The end of August means the beginning of football season. And football season means tailgating parties. When you and your crew want the best tailgating experience at whatever football game gets you revved up, follow these tips. Your favorite team might not fare well, but you’ll have a winning season anyway.

Keep Your Cool

Football tends to fan the flames of passionate fans, but for the tailgating party, you need to keep your cool. A well-stocked cooler is crucial for any successful tailgate gathering.

Cooler Collection

For both ease of access and for best health, plan to have multiple coolers on hand. Un-cooked food and other perishable items should chill in their own cooler. Your Coca-Cola products can fill a different cooler. A third cooler can be stocked with clean ice for everyone’s drinks. Keeping everything separated will help to avoid any food-related illness mishaps.

Cooler Packs

Try reusable cooler packs in addition to bags of ice, especially for the food cooler. They stay cold a lot longer than regular ice, and they won’t fill the cooler with water as they warm up. Who wants to eat a bratwurst that’s been swimming in cooler water for an hour?

Another DIY solution is to fill a half-gallon jug with really salty water and freeze it overnight without the lid. The next morning, cap it and place it in the cooler. The frozen jug will be colder than regular ice and will cool for a lot longer.

Multiple Choice

Variety is the spice of life, right? Offer multiple main items, like hotdogs, hamburgers, chicken, and shrimp. No tailgate party ever had too many bags of chips. And of course, you can never have enough Coke products on hand.

Game Time

No…not the game. The games you play before the real game begins. Make sure someone brings the corn hole, or cards, or…whatever games work for your group. The point is to have a good time before the actual game begins, so let loose with some backyard games.

Courtesy is Key

Don’t get too out of control with the games, though. Nobody wants to take a flying disc to the head while he’s munching a burger. Having a good time is fine, but be courteous to the other tailgaters. Be especially nice to the opposing team’s fans. A little rivalry goes a long way. Save the diehard fan stuff for the stadium.