Joe Cahn: Commissioner of Tailgating

MTR: What makes a good tailgater?

Joe: A good tailgater is defined by enthusiasm. The tailgate is the reception to the banquet. Everybody wants to go to the reception, some people skip the banquet. When they skip the wedding, “We're going to the reception.” When they skip the meeting, “We're going to the reception.” A good tailgater is one who is a fan, or may not even be a fan but just wants to socialize and be with other people who either dress the same or think alike. And don't eat diet food.

MTR: Nobody's going to get extra points for vegetarian food in this competition, I take it.

Joe: Well there are... and I have to say, I've seen a lot of vegetarians back in Seattle, there's a gentleman who has an all-organic tailgate. In the Bing National Tailgating Championships, everybody is welcome. Except the people who are dieters. Vegetarians are welcome, dieters are not.

MTR: I wondered if you could share a tailgate that was specifically memorable for you.

Joe: I'll tell you, they all stand out. Some of the ones that stand out the most: at an Army game at West Point, watching a colonel tailgating with his daughter, who was probably around 5 years old, sitting at a little table. Daughter at the table and the father squatting down by his daughter with a little teacup in his hand. He was invited to his daughter's tailgate. His massive hand with this little teacup, but you could see in his smile and in her smile, what this was about. This was about bonding time with your friends, your family and friends.

MTR: What about your most memorable meal?

Joe: I've had lobster and steak, and pretzels and M&Ms, I've had everything in between. But I was at a tailgate in Cleveland where I was walking back, people were starting to go back into the game, almost game time. There was two gentlemen with their sons, their sons were about 5 and 6. They're sitting down on one of those little Fisher Price tables, eating sandwiches. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. The fathers had a little grill on the side and they were cooking some brats. And I was talking to the fathers, and one of the fathers said, “Joe, I wish I'd known you were coming. I would have put some more food on the grill.” And all of the sudden there's a little tug on my leg, and there's this little five year old. He had torn his sandwich in half and he said, “Here, you can have half of my sandwich.”

And that's what tailgating is about. It's about the sharing, whether or not we're 8 or 80. The sharing, just that feeling, that sense of--I refer to it as the last great American neighborhood. We used to walk the neighborhood, we used to know our neighbors, and it's like walking through thousands of backyards with no privacy fences.

MTR: You'll be judging the Bing National Tailgating Championship this fall, what are some ways to use Bing before, after, or during the tailgate?

Joe: Well, before, it's great because before you leave home you can do your fantasy football league, using the sports comparison. You can do your lineups, you can decide whether you want to start Manning or Brady, or your running backs, and they have a great sports comparison before you leave your house. Also before you leave the house, you can use the map section and go right to the stadium. At the stadium, with the hand-held--on my phone, I have the Bing app, I can all the sudden-- "Gee, I'm out of mustard. What can I use as a substitute?" So I can find a quick recipe if I don't have anything. Or, heaven forbid that I forgot the chicken, I can just Bing the closest grocery store and I'm right there and can come back and everybody's happy.

Follow Joe's travels and get his tailgating tips on his web site, Tailgating.com.