Inside Tailgating Magazine: Fall 2019

GRILLS & GEAR - FOOD & DRINK - FANS & THRILLS

TELLUM + CHOP

CHRIS WHITE’S

NEW FASHION LINE

BUILT FOR

TAILGATING

Fall 2019

SPIKED

SELTZER

CRAZE

HITS THE

TAILGATING

SCENE

+ROUTE 66

JOURNEY

GRASSROOTS

BASEBALL

AMERICAN

CORNHOLE LEAGUE

CHARITY EVENT:

STANDS UP TO CANCER

www.insidetailgating.com

TOUCHDOWN

FOR TAILGATES

QB54

Spiked Seltzer Sparks

Transformation

R

emember

Zima? If you’re a Gen-Xer like my sister and me, you had to

try one. If you were a man who regularly drank one of these “carbonated

coolers,” you were forced to hang with other “Girly Men” who enjoyed

wine coolers. Zima had a quick rise and slow death in the 90s—a great brand

marketing case study. Had it been originally launched as “spiked seltzer”

and now, would it have had a completely different fate? Who knows, but the

explosion of spiked seltzers is transforming alcohol consumption as we know

it. The social acceptance and adoption by all ages and genders immediately

establishes it as a category with longevity. I tried to make fun of my nephew at

a recent event by launching my Zima jabs from the 90s and failed miserably. I

transformed by joining him, my sister and others crushing White Claw

provided by the brand at a recent American Cornhole League (ACL) event.

Over the past six months, my sister has probably felt like I’ve been hurling full cans

of spiked seltzer at her without warning. She has embraced what comes her way and

transformed Inside Tailgating. She revamped the Inside Tailgating Lounge on the ACL

Tour, redesigned the Inside Tailgating website, created a new content calendar and

committed to making Inside Tailgating magazine a quarterly publication.

Elizabeth Moore, my sister and now Chief Tailgating Officer for Inside Tailgating, will

be the first to admit she is not a “traditional tailgater” like I am. That’s great because

the roadmap for traditional tailgating content I started with is boring now. She likes to

have fun, and that will show up in the wide array of entertaining content you see like

the spiked seltzer craze.

Please enjoy this fall edition of Inside Tailgating created by Elizabeth and Carroll

Walton, our Content Editor. It features hard seltzers our staff thinks you should try and

share in the lots this fall. It gives you some of the best new food, products and gear

for tailgating. It takes a deep dive into on-campus issues like the recent alcohol policy

changes at some of the biggest southern schools and how colleges like powerhouse

Clemson address game day security. And check out the rundown of ACL Charity Day,

when we mixed cornhole and cancer-fundraising with celebrities like Olympic softball

stud Jennie Finch and country music star Craig Campbell.

I hope you get an opportunity to share a spiked seltzer with Elizabeth soon! It will

be a memorable transformation.

Tailgate Better, Tailgate Forever!

W. Stacey Moore

Founder and Publisher, Inside Tailgating

ON THE COVER

10 Tellum + Chop

A New Fashion Line

Built for Tailgating

GRILLS & GEAR

5 QB54

Football Tossing Game

a Touchdown for Tailgates

FOOD & DRINK

15 Spiked Seltzer Craze

Hits Tailgating Scene

18 Game Changer

In Stadium Alcohol Sales

Catches on in College

FANS & THRILLS

21 American Cornhole League

Stands Up To Cancer

26 Grassroots Baseball

Goes to the Masses

on Route 66 Journey

32 Eye On Tailgating

Clemson, Like Many

Schools, is Beefing

Up Game-day

Security

5

15

26

INSIDE TAILGATING IS PRODUCED BY

TAILGATING VENTURES, LLC:

W. STACEY MOORE III: Managing Director

smoore@insidetailgating.com

704-595-7603

ELIZABETH MOORE: Creative Director

elizabeth@insidetailgating.com

CARROLL R. WALTON: Content Director

carroll@insidetailgating.com

FOR MARKETING AND ADVERTISING

INQUIRIES, CONTACT:

ELIZABETH MOORE: Creative Director

elizabeth@insidetailgating.com

MICHAEL KEAN: Business Development

michael@insidetailgating.com

RYAN ALESSIO: Chief Tailgator

ryan@insidetailgating.com

DESIGN & PRODUCTION BY

Fiddlehead Studio & Press:

JOANNA BUONO: Art Director

joannambuono@gmail.com

For information about distribution, newsstand sales or investment and franchise opportunities, please contact Stacey Moore at smoore@insidetailgating.com.

Inside Tailgating Fall 2019, Copyright© 2019 by Tailgating Ventures, LLC. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part without permission is prohibited. Inside

Tailgating is the trademark of Tailgating Ventures, LLC. Printed in the United States of America.

Check out more at www.insidetailgating.com 3

Grills&Gear

By Carroll R. Walton, carroll@insidetailgating.com

QB54:

Football

Tossing Game

a Touchdown

for Tailgates

Football season is upon us, and fans don’t have

to just sit back and watch the game anymore.

They can play their own version!

The game is called QB54 and it was made

for tailgating in the fall, especially for fans

who are tired of just tossing a football around behind the

car or canopy tent. This game gives everybody at your

tailgate, of all ages, a reason to jump up and get into some

competitive action.

And it’s easy. All you need are two

chairs and a football. The makers of

QB54 have created a standard

canvas tailgating chair that converts

into an “end zone,” complete with

a basketball goal-like net to catch

touchdown passes and bright yellow

uprights for extra points.

After the game is over, all you have

to do is take down the uprights, fold

down two flaps and the chairs are

Check out more Grills & Gear at www.insidetailgating.com 5

GRILLS&GEAR

ready for sitting, eating, and basking

in a QB54 victory. As creators Mike

and Frank Silva say in their You Tube

video (in so many words) either a

7-year-old or an over-served 45-

year-old can put it together.

“The cool thing is we’re the only

football game on the market,” Mike

Silva, 46 of South Brunswick, N.J. told

Inside Tailgating. “What I tell people

is ‘When you go to a football tailgate

why throw a bean bag or a frisbee,

when you can a throw a football?’

And they’re like, ‘Genius.’ And the

fact that they’re chairs, they’re dual

purpose. It’s a game and when you’re

done, you can form it into two chairs,

and you can sit down and tailgate.”

If it sounds like the kind of thing

two brothers might sit around and

do for hours, it’s because it is. Mike

and Frank Silva, who grew up in

Manalapan, N.J., created QB54 in

2016 based on a game they’ve been

playing their whole lives. The two

40-somethings first came up with

the idea when Mike was 9 and

Frank was 12.

Back then, they called it “The QB

Thanksgiving Classic” because they

made it up to get out of helping with

the holiday dishes. Football wasn’t

an option because so many of their

neighborhood friends were out of

town for the holiday. The next best

thing was a game they created with

two garbage cans and a football.

The CB antenna on the back of their

father’s pickup truck served as the

goal posts.

Frank and Christina Silva became

their sons’ first investors for QB54.

“My parents helped us with some

seed money in the beginning,” Mike

Silva said. “I think they absolutely love

what we’re doing and how my brother

and I are working with each other, and

it’s bringing us closer together than

ever before. As a parent how could

you want anything more?”

A QB54 game set comes with two

foldable vinyl canvas chairs, two

sets of goalposts, a carrying bag and

a football. One set is $99.99 or a

package of three goes for $299.99.

They come in eight colors, including

team-friendly navy blue, orange,

green, silver, and black.

The basic rules are that the chairs

are set 40 feet apart (or closer

depending on skill level.) Players take

turn making throws. If you throw the

ball into the basket, it’s a touchdown

and six points. Hitting any part of the

chair on the fly is three points. After a

touchdown, kicking the ball through

the uprights gets you an extra point.

If your kick goes into the hole, you

automatically win the game then and

6

Check out more Grills & Gear at www.insidetailgating.com

GRILLS&GEAR

there. Otherwise the first team to 54

points wins. The game can be played

one-on-one or in teams of two.

Mike and Frank have also incorporated

rules for safeties and interceptions.

For full details, go to www.playqb54.

com. They’re not the only rule-makers

though, apparently. Mike said he’s

constantly hearing from fans who

have modified the game with their

own rules.

One fan wrote in about the “pick six.”

Under the regular rules, if a ball hits the

chair, bounces up and you catch it before

it hits the ground, that’s an interception

and good for three points. For one customer,

that was just the start. The player

could then either take a knee for three

points or take off running toward the

other team’s chair. If the player decides

to run, the opponent can then chase the


GRILLS&GEAR

ball carrier and stop him or her with

two-hand touch. From that spot, the

ball carrier gets a chance to throw at

the opponent’s chair. Make it and it’s

six points. Miss and his or her team

gets nothing.

“Now it’s turning into this real football

game where people are lateraling and

doing all this stuff and it’s becoming

active,” Silva said. “It’s great.”

Another customer came up with the

Hail Mary pass, where the losing team

has one last shot to win the game. The

player has to take 20 paces away from

his or her chair and can then turn and

heave the ball toward the opponent’s

chair. Silva said he saw a guy actually

make one at a New York Jets preseason

game this year.

“They went nuts,” he said. “It was

amazing. I was like ‘Oh my god, I can’t

believe I didn’t get this on film.’”

Seeing how people have responded

to the game has been a big part of the

8 Check out more Grills & Gear at www.insidetailgating.com

GRILLS&GEAR

“It’s a non-threatening way to introduce

the sport of football to

students,” Silva said. “It’s getting

amazing interaction with them.

Students that don’t normally

participate in gym find the game fun,

and now you have girls that don’t

normally participate or boys that don’t

normally participate because they’re

nervous or whatever having a blast. It

breaks down the barrier.”

To purchase your own QB54 game, go

to www.playQB54.com. To receive a

20 percent discount use promo code:

tailgate20.

fun for the Silva brothers, Silva said,

and rewarding too. Mike said one of

their customers is David Lionheart,

the founder of an organization called

www.playforyourfreedom.org that

helps veterans returning from combat

overseas. He travels to VA hospitals

encouraging veterans to play touch

football as he helps them acclimate

back to civilian life. When he heard

about QB54, he wanted to try it with

veterans in their adaptive program,

who were amputees or otherwise

limited in their mobility.

“Those people had to sit on the

sidelines and watch them play,” Silva

said. “Now we have veterans that

are using our game to help them

cope with all the things that they are

dealing with being a wartime vet, and

it’s just been unbelievable.”

Silva said another surprise has been

seeing their game take off in a Florida

school system. He got the idea to

approach schools from another gameproducer

at a toy fair in New York City.

Now 200 schools in the Duval County

system in Jacksonville, Fla.—from

elementary through high school—have

QB54 games in PE class.


9

GRILLS&GEAR


TELLUM + CHOP

A New Fashion Line Built for Tailgating

Chris White, CEO of Shinesty.com (pictured

right), has made a name for himself creating

outrageous event and party clothes. This fall

he has expanded into collegiate apparel with a

brand dubbed Tellum + Chop. That means

tailgaters across the country are about to up their game.

We’re not talking about school logos slapped on T-shirts and

hats. This new line outfits fans in bright Tennessee orange

overalls with checkerboard print, Oklahoma State Hawaiian

shirts with graphic “Pistol Petes” all over them, and Crimsoncolored

sport coat and pant suits dotted in Alabama script

“As.” This is fun, high quality clothing made with the traditions

of each school in mind. And they are show-stoppers.

“This is a huge statement piece at a game,” White said.

“It’s literally built for tailgating. It’s why we did it.”

White caught up with Inside Tailgating

just before the launch of Tellum + Chop.

With personality as colorful as the

clothing he creates, White detailed how

his personal quest for great party wear

as a college student laid the groundwork

for building a successful apparel business.

They are based in Boulder, Colo.

Q. Is it inappropriate to ask what you’re

wearing?

A. (Laughs) Today I’m wearing a pretty

pedestrian pair of normal gray pants

and just a normal shirt because I’m in

Jackson Hole for a friend’s wedding.

But normally you’d catch me in some

sort of strange pair of overalls, a kimono

perhaps. My underwear

is always Shinesty. I

never stray from that,

so I always have some

sort of animal in an

inappropriate place.

Q. From what I

understand, the

idea to make

outlandish

party clothes

dates back to

your time at

DePauw (Ind.)

University

and your own

search for

what to wear

to a party?

A. That’s the original impetus for the

brand. What was say is we exist to force

the world to take itself less seriously.

That’s our driving cultural value that we

use internally. It informs everything we

do, from marketing, even writing copy,

taking pictures for the website. We try

to do it in a way, even if you’re not in the

market for that specific product, it still

gives you something and that thing it’s

giving to you is humor. So as long as

you’re someone who doesn’t take everything

super seriously, you’ll laugh.

Q. Give me an ensemble you wore to a

college party that knocked everybody’s

socks off?

A. One time we decided to dress up as

the two figure skaters from that Will

Ferrell movie “Blades of Glory.” We were

able to find male dance costumes and

then bedazzle them so they looked like

skater suits, and we wore roller blades

around. We went full in.

Q. Was that a Halloween party

or something?

A. That was just a normal Tuesday.

10


Q. Did you recognize a void in the

market when you were shopping

for clothes?

A. When you’re in college, you have time

to go to thrift shops and estate sales.

You have time to scour the surrounding

area for a unique and fun outfit. What

we realized when we moved to Denver

and started working: you have a job and

you have money for first time in your

life, but you don’t have time. With that

in mind (we thought) “Why is there not

a curated awesome brand for this type

of product?” That was the initial jumping

off point for the brand.

Q. I read that you put yourself through

college. How did you do it?

A. Selling basically anything I could sell.

I sold Cutko knives. I sold vacation

packages, and I sold T-shirts that I

designed, a lot of them. I would design

T-shirts for fraternities and sororities and

church groups or sports teams. What

I found early on

was If I took what

they wanted me

to design and

I injected

some sort of irreverent humor into it, I

would sell a lot more, so I got good at that

voice and creating those jokes that were

sarcastic or sometimes inappropriate,

sometimes silly. That’s what helped us

form and craft the original voice. It was

an inspiration for the way the voice talks

to customers.

Q. What’s one of your favorite

T-shirt creations?

A. That we can say publicly? There were

so many inappropriate ones. There was

an Army shirt I made one time that was

making a joke about privates. It was a

picture of two cartoon army men and it

said “Taking our privates into battle.” You

get the double meaning there.

Q. I’ll never forget a T-shirt

my friend’s fraternity put out

that was a play on the Latin

phrase: “We came. We saw.

We came again.”

A. Yes, I did that joke

as well. We had

one that was for

a fraternity, it

was the famous

picture of Marilyn

GRILLS&GEAR

Monroe screaming. It said “the louder

you scream, the louder we come to the

rescue.” The “to the rescue” part was in

smaller font.

Q. So are some of your college buddies

now working with you in Colorado?

A. There are five people who work for

us now who are friends from DePauw,

including my little brother. Three other

guys I was friends with in school were

some of my first employees and are still

with the company.

Q. When did Shinesty really take off?

A. The end of 2014. We’ve been

growing fast. I’d say the fastest we’ve

been growing is now. We have about 40

employees, which is about double from

last year. This brand, the Tellum + Chop

brand, is definitely a little bit different

from Shinesty. It’s a fun brand for the

college lifestyle (but) when it comes

to collegiate licensing, you have

to be a little more appropriate.

We separated the two brands

so we could keep Shinesty

the way it is, which is that

irreverent, sometimes

R-rated humor, and then

be able to

dive deep

into the

collegiate

market and

still make


GRILLS&GEAR

really fun clothes. Obviously they’re

still loud and pretty outlandish and very

unique. Most sports license apparel is hats

and T-shirts and basic things and we’re

producing overalls and kimonos and suits,

loud product, but we give people the

ability to still rep their team in a fun way.

Q. How many schools are you

incorporating so far?

A. We’re launching with about 30 schools.

We should have about 60 that will launch

by the end of the year. It’s everything from

Oklahoma State, Oklahoma, to Michigan.

We’ve got schools in the SEC—Tennessee,

Alabama, Auburn—to a couple in the

northeast. We’ve even added some small

schools like DePauw and Indiana State

that we had relationships with. We put in

for as many as we could. It’s a process to

go through the licensing system, it takes

a little bit of time, so as we keep growing,

we’ll keep adding schools to hopefully

have as many as we possibly can.

Q. When you started Shinesty did you

always envision adding college sports?

A. Yeah. The overarching vibe of the

whole company—creating a brand

around life’s social moments—to us is

anything from really obvious stuff like

Christmas and Fourth of July to less

obvious stuff like music festivals and

sporting events. We always knew that

we wanted to move that way, and we’ve

done some other sublicensing deals

with NFL products. It just took a little

bit of time to go through the licensing

process and to have the infrastructure in

place for us operationally, to be able to

execute. When you get to sports it’s hard

because there’s a lot of different teams,

so you have to make a lot of different

prints. Unlike Christmas where you make

four or five prints, and you apply to

everyone who celebrates Christmas, this

gets very complex very fast.

Q. Do you guys design and produce the

clothes yourselves?

A. We do everything in house. We have

our own full design and art team. We try

to design into the local market thinking

about what is some insider knowledge

that only a real fan would know and

try to incorporate that into some of the

designs. When you look at a lot of sports

merchandise out there, it is designed

in a pretty lazy way, which is like “Hey

we’re going to slap on a logo” and that’s

it. We try to take a much more wholistic

approach No. 1 because we think it’s

better for the customer, and No. 2 just

because it’s more interesting and fun for

us to design.

Q. What are a couple of examples?

A. For Arizona, we took a hand-painted

mountain desert scene and tacked that

into the back of the Arizona print, which

looks like that vibe that you get when

you’re in Arizona vs. just taking the same

Hawaiian print and pasting a logo in. We

did another really cool one for Oklahoma

State where we took hand-drawn western

motifs. We did have to remove the

six-shooter, which is cool, but we drew

a “Wanted” poster of Pistol Pete, and

we injected some tumbleweed-looking

drawings and put that together.

Q. So do you tailgate much?

A. Oh yeah. We’re in Boulder, so we

tailgate for all of CU’s (the University of

Colorado) football games. There was a

12


GRILLS&GEAR

time there where it was pretty hard to

watch, but we’ve gotten much better.

We tailgate and it’s a blast. CU sets up a

nice grassy area; it’s an old practice field

that’s next to the stadium, and they set

that up with tents. It’s a very scaled back

version of The Grove (at Ole Miss) and

it’s a blast. It’s a beautiful place to watch

a football game. We tailgate quite a bit.

Q. Do all the Shinesty employees

come in full garb?

A. Oh yeah. You can’t not, right? We

have to. Because we all have access

to the product, we’re like “How do we

one-up each other?” You have to add

in some vintage finds to complete

the look. We can’t all be wearing the

same product. People have made

customizations so they can stand out

among the Shinesty employees.

Q. What’s the best one you’ve

seen lately?

A. Probably got to be some overalls. We

make an American flag overall product.

We have a big party, a fundraiser for a

cancer charity, that’s Americana-themed

called Hog Fest. We have above-ground

pools and bands play and a big hog

roast. And one of our marketing guys

took his overalls—it was a hot day—he

cut out the crotch area of the overalls

and replaced it with mesh, so that it

would breathe and so that he could

swim in them. It was pretty funny. I was

like, “That’s pretty good, man.”

Q. You guys have some celebrity

clients right?

A. We do, yeah. Joe Maddon, the

manager of the Chicago Cubs is a big

Shinesty customer and fan, and we’re a

fan of him obviously after that. In 2016

when the Cubs won the World Series for

the first time in 100 years, that was the

first year Joe Maddon found Shinesty,

and they wore Shinesty on multiple trips.

He does it to keep it loose in the middle

of a long season. During the World

Series, they were down three games to

one and Halloween was one of the off

days in between games. We sent them

all a bunch of Halloween costumes and

suits and they wore them on the plane

on the way to Cleveland going in for

Game 5 and people were criticizing,

“He’s down 3-1, not taking anything

seriously.” The rest is history, down 3-1,

they won the series, broke the curse and

all that. We were like “Oh, Cubs wore

Shinesty. Cubs won the World Series,

coincidence? I don’t know!”

Q. Broncos kicker Brandon McManus is

another big client, right?

A. Yeah we’ve worked with the Broncos

for a long time. McManus (picutred above)

is one of our friends. He always gives all

the Broncos players some sort of Shinesty

item for Christmas every year. He calls

himself McManuclaus, and he brings them

100 boxes of Shinesty gear for Christmas.

Q. That’s awesome. Now that you’re

venturing into college gear too, is the

goal to turn on an Alabama football

game and see crowd shots of fans

wearing your overalls?

A. Exactly. We’ve seen it from some

stuff we did for the NFL. We collaborate

with a brand called Little Earth, who has

an NFL license. We’ll do some exclusive

designs, and they manufacture and

license for us. They’re now exclusive to

Tellum + Chop. I went to the Super Bowl

last year with them as a guest and got to

see tons of our Patriots suits all over the

place which was awesome.

Check out Tellum + Chop at

www.tellumandchop.com.


Food&Drink


SPIKED

SELTZER

CRAZE

HITS

TAILGATING

SCENE

Is it just us or was 2019 the summer of seltzers?

The bubbly beverages, spiked with liquor, are

all the rage these days, and we get it. They’re

light, refreshing, flavorful and cool, not to mention

low on carbs and calories—around 100 calories,

the same as a light beer—and with less alcohol content

than wine.

Bon & Viv just landed the NFL’s first ever

hard seltzer sponsorship. That means

not only will you be seeing hard seltzer

popped open at tailgates everywhere but

Bon & Viv will be sold in 16-ounce cans in

27 NFL stadiums across the country.

For those still trying to catch up on the

craze, read on for a breakdown of what’s

going on in the hard seltzer industry.

Check out more Food & Drink at www.insidetailgating.com

15

FOOD&DRINK

Spiked seltzers first appeared on the

scene three years ago, in 2016. Now all

sorts of beverage-makers are getting

in on the act—beer brewers, liquor

companies, seltzer makers—adding that

much more fizz to the fire. That’s winwin

for the consumer, not to mention

the tailgater, because the selection is

huge and growing by the minute, both

nationally and locally.

We’ll take you through some of the

big national brands.

White Claw, a spin-off from the

makers of Mike’s Hard Lemonade, is

a wildly popular brand that already

has a clear foothold in the market. It’s

made with gluten-free malt beverage

and a splash of fruit flavor. White Claw

comes in six flavors including Black

Cherry, Ruby Grapefruit, Natural Lime

and Raspberry.

Truly is another heavy hitter in the hard

seltzer industry, made by the Boston

Beer company. It features the widest

variety of flavors among the top brands

and divides them into three categories:

berry, citrus and tropical. Truly is made

with all-natural flavors and sweeteners

and comes in flavors like Blueberry &

Acai, Orange, Lemon and Passion Fruit.

Bon & Viv just made the boldest

marketing move yet, taking advantage

of the inroads made by its producer

Anheiser-Busch. (Bud Light is already

the NFL’s official beer.) Bon & Viv

boasts gluten-free ingredients, zero

grams of sugar, and natural fruit flavor.

Their selection of flavors includes

Black Cherry Rosemary, Grapefruit and

Pear Elderflower.

Among the liquor producers who

are in on the act are Vodka specialists

Smirnoff, which created flavors like

Pina Colada, Berry Lemonade and

Pink Apple Rose. Sauza created a hard

seltzer made with its signature tequila

called Sauza Agua Fuerte, with flavors

ranging from pineapple and grapefruit

to lime.

Polar Seltzer, the second largest

producer of seltzer water in the U.S.

behind LaCroix, finally got in on the act

too. They joined forces with Harpoon

Brewery to create a hard seltzer called

Arctic Summer. Their spiked seltzers are

made from the already-popular Polar

flavors like Pineapple Pomelo and

Ruby Red Grapefruit.

Among other beer producers, Natural

Light jumped on the seltzer train,

creating its own hard seltzer with flavors

like Catalina Lime featuring cherry and

lime and a Mango and Peach called

Aloha Beaches.

Many of these companies joined

some local seltzer-makers at the first

ever hard seltzer festival called Fizz

Fight, held in Denver, Colo. on Sept.

14. White Claw, Truly and Smirnoff

were among the 20 hard seltzers

served up at the three-hour tasting

event. Each company offered twoounce

samples of three flavors, giving

attendees a total of 60 favors to try.

Another Fizz Fight festival is scheduled

for Los Angeles in November, and six

other cities are expected to follow

suit: Austin, Atlanta, Miami, New

Orleans, San Diego, and Tucson.

For tailgaters heading out to the

lots this fall, we’ve got five cocktail

recipes compliments of Truly Hard

Seltzers to add some sparkle to your

pre-game spread.

16

Check out more Food & Drink at www.insidetailgating.com

FOOD&DRINK

Strawberry Basil

6 oz. Truly Hard Seltzer Wild Berry

.5 oz. Stevia Simple Syrup

.25 oz. Fresh Lemon Juice

4 Strawberries

4 Basil Leaves

In a mixing

glass, add

stevia syrup,

lemon juice, two

basil leaves, two

strawberries cut

into small pieces

and muddle.

Then cover

with ice and

shake. Next, add Truly Hard SeltzerT

Wild Berry to the mixing tin. Pour over

14oz. cooler glass. Garnish with more

strawberries and fresh basil leaves.

Serve cocktail with remainder of can.

Optional: Add 1 oz. vodka.

Truly Mule

4 oz. Truly Hard Seltzer Wild Berry or Colima Lime

2 oz. Pomegranate Juice

Pomegranate Seeds


1 Lemon Wedge

1 tsp Ginger Paste

Blueberry Mini

6 oz. Truly Hard Seltzer Wild Berry


.25 oz. Fresh Lime Juice

6 Blueberries

6 Mint Leaves

In a mixing glass, add mint leaves, lime

juice, blueberries and simple syrup.

Muddle then cover with ice and shake.

Then add Truly Hard Seltzer Wild Berryto

mixing tin. Strain into an iced highball

glass. Garnish with 2 blueberries and mint

top. Serve cocktail with remainder of can.

Optional: Add 1 oz. white rum.

In a mixing glass, add ginger, pomegranate juice, squeezed lemon wedge, and

stevia simple syrup. Cover with ice and shake. Add Truly Hard Seltzer Wild

Berry to mixing tin and strain over crushed ice in a copper mug. Garnish with

pomegranate seeds. Serve cocktail with remainder of can.

Optional: Add 1 oz. vodka or gin.

Mango Diablo

4 oz. Truly Hard Seltzer Lime

.5 oz. Light Agave Nectar

1 Lime Wedge

Cubed Fresh Mango

1.5 oz. Ceres Mango Juice

5 Thin Jalapeño Wheels

1 pinch of Chili Lime Salt

In a mixing glass, add jalapeños, squeezed lime wedge, and agave nectar.

Muddle gently, then add fresh mango juice. Cover with ice and shake. Then, add

Truly Hard Seltzer Lime to mixing tin. Strain over a 12oz. double rocks glass and

garnish with sliced fresh mango dusted with chili lime salt. Serve cocktail with

remainder of can.

Optional: Add 1 oz. blanco tequila.

Cucumber Cooler

6 oz. Truly Hard Seltzer Lime

.75 oz. Light Agave Nectar

.75 oz. Aloe Vera Water

1 Lime Wedge

5 Mint Leaves

4 Cucumber Wheels

1 pinch Sea Salt

In a mixing glass, add sea salt,

cucumber, lime, mint, and agave.

Muddle gently, then add aloe vera

water. Cover with ice and shake.

Then add Truly Hard Seltzer Lime.

Strain into an iced 14 oz. cooler

glass. Garnish with cucumber and

mint. Serve cocktail with remainder

of can.

Optional: Add 1 oz. vodka or gin.

Check out more Food & Drink at www.insidetailgating.com 17

FOOD&DRINK

GAME CHANGER

In-Stadium Alcohol Sales Catches on in College

By Emma-Blake Byrum and Carroll R. Walton, carroll@insidetailgating.com

Public universities

in the state of

North Carolina,

as well as schools

throughout the

Southeastern Conference,

have been given the

opportunity to start

selling alcohol in their

stadiums and arenas this

fall due to recent policy

and law changes.

Those changes will add at least nine

schools to the growing list of 55

Football Bowl Subdivision programs

who were already selling alcohol in

their general seating areas before this

season, according to Sports Illustrated.

North Carolina, N.C. State and East

Carolina joined that list shortly after

N.C. governor Roy Cooper signed

a bill in June legalizing the sale of

beer and wine in general seating at

stadiums in the UNC system. By July,

the Board of Trustees at all three

schools had elected to go forward

with alcohol sales.

The North Carolina legislation came

on the heels of a decision by the SEC

in May to lift a ban on general alcohol

sales at its sporting events. So far

only six of the 14 SEC schools have

18 Check out more Food & Drink at www.insidetailgating.com

announced plans to sell beer and wine

in 2019: Arkansas, LSU, Missouri,

Tennessee, Texas A&M, and Vanderbilt.

Some find it telling that the SEC is

making a change to its alcohol policy

after hitting a 16-year-low in football

attendance. Proponents to alcohol

sales believe not only will it help

generate revenue, but improve

attendance because fans who had

been staying at their tailgates (or at

home) to drink will come.

“A lot of people have tickets in their

pockets in the tailgating area, and

they don’t come in,” Illinois assistant

AD Marty Kaufmann told Sports

Illustrated after the Illini announced

plans to sell alcohol. “Maybe now they

say, ‘Let’s go in and get a beer.’”

How alcohol sales affect attendance,

tailgating, and the overall atmosphere

both inside the stadium and out is

something not only that fans and

alumni will keep an eye on but other

schools who are continuing to review

their policies.

Defending national champion

Clemson is one ACC school that

has no plans to change its current

policy on no alcohol sales in general

seating. Clemson has a legendary

tailgating tradition and still allows

fans “pass-outs” to go to tailgating

lots during games.

“It’s not something that we’re

particularly interested in doing right

now,” Clemson associate athletic

director for strategic communications

Jeff Kalin said. “It’s not even something

that we’re considering.”

Some fans worry the new alcohol

policy might have a negative effect

on the culture of football crowds

inside the stadiums. Though others

argue that by regulating alcohol

FOOD&DRINK

sales with a strict set of guidelines,

schools can reduce the number of

alcohol-related incidents at games.

Statistics from alcohol-selling

schools like West Virginia and

Maryland back that up, according

to the online publication “Saturday

Down South.”

Louisiana State was one of the

SEC schools leading the cry for

a policy change. LSU graduate

Paul McGoey of New Orleans, can

see why.

“The real truth is there is plenty

of alcohol consumption inside an

SEC stadium that is done through

illegal means,” said McGoey, LSU

Class of 1987. “Allowing alcohol in

specified sections of the stadium

will make it less of a hassle for the

drinkers to drink. It just might make

it easier for the school to police

and control.”

With fans having less reason to

binge drink before games, McGoey

also points out that the atmosphere

at pre-game tailgates might actually

improve.

“Tailgating will not suffer,” he said.

“I think it potentially brings more

people to the game and to campus.

It will actually improve, given the

fact that the average tailgater will

not have to cram all of their pregame

drinking into a short period of time.”

Check out more Food & Drink at www.insidetailgating.com 19

Fans&Thrills


AMERICAN

CORNHOLE

What happens when

LEAGUE

you pair professional

cornhole players and

celebrities like Olympic softball

STANDS

player Jennie Finch, country

UP

music star Craig Campbell and

stand-up comedian Jeff Dye?

TO

Good times and good money.

CANCER

That’s what the American Cornhole

League generated at its first annual Charity

Day event to raise money and awareness

benefitting Stand Up 2 Cancer.

Check out more Fans & Thrills at www.insidetailgating.com 21

FANS&THRILLS

The headlining event was held on

July 21 in Los Angeles, where celebrities

were on hand to bag toss with the best

of them. Eight teams, each featuring

one celebrity and one ACL player,

squared off in a single elimination

bracket, had some fun and developed

a healthy respect for each other a

long the way.

“When I first heard about cornhole

I thought it was some inappropriately

named frat game played by goons

who sniff their own farts,” Dye said.

“But once I actually played and met

the people of ACL, I quickly realized

I was wrong. And admitting you’re

wrong is the secret to growing. So

being able to grow and raise money

for charity in the same day was a treat.”

“Also,” Dye added. “I’m drunk.”

Maybe so. But Dye was speaking his

truth. And he wasn’t the only celebrity

to have a memorable time in the name

of a good cause. Craig Campbell not

only opened the day with an acoustic

Top: MMA Hall of Famer, Tito Ortiz with

Elizabeth and Stacey Moore.

Above left: Craig Campbell performed a 20

minute set leading into the broadcast.

Right: Stacey Moore with Olympic Softball

Pro Jennie Finch.

Below: Tito Ortiz and ACL Pro Eric Ryder

discuss strategy.

22

Check out more Fans & Thrills at www.insidetailgating.com

FANS&THRILLS

Above left: Stacey Moore with Comedian Jeff Dye. Above right: ACL Pros ready to compete:

Eric Ryder, Larry Felix, Eric Anderson, Allan Rockwell, Wade Whitted, Seto Soto, Leslie Adcock,

Dawn Rodgers. Below: Cheers! Craig Campbell toasts with ACL Pros Leslie Adcock and her

husband before the competition. Below Right: Craig Campbell.

rendition of “All My Friends Drink

Beer” but finished it up by winning

the tournament. He was paired up

with ACL pro Allan Rockwell, who is a

cancer survivor himself.


23

FANS&THRILLS

“When I got the call to join everyone

at the ACL Charity event, I knew it was

going to be awesome,” Campbell said.

“I was honored to be a part of it and

can’t wait to defend my title at the

next one.”

Players like Rockwell, Leslie Adcock,

and Dawn Rodgers had more than their

mad cornhole skills on display. They

relished a chance to share personal

stories about their own battles with

cancer. Rogers was diagnosed with

brain cancer in 2012 before undergoing

surgery and radiation therapy.

“It was the first time I felt comfortable

enough to share my story,” Rodgers said.

“I just felt so much love and support

from my cornhole family. It’s nice to

know we stand together. I enjoyed so

much about the event. The celebrities

were all so nice and made us feel so

comfortable. We raised money for

such a great cause that can help so

many people.”

In addition to the signature event

in Los Angeles, regional directors

from the ACL hosted corresponding

tournaments in 10 different locations

across the country. That number will

grow next year.

The inaugural Charity Day event

was near and dear to ACL founder and

commissioner Stacey Moore, who lost

his father to cancer and whose mother

is a two-time breast cancer survivor.

“This was a personal mission for

me,” Moore said. “And I learned just

24 Check out more Fans & Thrills at www.insidetailgating.com

FANS&THRILLS

how personal it is for so many of our

pros as well. I had no idea that we had

so many pros who had been impacted

by cancer when I created this event.

That’s been very touching for me to

learn about that.”

Moore got to know stories like Eric

Anderson’s, an ACL pro who lost both of

his parents to cancer at a young age, and

to see what the event meant for him.

“Being able to be there to help raise

money for something that hits home to

me means the world,” Anderson said.

The same can be said for ACL Pro

Seto Soto, whose sister-in-law is

battling cancer for the fourth time. He

walked away from the event feeling a

new sense of camaraderie with both

his fellow ACL pros as well as the

celebrities on hand. Soto was paired

with actor Jonathan Lipnicki, of “Jerry

Maguire” fame. Among the other

celebrities playing were former Miss

USA Susie Castillo, UFC Hall of Famer

Tito Ortiz and actor Michael Campion

from “Fuller House.”

“The celebrities treated us like we

were already family,” Soto said. “The fact

that they friended us on social media

and tagged us in photos allowed us to

be a part of their family, which was really

cool. The event was amazing.”

For more information about Charity Day

and the American Cornhole League, visit

www.iplaycornhole.com.


25

FANS&THRILLS

GRASSROOTS

BASEBALL

Goes to

Masses on

Route 66

Journey

A

dedicated baseball photographer and the

outgoing president of the Baseball Hall

of Fame have created a new organization

called Grassroots Baseball, which honors

and celebrates amateur baseball. Together

they launched their initiative by channeling their

inner tailgater: they drove an RV across the U.S. along

historic Route 66.

26


by Carroll R. Walton, carroll@insidetailgating.com

After 25 years of rubbing elbows with

the game’s greats, Jeff Idelson hung up

his coat and tie to get behind the wheel

of a Coachmen Galleria RV draped in

the bright blue “Grassroots” logo and

loaded down with baseball gear.

Over the course of 2,500 miles and

10 designated stops, Idelson’s primary

purpose was to mingle with amateur

baseball people, deliver baseball gear

to the underprivileged and tote the

talented Jean Fruth—who is as much

a baseball historian as she is photographer—from

one ballpark to another

to document the trip for a book called

Grassroots Baseball: Route 66.

They pulled their RV up to Little

League parks, Boys and Girls Clubs,

minor league ballparks, and the like,

shooting photos, talking to people,

eating ballpark fare—including both a

burger with a glazed donut for a bun

as well as frozen pickle juice—while

celebrating something as American as

baseball in a way that is too: on the go.

“Even if we’re done for the day, and

we’re at a local restaurant, sitting at

the bar having a meal and somebody

overhears us talking about baseball and

Route 66, a new conversation starts,”

said Fruth, by phone during a periodic

break from the road. “People are really

interested in what we’re doing. It’s hard

to miss us in this RV. We’re getting a

great reception about the message

and the program that we’re doing.”

Their concept originated as

a follow-up to Fruth’s book

“Grassroots Baseball:

Where Legends

Begin,” a

collection of photographs from 15 baseball

hotbeds with corresponding essays

from Hall of Famers who grew up in

those places.

This time Fruth and Idelson, who

helped connect her with Hall of Fame

players for her first book, wanted to

do more than pay tribute to baseball’s

roots—this time in towns along Route

66. They wanted to give back to the

game with a charitable element as well.

“We talked about the concept of

making Grassroots baseball more than

just a book,” Idelson said. “That’s how

it all came together. We developed

this program. It’s about celebrating

the amateur game. It’s about elevating

the game and about giving back to

underprivileged communities.”

The San Diego Padres and Arizona

Diamondbacks agreed to sponsor

Grassroots and keep them loaded

down with Rawlings baseball gloves


FANS&THRILLS

and balls to give away. Big League

Chew stocked their RV with bubble

gum. They plotted a course of 10 stops

along what was historically known as

Route 66. They invited Hall of Famers

who grew up at each of those points

to meet up in their hometowns to

preach and teach the game, players

like Jim Thome, Johnny Bench,

Trevor Hoffman and their national

spokesman Goose Gossage.

The Grassroots tour launched in

May in Chicago, where the historical

highway begins. They finished in

September in Santa Monica, Calif.,

where it ends. They weren’t even out

of Chicago before getting the first

dose of validation that they were onto

something special.

One of their first stops was at the

Jackie Robinson West Little League

fields, where Fruth met a volunteer

named John Talbert. He umpired

back-to-back games, which impressed

them enough. Then he invited them

to tag along to another game he was

volunteering for that night. He was

coaching a team of 8-and-unders.

“You couldn’t get the smile off this

guy’s face,” Fruth said. “You just meet

these terrific people.”

Idelson pointed to a moment at the

Chicago Boys and Girls Club, where he

watched Gossage connect with a kid

who had never played baseball before

over a game of catch. The boy walked

away with a new ball, a new glove and

a new sport.

“He was kind of a shy kid,” Idelson

said. “And not only did Goose get this

kid out of his shell, he put a massive

smile on his face and instilled the

confidence in this kid to say that he

28


FANS&THRILLS

wanted to go out and play summer

baseball. This kid’s brother came over

and told him how meaningful it was.

That was a pretty sweet moment.”

One of Fruth’s favorite moments

from the tour happened in Oklahoma

City, birthplace of Johnny Bench, who

grew up in nearby Binger, Okla. She had

a little fun with a young boy and his

parents, who came out to the Triple-A

stadium called Bricktown Ballpark for a

clinic Bench was giving at a Grassroots

Baseball event. The boy was standing in

full uniform, next to a statue of Bench,

staring up at it, when Bench got out of

the Grassroots RV.

“I walk Johnny over and say, ‘Oh

here’s your statue coming alive,’”

Fruth said. “The family just couldn’t

believe it. There was Johnny Bench,

standing next to the

Johnny Bench statue.

It was just a terrific

moment. And the kid

asked Johnny to sign

his cap, so Johnny

signed it for him.”

Amid all the

poignant moments,

Idelson and Fruth

had some fun too.

The health-conscious Idelson got talked

into eating “Baseball’s Best Burger” by

the Gateway Grizzlies organization of

the Independent Frontier League in a

suburb of St. Louis. It was a hamburger

patty, two pieces of bacon and a slice

of sharp cheddar cheese inside a

sliced Krispy Kreme donut.

“As a guy who basically lives on

hummus most of the time, it was a

shock to the system,” Idelson said.

“But it was tasty.”

Idelson tried another baseball “delicacy”

at a Twin City Little League game

in Festus, MO: frozen pickle juice.


29

FANS&THRILLS

“They’re in these little Dixie cups

and the kids are all licking them,”

Idelson said. “I’m like geez, I have to

try that and I tried it.”

And?

“It was kind of like eating the side

dish to a burger,” Idelson said. “Except

it was drinking the side dish to a burger.”

Idelson faced his biggest culinary

challenge on the trip home. After an

appearance with George Brett in Santa

Monica, Idelson and Fruth were set to

turn the RV around to make the 2,500-

mile trek back to Chicago. This time

they were making stops along Route 66

to shoot sites that capture the overall

Americana feel, like the world’s largest

catsup bottle, a 170-foot tall water tower

in Collinsville, Ind., and the Cadillac

Ranch art installation in Amarillo, Tex.

While in Amarillo, Fruth planned to

talk Idelson into take the Big Texan

Challenge, a chance to eat a 72-ounce

steak dinner free—a $72 value—by

eating it all within an hour.

“It comes with salad and a roll,”

Idelson said.

“I’ll eat the salad,” Fruth said.

The trip home also gave them a

chance to savor all that had happened

on the trip out west, and how connected

they felt to baseball-loving people they

met through Grassroots, people, Idelson

said, who felt “like kindred spirits.”

“What I’m finding really heartwarming

is the outpouring of gratitude

that Jean and I have when we roll up

in this RV to a Little League field, an

American Legion field, Pony League,

you name it, even a 19th century

recreation…” Idelson said during the

tour. “And just the desire to talk about

what’s going on with youth sports and

youth baseball. No matter where we go,

whether it’s umpires, groundskeepers,

parents, coaches—all of them are very

grateful for our promotion of the game

and the give-back part as well. They

don’t want us to leave, and they want

to know when we’re coming back.”

The answer is next summer, when

Fruth and Idelson will be traveling

across the country again—this time

without the RV—to shoot the remainder

of the book. Grassroots Baseball: Route

66 is due out in the spring of 2021.

30


FANS&THRILLS


EYE ON

Clemson,

like many schools,

is beefing up

[game-day security

TAILGATING

[

When three people were shot and killed

in a mass shooting at the Garlic Food

Festival in Gilroy, Calif. this past July,

it felt like a wake-up call to the entire

tailgating community. To have tragedy

strike at an outdoor venue where thousands of people

gather to enjoy great food, beverage and hospitality, it hit

close to home.

32


We can’t help but be reminded of our

own vulnerability as we head out to

parking lots across college football

and the NFL this fall. And we aren’t

the only ones. Teams are taking a

closer look at their security practices.

In the case of national football powerhouse

Clemson, a school with a

legendary tailgating tradition, gameday

security has been beefed up both

inside the stadium and out.

The preseason No. 1 and defending

national champion Clemson has

implemented a comprehensive metal

detector policy this fall, for starters.

There are now metal detectors at

each gate at Memorial Stadium, the

80,000-seat venue better known as

Death Valley.

“The safety and security of our fans is

absolutely the top priority for what we

do,” said Jeff Kallin, Clemson associate

athletic director for communications

and strategic initiatives. “Not only

just our fans but our coaches, our

staff, our student-athletes—anybody

that’s in that stadium or anywhere

around Clemson.”

Clemson still allows “pass-outs” which

means fans can leave the stadium to go

back to the parking lots during the game

and still get back into the stadium. That’s

on top of the 10,000 to 20,000 people

estimated to arrive on campus to tailgate

without having tickets to the game.

“We’ve seen a number of incredibly

tragic events over the course of the last

10 to 15 years,” Kallin said. “Even here in

the last year, it’s something that we’re

constantly reminded of, of making sure

that the response of ‘that can’t happen

here’ is no longer an acceptable response.

(Your security policy) has got to be

proactive. We need to do everything

that we can in as many ways as we can

to make sure that people are safe.”

6 Tailgating

Safety Tips

The best way to tailgate is

safely, so you can spend your

time focusing on fun. The

Clemson University Police Department

shared some tips they recommend to

Clemson’s faculty, staff, students and

visitors to stay safe and smart on

game day.

The Clemson P.D. calls the following

6 tips good security habits. They are

something all tailgaters can practice

regularly to both help safeguard

property and to avoid becoming

victims of crime.

1. Secure your valuables. Keep

all valuable possessions—such as

phones, wallets and purses—with you

at all times or lock them in your car.

Don’t leave them visible.

2. Do not leave valuables unattended.

If you set up televisions, radios, grills,

coolers, games, etc… PLEASE, leave

someone with these items if you are

planning to attend the football game.

3. Keep a Fire Extinguisher and First

Aid Kit on Hand. The university has

first responders on campus but

having these items handy can make a

difference in possibly saving a life or

preventing further damage.

4. Be aware of your surroundings. Don’t

be afraid to report suspicious activities,

packages or people, such as:

• A person or persons you see going

from tailgate to tailgate.

• A person or persons standing

around for a long period of time and

is not with a tailgate or group.

• If you see something, say something.

5. Don’t drink and drive. Have a

designated driver with your

tailgating party.

6. While having fun in the sun,

please monitor alcohol intake. Too

much alcohol in the heat can cause

dehydration, heat stroke and heat

exhaustion. Alcohol combined with

high temperatures means your body

may not be able to regulate its own

temperature effectively. Make sure

you are also drinking plenty of water.


FANS&THRILLS

Clemson is taking big steps to do just

that, not only by implementing the use of

metal detectors, but also by increasing

their efforts to protect fans both at

the stadium and beyond it. Leading

the effort is new Clemson police chief

and associate vice president for public

safety Greg Mullen.

Mullen spent 11 years as chief of

police in Charleston, S.C. including

2015 when a mass shooter killed nine

people at a bible study at the Emanuel

AME Church.

“It could be a terrorist attack or some

sort of incident that we hopefully never

have, but we’ve got to be prepared,”

Mullen said in a press release.

Under Mullen’s direction, Clemson

has removed 140 parking spaces from

the north end of the stadium that he

believed posed security risks. Clemson

has also installed four video boards on

the outside of the stadium—one at each

corner, facing the parking lots—to help

inform fans of safety concerns, whether

they’re weather-related, traffic-related

or regarding criminal activity.

Mullen is also the point man at the

helm of Clemson’s Incident Command

Center. That’s a new off-site facility

where representatives from a dozen

organizations ranging from campus

police, fire, EMS and S.C. Highway

Patrol gather to monitor game day

security. They utilize a series of video

cameras and radio communications

with officers stationed around campus

to monitor activity in and around the

parking lots.

Under Mullen’s direction last year, the

Incident Command Center was moved

off site from inside Memorial Stadium,

in part so it wouldn’t be threatened by

an incident at the stadium.

“I think it’s really important for

people to know there are a lot of things

that happen behind the scenes to make

these events as safe and secure as

they are,” Mullen said. “It takes a lot of

people, a lot of planning, and a lot of

training. I’m really proud of all the effort

and hard work this team puts in. Game

days are exactly what they should be

because of them.”

Clemson also recently announced that

it would begin using a team of faculty

and students from its communications

department to help monitor social

media before, during and after home

football games this fall.

Working large-scale events in

Charleston like the Cooper River

Bridge Run convinced Mullen how

essential it is to monitor social media.

He cited a recent report from the U.S.

Secret Service which found that 79

percent of those who perpetrated

mass attacks in 2017 did so after

engaging in threatening or concerning

communications, much of which

occurred over social media.

“Our team in the Incident Command

Center is tasked with looking at the

big picture of game day security,”

Mullen said. “And social media

monitoring is a great way to help

bring that picture into focus.”

Another advantage Clemson has in

terms of game day security is the sheer

volume of police on campus, there in

large measure to help control traffic.

“For football game days there is a

significant police presence all around,”

Kallin said. “Hopefully that’s part of what

goes into making people feel secure.”

34


Inside Tailgating Magazine: Fall 2019

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