone that comes by outside.
Which practice is more Christian?
Matthew 18:19-20
19 “Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. 20 For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.”
Have you ever wondered about this passage? Why does there have to be two or three (some translations say “more”)? Why can’t you just be by yourself? I think it has to do with the fact that Christianity is all about community. Christianity is meant to be shared.
What if we had Christian tailgates? What if we fostered a sense of belonging, camaraderie, and community with anyone who stopped by? What if we were more like Jesus, giving anyone would came a fish and some bread? I think Jesus would love tailgates.
God Bless