Tailgating Times - The Best...

Man up – enough already.

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Lately it seems like every time I turn on the TV or go online there’s some new commercial or marketing statement trying to sucker men into doing something simply by adding the word “man” onto the name of the activity or product. It’s never been cool but it’s really starting to get ridiculous. Frankly, I find many of these to be just plain insulting to men everywhere.

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Man cave – There was a time when a man’s home was his castle. Now apparently he gets just one room.  Even then it’s like he won the lottery and he’s “so lucky his wife lets him have his own room”. If the rest of your place looks like it belongs on the Oxygen Channel I don’t care how nice your “cave” is, to me that’s just the room where you keep your family jewels. I’m not saying your whole house should look like a bachelor pad either but your house should look like it’s your house and you should know at least some of the people in the photos on the fridge. Just keep your underwear out of the living room please, and no empty pizza boxes.

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Mancation – WTF?  When did this term come about?  Whatever happened to the road trip? Seriously, if you get your friends together to get away from work, wives, kids, or whatever call it a “trip”.  Mancation sounds like you’re all going for a joint waxing session or something, which leads me to the next one on the list…

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Manscaping – I shave every day except when I don’t have to.  Ok I lied; I don’t shave every day but I should.  Fortunately my job as a tailgating legend allows me to wear jeans and a t-shirt and shave when I feel like it but I digress.  I firmly believe in good hygiene.  Chest hair is one thing but when it starts looking like you have a turtleneck on or your back takes on the look of a primate at the zoo you’ve got to clean that sh*t up.  That’s just good grooming plain and simple. Whatever else you do is your business but when you start spending more time grooming yourself than your lawn you’ve gone too far.

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Manorexia – This sounds like a special episode of Oprah and I doubt that very many tailgaters have this problem. Anorexia is a serious illness for those that have it and I didn’t realize it was gender specific.

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Mancession – Now that the news media has gone from reporting the news to sensationalizing the news they seem to have a word for everything…”Snowpocalypse” anyone? “Snowmageddon”? Evidently this recession has been harder on men than it has on women so even Newsweek has taken to calling it a mancession.  The graphic they have to illustrate men’s job losses vs. women’s gains is kind of amusing thanks to its shape though. Maybe we really do need some ED meds to "stimulate" the economy.

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Mantry – This one comes from the New York Times, which had a food column for men by this name for several years. I’m surprised Food Network hasn’t appropriate this for one of their shows.

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Mandles – I saw this online a couple of years ago and I seriously thought it was a joke.  I guess the joke’s on me because this is a real company selling scented candles for men. Mandle Company - Candles on Testosterone.  Some of the scents include beer, leather, and swimsuit model. They even have a scent called “Tailgate” that’s supposed to be a mix of beer, pigskin, and turf…how could they forget BBQ? I do like the idea of a bacon candle though. Mmm...bacon.

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Mantastic, Manovation, etc. – These crop up anytime someone writes an article referring to something a man did or something they think men will like.  Really?  Do you think I don’t understand if you just say it’s awesome?  If anyone calls the Freedom Grill a great manovation I will seriously scream. You might as well call the wheel and the lightbulb manovations. It’s offensive and it needs to stop.  It trivializes innovation and mocks progress to use these words.

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Mankini – This term came about after the movie Borat and doesn’t need much of a description. Let’s just agree this one is seriously wrong.

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Bromance & Brocation – Ok so these don’t start with “man”.  They are just as irritating if not more so. 

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Manstruating - Another term that probably came from people spending too much time watching The View, Lifetime, or something like that. The only reason men appear to have a "time of the month" is because they are dealing with the women in their lives (and lack of sex makes some guys pretty irritable). Either that or he's just moody to begin with. Leave it alone.

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Mangina – Not much explanation needed here.  If you use all or most of the terms above and you carry a man purse, get regular “mani-pedis”, and only drink appletinis; this might be you.

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As much as I’d like to blame Jerry Seinfeld for introducing the world to the mansiere/bro and the man purse I think both of those existed long before he brought them to the world’s attention. Wherever it started, I think it’s time for it to stop. You don’t need to “reclaim your manliness” if you never lost it in the first place. Stop overcompensating. Go light a fire and grill something. Put your feet on the coffee table, drink a beer, and watch whatever you want on TV.  Just be sure to change the channel if anyone says anything on the list above.

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"Stay Hungry My Friends!"

You read that right.  Not only is the Carnivore very close to donning a new skin and hitting the roads with a new mission in life but the Freedom Grill Canyon has been switch over to "Available" status.  Visitors to store.freedomgrill.com will find the Canyon listed as one of this month's feature products and one lucky tailgater will drive away with this truck for the unheard of price of $21K.  Kelly Blue Book on an extended cab 2005 GMC Canyon is almost $15K and that's for a truck straight off the factory line.  The Freedom Grill Canyon is most certainly not straight off the line.  Everything you can imagine has been worked into this truck. The tailgate even has Michael Anthony's signature from Van Halen.

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Trent's Trick Upholstery built the truck for the 2005 SEMA Show as a GM sponsored vehicle.  Interiors are his specialty and this truck doesn't dissapoint. The Kicker Audio system is loud enough to shake the lot and the red leather is awesome.

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Not only is the interior amazing but this truck has a 27" flat panel TV under the tonneau cover and the tailgate swings open instead of folding.  Naked Sculpture built an incredible flame untensil and sauce holder for the tailgate door and Lynch Concepts did an awesome job on the paint. You have to get really close to see the leopard print in the black pinstriping but the yellow and red flames on a champagne background can't be missed.

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This is a serious tailgating truck for serious tailgaters. I understand if not everyone has an extra hundred thousand lying around for the likes of the Carnivore but at $20K the Canyon is a heck of a deal. I know the builder had over $60K into it when Freedom Grill got it.  Someone is going to have their best tailgating season ever this year.

It doesn't seem possible that nearly a month has passed since Scott Free and I got back from the Sports Licensing & Tailgate Show 2010 at Mandalay Bay. It was an awesome show this year, almost double the size and attendance of the 2009 show. On the licensing product side I saw everything from team logo baby shoes and sunscreen to ceramic jack-o-lanterns for your home. There were so many products I didn't even have time to see them all.

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Mandalay Bay's Convention Center is a great location and with the nasty weather that weekend it was great to be able to stay in one place for most of the show. Our rooms at THE Hotel were awesome as well. There's even a Starbucks just outside the convention center hallway. Of course I was even more happy when I walked in the front door of the Show and saw Freedom Grill right up front with one of their famous tricked out tailgating trucks, the Freedom Grill Canyon and of course one of their equally famous Freedom Grill Girls.

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Just past Freedom Grill's booth was the Margaritaville Party Bus and their booth really was something else. In addition to showing off the Margaritaville Tailgating Grills and the whole line of Frozen Concoction Makers they Radio Margaritaville spinning tunes and plenty of samples from Margaritaville Foods, Margaritaville Spirits, and even Landshark Lager. Not only was this booth the place to find the party throughout the show, they hosted a sweet party at Margaritaville on the Strip that was a blast. It's just too bad the rain kept us off of the rooftop patios.

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What I love most about the Sports Licensing & Tailgate Show is the mix of products for tailgating and showing support for your team. Sports fans love their teams and manufacturers are continuing to find new ways of helping consumers show off their team colors with pride. Just a few of the things I saw included NCAA logo women's underwear from Miss Smarty Pants USA, winter hats in team colors from Tundra Gear (founded by Survivor winner Aras Baskauskas, NCAA Snuggies, and even Margaritaville Frozen Concoction Makers and Tailgating Grills customized with team colors. Another company with team licensed grills was Son of Hibachi with charcoal grills that go into a "snuff out pouch" complete with team logos. You can bake cakes & muffins and even make ice cubes shaped like your team logo with silicon molds from FanPan.net. Pangea Brands was showing off a toaster that will sear your team logo onto your morning toast. Now that's dedication. One of the coolest (pun intended) products at the show was from Cooler Coozies and these guys actually started their company after walking the 2009 Sports Licensing & Tailgate Show looking for the next big thing. This year they were it.

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Last year Scott Free and I made the journey to Vegas to cover the Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show for TailgatingTimes and we liked what we saw. This year we are helping the guys out with a couple of the tailgating panels and some of the party planning.

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The show starts today and this evening I will have photos and videos from the likes of Skinit, Freedom Grill, Margaritaville, GrillToppers, and many manufacturers of great tailgating products. There's even going to be a private party at Margaritaville.  I hope we see Jimmy Buffett.  Stay tuned. There will be more videos at TheTailgateShow.com as well.

Everyone knows our buddy Joe Cahn has traveled over 500,000 miles to 123 colleges and all 32 NFL stadiums to explore the exciting world of tailgate parties – and tonight, he joins TLC to hunt for the country’s best tailgaters in TAILGATE TAKEDOWN. This promises to be a great show and after watching the preview I can say it will make you hungry.

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Premiering tonight at 10 PM (ET/PT) on TLC – just in time for the BCS Championship game – The " Commish" will explore a different college stadium and rivalry game each week where three competing teams of local tailgaters will face off against one another in a spirited cooking competition.  

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After canvassing the home team’s most fanatical fans to find the most talented tailgaters to compete in the TAILGATE TAKEDOWN, Cahn introduces the three teams and takes viewers on a tour of their tricked-out trailers and tailgating tools for a first hand look at the hard work, creativity, inventive technology and cooking skills that go into these one-of-a-kind tailgate creations.  

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As each team prepares their signature spread, the Commissioner will meet other tailgaters to learn about local tailgate tradition and cooking. Celebrity judges are brought in to determine a winner for the competition based on taste, presentation and how functional the dishes are in a tailgate environment. The lucky winner receives a cash prize – and, of course, bragging rights!

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"Tailgating food goes way beyond burgers and dogs off the grill," says Nancy Daniels, SVP of Programming and Development for TLC," and we'll highlight the unique and tasty culinary creations of today's tailgates, while taking in the time honored tradition outside the grand stadiums of college football."

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I had the privilege of having a sneak peek at tonight's premier episode and Joe is a great host.  He's like everyone's favorite uncle and you'd be hard pressed to find a more likeable guy in any parking lot.  Joe loves tailgating more than anyone.  The contestants are all great cooks too and my only issue was with the guy complaining about his grill not working after he ran out of gas.  That's not the grill's fault!  He obviously tripped the OPD by opening the new tank with the burner controls "on" and then panicked.  Anyone who knows anything about grills knows that... OK, not anyone but professional tailgaters should know better.  First of all he should have started with a full tank.  He knew he was in a competition. 

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But enough about that...I don't want to spoil the show for anyone and it looks like TLC's already got 6 episodes slated to run so I hope everyone watches and we can make this a regular program.  I know my DVR is set and I'll be watching it too.

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Congrat's Joe!  Terrific Show.  Can't wait for more and I will see you out at the Sports Licensing and Tailgate Show in Las Vegas in just under 2 weeks. I think we're on the same panel.

Another year has come to an end and in fact, tonight marks the end of a decade.  An amazing, unbelievable decade in which a whole new way of grilling outdoors was created when Scott Salter looked at his grill and then looked at his hitch and decided to combine the 2 into a grill that swings away and allows you to stand up and grill proud in the parking lots.  Had it not been for that lightbulb moment I'd still be slaving away doing email marketing for technology companies rather than writing about tailgating, grilling up new recipes, and finding the best drinks and hottest women to post every week here so Happy New Year to the Tailgating Legend Scott "Free" Salter and on to the shot of the week and resolutions.

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Last year I posted my resolutions and I'm glad to be able to say I hit 4 out of 10.  This year I want my results to be better so I'm making less resolutions:

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1. Make the shot of the week a weekly feature instead of random intervals. Sorry about that readers.  I welcome any and all suggestions as well as photo submissions.

2. Never ever again drink from a giant souvenir cup in Las Vegas. Booze that comes in large plastic jugs isn't meant for human consumption.

3. More product reviews on the site.

4. If not win a cooking competition, at least enter one this year.

5. Finally, as always...Tailgate More!

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Happy 2010 everyone!  Welcome to a new decade of tailgating have a fantastic and safe new years and get ready for the playoffs.

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If the girls next door to me looked like Holly Madison it would be a lot easier to find a new Miss Freedom Grill. I guess after Holly Weber and Eileen Craker I've gotten spoiled.

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See you all next year.  Happy New Year!

Last night I was going to pick up several bottles of egg nog for a taste test after dinner along with the Saturday Night Live Christmas Special.  In the end I stopped at Costco prior to the liquor store and they still have Pennsylvania Dutch Egg Nog on the shelves. At under $12 for 1.75 liters it's a steal and the alcohol is already mixed in.  This brand is thick and creamy and has a smooth flavor with brandy, rum, and whiskey providing a nice kick of about 30 proof. 

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That's great if you're drinking with family but if the holidays for you are more like the Griswolds and less like White Christmas, I recommend adding a little extra to the mix.  I don't have any brandy so I added a bit of Maker's Mark and Captain Morgan and topped off the whole concoction with a bit of nutmeg. 

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Only two things would have made this drink better...

1) Drinking it out of a moose mug like Clark's from Christmas Vacation, now available from CanadianMoose.com, but sadly not in time for Christmas this year.

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2) Drinking it with these girls... I don't think they are from Pennsylvania.

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Recipe developed by The Clever Cleaver Brothers®

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1 loaf artesian flat bread

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Butter Mixture