Tailgate party

What it is

A tailgate party gathers people in a car park beside a sports ground or concert hall, around vehicles with their rear doors open. The gathering takes its name from the tailgate, the hinged flap at the back of a car, truck or van. Fans bring their own food, grills and drink and share them with the people parked nearby. Not everyone owns a vehicle with a tailgate, and that makes no difference to taking part. These parties are meant to stay non-commercial. Selling to other fans is frowned on and can be treated as illegal soliciting.

Food and drink

Eating and drinking are central. Alcohol or soft drinks are common, and meat is usually cooked on a grill at the car. Hamburgers, hot dogs, bratwurst and steak turn up often, alongside buffalo wings and baked beans. Cold dishes such as coleslaw and potato salad are brought from home. Snacks include potato or tortilla chips with guacamole. In the southern United States and in subtropical places, some groups fry seafood and pass it round. One pimento cheese brand, Palmetto Cheese, began at tailgate parties held by supporters of the Atlanta Braves.

Games and music

Lawn games fill the hours before kick-off, and they are popular partly because they need so little equipment. Cornhole, KanJam, ladder golf, Polish horseshoes, Jarts, washer pitching, Louisville Chugger and Sholf all appear. Some of them carry the flavour of drinking games because of where they are played, and beer pong and flipcup are played too. Fans also throw footballs or soccer balls about. Music comes from car stereos or portable speakers. Some groups go further and run a television, aerial or satellite dish and a generator off their vehicle, so that people can watch another match while they eat.

Where it happens

Tailgating belongs mainly to the United States and Canada. It is closely tied to American and Canadian football and now appears before basketball, hockey, baseball and soccer fixtures too. Because so many North American sports grounds have wide car parks on their doorstep, the party often sits right at the entrance. The habit has travelled with the game: where American football is played in Europe, some of its match-day customs have been copied from the NFL, the CFL and college football, and tailgating is among them. Weddings, cultural festivals and concerts host these gatherings as well.

Support and rules

Tailgate parties do more than feed people. In schools and towns across the United States, coaches, athletic departments and parents use post-game gatherings to hold a team's supporters together. Smaller programmes with little money lean on parents and friends who volunteer to cook for players and coaching staff after a competition, which builds support that lasts from year to year. Rules have shifted too. In 2007 the NFL stopped tailgating before the Super Bowl, citing security; many fans doubted that and a petition followed in 2008. In 2019 Ontario allowed personal drinking outside sports venues, opening the way for tailgate-style events.

How Tailgate party is kept

Supporters drive to the ground early, often several hours before the start, and park in rows in the car park. They open the back of the vehicle, set up a grill or a table and lay out food and drink. Neighbours in the next space are offered a share, and the cooking and eating go on until kick-off. Lawn games, music and talk fill the time. Some people pack up and go in for the match. Others stay behind and keep the party going. After the game, a smaller version of the same gathering sometimes happens again.

When and where

The party happens on match day, in the hours before a game, a festival or a concert, and sometimes after it as well. There is no fixed date on the calendar. It follows whatever is being held at the stadium or arena, so the timing changes with each season and each venue.

Tailgating is strongest in the United States and Canada, in the car parks of stadiums and arenas. Some American football games in Europe carry the same custom, because those competitions took many match-day habits from the NFL, the CFL and college football. Weddings, cultural festivals and concerts also host them.

What Tailgate party means

For the people who take part, the car park is part of the occasion rather than a place to wait. Sharing food and drink with strangers parked alongside turns a crowd of strangers into neighbours for a few hours. Supporters use these gatherings to show loyalty to a team and to a school. In the Simpsons episode "Any Given Sundance", Homer tells his family that the game itself counts for nothing next to the party.

Questions people ask about Tailgate party

See also

Caffè sospesoAn anonymous gift of a paid cup of coffee for a stranger in needLangarThe free kitchen at a gurdwara, where all sit and eat together as equalsRussian tea cultureThe everyday cup of Russia, brewed strong and diluted to taste, with jam and sweetsAfternoon teaA late-afternoon spread of tea, small sandwiches and cakes, kept across Britain

Good reading and sources

• Tailgate party on WikipediaEncyclopedia
• More photos on Wikimedia CommonsPhotos and video
• Wikidata recordOpen data

It may contain mistakes. Traditions differ from one family, village and community to the next, and the people who keep them know them best. If something is wrong, tell us. Last refreshed 2026-10-05.