Lions
lose, but Tailgaters WIN!
Team
Blacktop rolled into Detroit before dawn, and began searching
for tailgaters like we always do.
But
the streets and the parking lots around the stadium were
all dark and empty.
When
we finally decided on a spot and climbed out of the Tailgating
Tour Coach, we knew why...
It
was cold!
And
just when the day started to warm up a touch, the winds
kicked up and made it even colder. Burrr! (We can't wait
to come back to SuperBowl in February!)
Lenny
and Nikki kept things cooking, though,
as they took the Freedom Grill's rotisserie
for a spin. Despite the winds, they cooked two large pork
roasts for carnitas in just a
few hours. And they were delicious!
Brandon
and Carl from Chaser came
by to meet Team Blacktop in person, and we recruited them
to be our guinea pigs... errr... judges.
When
it was time for the Taste-off, tailgaters from all over
the lot brought their recipes to compete, hoping to win
one of the great prizes we had in store: the Explorer
Grill, Kitchen Tool Set, and a
Dutch Oven... all from Camp Chef!
We
also held a drawing for a Pie Iron and
recipe book from the Tailgating Tour's newest sponsor, Rome
Industries!
We
met some great people and tasted some great food. And that's
what tailgating's all about!
***
A
word of caution, though...
While
we have had items stolen from several tailgting events,
and have encountered a few less-than-honest parking attendants
in our travels, we have tried to refrain from focusing on
these negative subjects.
But
this week, we were so blatantly scammed we thought we should
discuss it so as to prevent other tailgaters from falling
victim to similar tactics.
When
we arrived at our lot, there was no attendant on duty, so
we parked and started setting up as usual. Before long,
a man came along claiming to work for the lot and collected
money from us for parking. He gave us a ticket stub, as
well as leaflets from Ford Field. He stayed around and talked
with us for a while, asking us about the tour and assuring
us that we were okay the way we were parked.
He
didn't work for the lot.
An
hour later, when the real lot attendants arrived, they had
no idea who the man was.
Their
advice:
Always ask for ID, and make sure it matches the signage
for the lot.
Same
with the ticket stub. Check for a company name, and match
the street address for the lot.
Our
advice:
Check
with the regulars. They know these guys, and know the procedures.
The jerk who scammed us, we learned later, only came to
our spot. He completely skipped the other tailgaters, who
are there every game.
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