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Would you like a customized BBQ grill grate for your next tailgate? How about $150 to be used at your favorite local meat market? With a little creativity, a digital camera and a YM Sport Grate you could be on your way there.

We first told you about YM Sports Grates back in August 2008. They are the ones that can make stainless steel grill grates with college team logos right on them. (click the image for a larger view) Because summer is here and that means more time for outdoor cooking and tailgating, YM Sports Grates is running a photo contest. Two (2) Grand Prize winners will receive their very own special edition YM CUSTOM GRATE in which they will help design, along with $150 toward your favorite local meat market. The judges at YM Custom Grates will choose one (1) Hot Mama and one (1) Smokin’ Daddy and the winners will be announced on July 10th. The only catch is that you must be photographed with your YM Custom Grill Grate clearly visible in your submitted photo. Don’t have a YM Custom Grill Grate yet? No worries. They are offering 15% off through the end of the contest, July 10, 2009, when you enter the coupon code “grillin” at checkout.

Make sure to visit the YM Custom Grates official contest rules page HERE before entering. Good luck!

Happy Canada Day! I am not Canadian but I do support the celebrations of other sovereign nations celebrating their independence from Mother England. I actually learned today was Canada Day by checking my Twitter page. That news made me immediately think that I have to include a really hot Canadian girl for today’s edition of the Mid-Week Eye Candy Wrapper. So who is the hottest thing to come out of Canada since Canadian Bacon? Elisha Cuthbert, of course. I could have gone with Emmanuelle Chriqui or Pam Anderson or even Rachel McAdams seeing how they are all Candadian babes too. After taking a glance at Elisha Cuthbert below, you’ll know I made the right choice. Now on with this week’s links:

• Follow Tailgating Ideas on Twitter
• Sexy CFL Cheerleaders: Canada Day Edition
• How To Get The Freshest Meat For Free
• 57 percent of Duke undergraduates who responded see no problem with the current tailgate regulations
• According to a recent Gallup poll Americans are choosing beer over wine once again
• Tailgate Destination Daytona: All You Need to Know
• Comparing experiences: Wrigley vs. The Cell
• Hot Photos from the Knicks City Dancers Auditions
• Prepare Your Tailgates Accordingly
• Tailgating Games – Fun For The Family
• Wimbeldon Officials Put Hot Chicks at Centre Court
• Sports, music & booze don’t mix well in Camden
• Getting the Grill That Fits You
• 101 Drunk Girls Motorboating

Philly fans, you should be embarrassed. This has to be one of the weakest demonstrations of shotgunning beers while tailgating. Although the burp at the 20 second mark and the higher than average amounts of cleavage help to salvage this one.

I feel like the grumpy old man with my most recent postings.  First stadium rules and now my “not-so-nice” feelings about ticket prices.

And when I say ticket prices I am referring to ticket brokers.  And when I say ticket brokers I am referring to Stub Hub.

We are beginning to see signs of the economy improving.  True, you might have to look really hard for those signs but they are there.  But regardless of the improving economy, money is still tight for most fans.  And unfortunately the wallet shrinkage isn’t being accompanied with a decrease in the stresses of everyday life.

Stress remains high.  We fans need our escape from home, from work, from kids, from significant others.  Our answer has always been a trip to the stadium or ball park.  A good tailgate followed by some baseball or football, followed by more tailgating.

Living in an area of a die-hard fan-base it is difficult to purchase football and baseball tickets directly from the teams.  Tickets are sold-out and spots on season ticket waiting lists are often passed on in wills.

If a fan wants to see the local team they are most often forced to seek tickets from an outside ticket broker (sure there is always the option of an e-bay auction, but who has the time to monitor prices all-day only to be outbid with seconds remaining in the auction).

And when we visit these ticket broker sites the prices are ridiculously over-priced.  It is difficult to find tickets that aren’t at least twice face value.  I understand people wanting to make themselves a profit, but come on people stop with the greed.

The sky-high prices are killing the joy of going to a game live.  If you do end up dishing out money for tickets, your at-the-stadium budget is depleted.  Throw in parking costs and we are looking at non-existent beer funds (gotta keep the tailgate buzz going inside the stadium).  And if you decide against forking over the money for the tickets, well that means no pre and post game tailgates!

This rant is probably pointless because of the whole supply and demand theory.  But what an amazing thing it would be if there was a way to regulate the prices that ticket brokers charge!

First out of the gate, huge kudos to Chris for an epic post, The 12 Written Rules. That post has gotten quite a response and I have gotten a few emails regarding it. None more funny than the one I got from Eric Hampton from Southern California. He wrote in and offered up a few more rules that should have been added to the list. Eric Writes:

Hey guys,

Loved the list of the written rules of attending a sporting event today. I have a few more that I think should be enacted immediately.

• If you have the cash or the good fortune to sit behind home plate at a baseball game, stop acting like a dick while waving to some moron watching at home when you’re dumb ass happens to appear on television. If you’re caught doing this you will be tossed out or at the very least, back up to the top row where you’re no class ass belongs.
• If you know nothing about the sport you’re watching just sit back, shut up and enjoy it. No need to open your mouth and share how stupid you are. If you are one of those who thinks they know everything about the sport they are watching…..same goes for you!
• If you’re going to charge me $8 for a beer, make it a good beer. Don’t give me the one that was poured 15 minutes ago with no head and is watered down, generic piss water. This also means not pouring me a beer that turns out to be 50% head.
• If you’re desperate enough to have to eat/drink at a stadium, you must know what you want before reaching the mouth breather behind the counter. Come on people, hot dogs, peanuts, nachos, beer, soda. How hard is that? If you can’t figure out what you want during the 20 minutes you spent waiting in line, you’re too stupid to be there. Also, regardless of how much of a big shot you think you are, they are going to charge you for the food. Even though they are robbing you blind, get your money out and be ready to pay. Once again, if the math is too difficult for you to do during you’re long ass wait, you’re too dumb to be there.
• If you’re the idiot that wears the visiting team’s jersey and stands up and turns around to taunt the home fans around you, you not only deserve to get your ass beat, but should have to pay back the full value of all the beer, nachos and anything else that gets tossed at you.
• If you are from the east coast and come out to a game in California, you must remember a few rules. First of all, you are no longer on the east coast and nobody cares that you’re from there. Stop telling everyone how much better it is there. If that were the case you would still be there and we all would be thankful. There is a reason California is the most populous state in the Union and it is because everywhere else blows. The next thing you must remember is the Yankees suck! Maybe that’s not a rule but it should be.
• If you’re going to be sitting next to people, and at some places almost on top of people, remember to follow the American custom of wearing deodorant! That may fly at the World Cup but smelling like you commando crawled the length of the tailgating parking lot to get the stadium gates endears you to nobody.
• If you are a waste of space, wannabe gang banger who is only at the game to get drunk in the parking lot, pick fights and ruin tailgating for the rest of us……. stick to the Raider games.
• If you are a woman with NO CLUE about the game, you have a legal obligation to do one or all of the following:

1) Be hot and wear a home team t-shirt that would be considered tight on any 5 year old.
2) Supply great food and beverage to the tailgate and be happy to do so.
3) Smile and never ask how much longer the game is.
4) Drive your drunk ass boyfriend/husbands butt home afterward.

Hope you enjoyed my list. Also, let me take a moment to give props to the lady on tailgatingideas.com the other day that had the double breast beer bong! Classic.

Despite having a bit of fun making up these new rules, in all seriousness we readers of tailgatingideas.com, fans of sports and parking lot pre-game action, we have the responsibility to not only rock the parking lot like it’s a Jimmy Buffet concert, but to create an atmosphere that makes all welcome. The future of tailgating is in jeopardy right now. More and more, the crack down on tailgating is hitting us all. Whether it be time restrictions, alcohol crack downs, parking space restrictions or grouping all tailgaters with the morons that ruin our image by using the sporting event parking lot as there own gang turf war, we need to stand up for and create a positive image and environment.

Love the blog and keep up the good work.

Eric

So there you have it. Feel free to come up with your own set of rules and email them to us or add them in the comments section below.

It is the end of June but football season will be here before you know it. And despite the efforts of many of us in the tailgating world to encourage many of you to tailgate more often, football season is still viewed as prime “tailgating season”. Then again, football season, college or pro, goes hand in hand with tailgating. So because tailgating season is coming in August, I decided to get my gear in order in preparation of it.

For baseball season, I removed the San Diego Chargers canopy that was on my pop-up tent and replaced it with my old generic green one. There is nothing more lame than tailgating with gear that supports one team yet you are tailgating at another event. Kind of like wearing your Barry Sanders throw back jersey to the Detroit Tigers baseball game. I also broke out the tailgating games and dusted them off to make sure I was not missing any parts or game pieces. This will ensure that once I am ready to gear up and load up for the first pre-season game of the NFL season, there will be no surprises and disappointments in the parking lot. There is nothing worse than breaking out your tailgating grill only to find that the ignitor is malfunctioning or that your chairs are missing a leg. So take the next few weekends and go through your normal tailgating gear and test things out. A little time spent in the summer will save you some stress come football season.

Now on with this week’s links.

• Follow Tailgating Ideas on Twitter
• Why Redskins Tailgaters Are Still Worried
• Win an awesome BBQ recipe kit
• The Tramp Stamp: A Gallery
• Food Landscapes Made with Bacon and Other Meats: Yes, Bacon
• TexanMark’s Tailgate Guides: Louisville Tailgate and Visitors Guide ‘09
• The 15 Greatest Drinking Quotes
• Local Chicago fans enjoy tailgating at the Cell
• A few tips for how not to ‘party foul’ at summer concerts
• Reason 6,534,279 Why I Don’t Go to Redskins Games: New Tailgating Rules
• Uncle Crappy is taking my advice on doing a little tailgating practice before football season starts
• Toaster Oven Cooks Pizza in the Car

I have no doubt that some of you will agree.  I have no doubt that some of you will disagree.  Here’s hoping the agreeing is in the majority!

I was reading my local newspaper earlier this week (yes, I am one of the few that still actually reads and gets a newspaper) and came across a listing of rules for fan behavior while down at the ballpark. Of course the column generated a lot of responses and even some ideas for better rules.

Below are some of my favorite responses and some new ones from the mind of this writer…enjoy!

1. If you catch a foul ball, you are entitled to one complimentary lap dance at the local gentleman’s club.
2. Gloves at the stadium are to be worn by kids only.  If you are a grown man, be a man and stick your bare hand out there!
3. Do not be the fan that starts “the wave.”  Fans who sit behind home plate and start or participate in the wave should be immediately ushered  from the stadium.
4. No personalized Jerseys.  You don’t play for the team, they aren’t calling you in from the bullpen.  It’s as silly as A-Rod or Ryan Howard wearing your employer’s name badge.  Show your support with a jersey of your favorite current player or rock a throw back jersey of your favorite old timer.
5. No throwing home run balls hit by the opposition back on the field.  If you don’t want it, make a little kid’s day and give it away (or if you prefer see rule #1).
6. If you are seated in the upper levels, stop screaming to the ump about balls and strikes.  He doesn’t hear you and you are just annoying everyone around you.
7. When you scream commentary or opinions, be funny.  If the fan is indeed funny, the fan’s row starts a collection and buys the fan a complimentary beer.
8. If you are at a baseball game, support the team on the field.  No football cheers or wearing football jerseys.  If you don’t have baseball gear, hit up the t-shirt guy in the parking lot.
9. If you are lucky enough to sit behind home plate, you must give the usher your cell phone prior to sitting down in your seat.  Nothing is more annoying than watching a game on TV and having to watch fans talk or text on their cell phone (ok, maybe those same fans waving is more annoying).
10. When entering the stadium with a jersey on, the ticket collector should ask you a set of 3 questions regarding the player whose jersey you are wearing.  If you get more than 1 incorrect answer you are banned from the park.  If you nail all 3 questions you get a free beer!
11. If the home team is losing, the ballpark TVs are to show nothing but the best of the day’s “eye candy.”  We fans have to get our money’s worth somehow.
12. No leaving the game early. (that includes you Dodger fans!) If you leave early you must present your reason to the fans in your row/section.  They will determine approval to leave.

Hopefully these rules gave you a few chuckles.  Please share your creativity and add to the list of rules!

EDITOR NOTE: A list of 8 more rules in response to these was emailed in by a reader. Those rules were so good they deserved their own post. Read it HERE.