Tailgating Times - The Best...

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.