Tailgating at BMO Field

[AngeloV]

Long time supporter.....about 5 games a year. Our group of four guys bought season tickets this year for the BMO experience and the ability to get together and tailgate. I've been to a few TFC games and a full BMO stadium looks awesome. Add an afternoon of barbecue/music/and a few beers and it should be a blast. We are looking forward to this season and are purchasing our portable BBQ and awning this week. Our tickets are in sec. 226 and we hope to see a full lot come the season opener! We will be working out the tailgate bugs on the 11th, so come by and say "hi" to the group of guys with the brown van.

Welcome aboard Jumbo.

[R.J]

Toronto Argos sideline reporter Kate Pettersen on Richards 1-4 - starts around 25:10 mark
http://www.tsn.ca/radio/toronto-1050...our-2-1.499623

TSN segment
http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/video/argos-an...o-field~882170

Copeland on overdrive video
http://www.tsn.ca/cfl/video/copeland...erience~882228

Copeland on Overdrive audio only
http://www.tsn.ca/radio/toronto-1050...plans-1.499768

[AngeloV]

I hope a great time is had by all. I'm not a tailgate guy, but glad it will brighten the Argos experience for many.

[R.J]

http://www.argonauts.ca/2016/06/01/a...r-2016-season/

["Issues"Mcgee]

I have a few takeaways from what was technically yesterday:

I woke up for the late shift and turned on CP24 before work. They were covering the Argos.

I went to work and the horrible top40 radio station mentioned something about the Argos. I was too busy to really listen.

I looked to my phone for the news in the afternoon and I saw two, count em, two new articles about the Argos.

The beauties at CTV news have been gabbing about the Double Blue more than I've ever seen.

Beers at tailgates will be Scarborough dive prices. Love it. I'm home.

It was a great day to be an Argos fan in the off season.

[jerrym]

[QUOTE=1argoholic;86719 This TO thing seems too structured. [/QUOTE]

You don't seem to like structure very much. Maybe you should also start cheering for the Grande Prairie Northern Anarchy football team.

http://northernanarchyfootball.com

[jerrym]

Long time supporter.....about 5 games a year. Our group of four guys bought season tickets this year for the BMO experience and the ability to get together and tailgate. I've been to a few TFC games and a full BMO stadium looks awesome. Add an afternoon of barbecue/music/and a few beers and it should be a blast. We are looking forward to this season and are purchasing our portable BBQ and awning this week. Our tickets are in sec. 226 and we hope to see a full lot come the season opener! We will be working out the tailgate bugs on the 11th, so come by and say "hi" to the group of guys with the brown van.

Welcome on board the good ship Argo. It's a pretty friendly crew (most of the time, which is better than at a lot sites).

[1argoholic]

Tailgating isn't generally such a structured event other then planning on what to cook and drink which has been taken off the list. Hey if people want to do it then have fun.

[Will]

I believe several things about how we got to where we are now vis-a-vis the tailgating:

(i) Exhibition Place was reluctant to allow this at all;
(ii) Copeland didn't go into negotiations with this style of tailgating in mind;
(iii) Exhibition Place was not going to allow Scott Park style tailgating;
(iv) If this goes well maybe it could re-open negotiations in a few years to transition towards more Scott Park style tailgating; and
(v) If people decide to use this "structure" to violate the rules then Exhibition Place won't hesitate to revoke tailgating privileges (such as they are).

[S.A.C.]

... I'm not a tailgate guy...

[sarcasm] But - c'mon -- it can't be the authentic football experience (whatever that means) unless you add another three hours of hanging around in a parking lot with a bunch of puking drunk idiots before watching a game that already lasts at least three hours. [/sarcasm]

[PullTogether73]

[sarcasm] But - c'mon -- it can't be the authentic football experience (whatever that means) unless you add another three hours of hanging around in a parking lot with a bunch of puking drunk idiots before watching a game that already lasts at least three hours. [/sarcasm]

LOL!
Yah, I have always had the same view of tailgating.
I'm always focused on the game itself though, so the pre-game activities are usually lost on me. 3 hours of living and dying with my team is plenty of activity for me.

Plus, I don't bbq a lot.

[Argoknot]

Copeland on overdrive video

What a great salesman this guy is. Common sense combined with sincerity, loved his quote about the GC in TO in November. "It's not an Arctic expedition"

[Rich]

So I've never been part of a real tailgate before. What should we expect?
What should we bring?

There seem to be a lot of timid or uninformed people who think tailgates are for a bunch of sketchy yobs getting hammered and starting fights while cranking the death metal.

Anyone who's been to an NCAA or NFL tailgate knows this is not the case. Anyone who's been to those tailgates on Bremner knows it isn't the case. Tailgates are about good food, good conversation and cold beer. It's a chance to socialize with other fans of the team and share in the excitement of the upcoming game - you got something in common with everyone there. In the States, tailgates attract all walks of life, old people, teenagers, rich and not-rich, you name it. It becomes a ritualized part of the game experience after a while. With our American friends it seems like half the fun of going to a football game is the tailgate, they take it so seriously with some unbelievable BBQ setups.

Good food is a must, but it doesn't have to be BBQ. A lot of people treat it like a picnic and bring salads and sandwiches which is a lot easier than BBQ. Or you could bring some slow-cooked meat and keep it in a warmer for hot sandwiches like our dear old friend Grey Cup Garry used to do. Bring food you love, and bring a little bit extra to share. Bring a large cooler, paper plates, plastic sporks, condiments. You really need a small folding table to put all this stuff on, folding chairs are good but not completely necessary if you don't mind eating, drinking and talking standing for 2-3 hours. On a beautiful day, after a couple of frosties, it's amazing how quickly the time passes.

[Double Dare]

Tailgating? ... can you actually call this tailgating?

[Neely2005]

There seem to be a lot of timid or uninformed people who think tailgates are for a bunch of sketchy yobs getting hammered and starting fights while cranking the death metal.

Anyone who's been to an NCAA or NFL tailgate knows this is not the case. Anyone who's been to those tailgates on Bremner knows it isn't the case. Tailgates are about good food, good conversation and cold beer. It's a chance to socialize with other fans of the team and share in the excitement of the upcoming game - you got something in common with everyone there. In the States, tailgates attract all walks of life, old people, teenagers, rich and not-rich, you name it. It becomes a ritualized part of the game experience after a while. With our American friends it seems like half the fun of going to a football game is the tailgate, they take it so seriously with some unbelievable BBQ setups.

Good food is a must, but it doesn't have to be BBQ. A lot of people treat it like a picnic and bring salads and sandwiches which is a lot easier than BBQ. Or you could bring some slow-cooked meat and keep it in a warmer for hot sandwiches like our dear old friend Grey Cup Garry used to do. Bring food you love, and bring a little bit extra to share. Bring a large cooler, paper plates, plastic sporks, condiments. You really need a small folding table to put all this stuff on, folding chairs are good but not completely necessary if you don't mind eating, drinking and talking standing for 2-3 hours. On a beautiful day, after a couple of frosties, it's amazing how quickly the time passes.

Thank you!

[Neely2005]

Tailgating? ... can you actually call this tailgating?

Why not? Because you can bring everything except alcohol?

$4 beers are reasonable, I just hope that they have some good brands. For mainstream beer Moosehead, Sleeman, Camerons or even Brick (PC) Honey Red would be nice.

[T-Bone]

Why not? Because you can bring everything except alcohol?

$4 beers are reasonable, I just hope that they have some good brands. For mainstream beer Moosehead, Sleeman, Camerons or even Brick (PC) Honey Red would be nice.

Ya, this is as close as you can get to a traditional tailgate while still complying with Ontario liquor laws. BMO Field's beer contract is with ABInBev and here is a list of some of the beers available at BMO Field. I'm not sure if all of those will be available at the tailgate and that is not everything at the stadium. I know Goose Island is also available on draft etc.

[Neely2005]

Ya, this is as close as you can get to a traditional tailgate while still complying with Ontario liquor laws. BMO Field's beer contract is with ABInBev and here is a list of some of the beers available at BMO Field. I'm not sure if all of those will be available at the tailgate and that is not everything at the stadium. I know Goose Island is also available on draft etc.

Thanks, Mill Street is pretty good. Since the main Tailgating is taking place at Ontario Place and not BMO Field I wonder if the Argonauts will be free to sell whatever they want?

I actually think that this method of Tailgating is a pretty nice balance and should help to avoid the drunks that happen in Hamilton.

[1argoholic]

Tell me football fans aren't going to bring their own booze? I'm not against tailgating at all but how come it's become an essential part of a so called football experience? It wasn't done during the CNE Stadium days.

You can't compare quality craft beer and mainstream piss. The mainstream beers have the huge dollars behind them and the ability to market and hell these companies hold massive market shares. It's very difficult for craft beer companies to get into any sort of event like an Argonaut tailgate. Plus there's plenty of swill drinkers that are afraid to try craft beer. It's easier to go with swill that most people are comfortable with. At this point I can't even drink a Canadian, Blue or the like. It's just that bad. I won't even support the beer store and it's brands.

[1argoholic]

Notice that Rich said good food,good conversation and cold beer not good beer. He's got that right. Go to Ann arbor Michigan and see a proper tailgate. You'll have some fans getting pissed but the majority will be there enjoying what will be there game day community that will develop.