World Cup without tailgating is lost opportunity to show not all Americans hate each other
Tailgating won’t be allowed at Gillette Stadium and several other venues during World Cup matches this year, but it's unclear who made the decision. Franck Fife / Getty Images
Whatever knockdown, drag-out battles we Americans are having over war, immigration, inflation, bike lanes, tariffs, health care, climate change, gun control, the budget deficit, the future of Social Security and why it took so long for Paul Thomas Anderson to win an Oscar, we can all agree on this: Tailgate parties at sporting events are really, really fun.
They’re a trusty and beloved presence at NFL and college football games, and they’ve found a home at MLS matches. It would stand to reason, then, that tailgating would make for a lively accoutrement when the World Cup comes to North America in just under two months. But … no. At Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., home of the NFL New England Patriots and New England Revolution, tailgating won’t be allowed during World Cup matches. Nor will tailgating be allowed at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. Or Lumen Field in Seattle. And so on.
How this came to be is somewhat understandable. Security concerns are always paramount, and, anyway, only some 5,000 parking spaces will be available for the seven matches scheduled for Gillette Stadium, which FIFA is rebranding as “Boston Stadium” during the World Cup. “Boston Stadium,” while we’re at it, is just another example of the genericness of the World Cup. It sounds like a made-up name from an old-fashioned made-for-TV movie. The betting here is that many a Gillette Stadium reference will be accidentally-on-purpose slipped into media accounts. Ditto with MetLife.
Who decided to ban tailgating from the World Cup? I was hoping to make note that FIFA has two F’s in its name and neither stands for “fun,” but the Fédération Internationale de Football Association isn’t taking responsibility for buzzkilling our tailgate parties. Even if that appeared to be the case at first. When various media outlets reported on the Gillette Stadium/”Boston Stadium” ban earlier this week, the go-to source was bostonfwc26.com, the Boston Host Committee’s website. Its “Match Day Checklist” minces no words: “No tailgating. Please note that the traditional ‘tailgating’ (eating and drinking around parked cars) is not permitted for these events.” The website originally noted this is “per FIFA policy.”
Not so, says FIFA, which issued the following statement: “FIFA does not have a formal policy that restricts tailgating (eating and drinking around parked cars in stadium areas). However, site-specific restrictions may be imposed in alignment with host city public safety authorities in certain venues based on local regulations.”
The Boston Host Committee has removed “per FIFA policy” from its website. Both groups share blame for dumbing down tailgates to “eating and drinking around parked cars.”
Tailgate parties are uniquely American. It’s quite different in the United Kingdom, where fans use public transportation to get to the stadiums. Before stepping inside, they pack local pubs as their own way of tailgating. My buddy Nick, born and raised in the Boston area and a devoted Tottenham Hotspur fan who at this very moment is in the U.K. for his annual Spurs fix, reports that it’s a general pre-match ritual “… to take your stroll up the high road and have a few pints and see your friends along the way.”
The beauty of tailgates is that they’ve changed very little over the years, except maybe for the flat screens people put up to watch the early game or the pregame shows. It’s Thanksgiving Day Meets (Add Name of Your Team Here), with beloved family members and dear friends getting together for burgers, beer and Nerf footballs flying through the air.
Tailgates are the exact opposite of what takes place inside those fancy stadium suites. You generally don’t take business clients to your tailgate party. You don’t close deals at a tailgate party. They aren’t the province of Republicans or Democrats. They are neither Red nor Blue, left nor right. For those who have an understanding of the late artist Norman Rockwell, tailgate parties are Rockwellian. Alas, Rockwell never did a tailgate painting. His home in Stockbridge, Mass., would have made for relatively easy car trips to such AFL/NFL venues as Shea Stadium, Yankee Stadium, the Polo Grounds and Schaefer Stadium, not to mention Yale Bowl and Harvard Stadium.
Team gear and jeans make up the official uniform of the tailgate, though cargo shorts are acceptable in warm weather. Tailgate parties sound broey, but based on my observations, that’s rarely the case. Plenty of women are involved. And lots of kids. At least one out of three tailgate parties has a cornhole tournament going on. And in much the same way folks in urban neighborhoods shovel off a parking space in front of their house and then mark the territory with a folding chair, it’s not uncommon for tailgaters to set up shop in such a way that they wind up using 1 1/2 parking spaces. Considering the remaining half-space has been rendered unusable, they’re basically using two parking spaces. I’ve never stopped to ask about the rules, written or unwritten. Given how few parking spaces will be available at Gillette Stadium (see what I did there?), it’s possible the FIFA people, er, the Boston Host City people, considered this when they banned the tailgaters.
Many people outside the United States have come to believe we’re all at each other’s throats all the time. What a shame, then, and I’m being totally serious here, that visitors from other countries won’t see our tailgate parties.
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