September 30, 2009 in Videos
Sometimes we do stuff on here that is not tailgating related. This is one of those times. This falls into that category of “irreverent humor” we warned you about. It also might explain why Donovan McNabb has been sidelined with a strange rib injury.
September 30, 2009 in Tailgating Ideas
Image by BentWright via Flickr
Editor’s Note: This is a guest post provided by Shellie Copeland of www.pet-super-store.com
The football season is in full swing and tailgaters everywhere are all ready to out “gate” the guy parked next to them. They do this by having having more food, a bigger TV, better beer, and a dog??? It may seem strange at first but if you prepare properly, your dog could be the best tailgating companion you have ever had.
Bringing your four-legged pal along to a tailgate takes proper preparation and you have to know how comfortable he/she is around large numbers of people and a pretty consistently loud environment.
Here are some things to do or consider before bringing your pup to a tailgate:
First and foremost, before even thinking about bringing the “Tail” to the tailgate, be absolutely certain there is a safe, cool place for your furry buddy to stay when the game starts. The beginning of football season can be downright hot in most parts of the United States; too hot for a dog — or any animal — to sit in a vehicle for the duration of the game. Also, a loud, crowded stadium is no place for most dogs, if they’re even allowed to enter. Even if it’s cool enough, you’ll want to take a break from the action several times to check on your dog. Ideally, it’s best, if you’re going to include your dog in the tailgating festivities, that you or someone you and your dog can trust implicitly will be staying at the tailgating site for the duration. That’s not a bad job seeing how they’ll be able to catch the game on a portable TV or the radio.
If your dog doesn’t like crowds let him stay home, and please, please, don’t bring your new puppy! That’s too long of a time and too much sensory overload for a young dog to handle. Socializing is an important part of a dog’s life and a puppy’s development. Excessive stimulation can set your dog’s tolerance and enjoyment of the social scene back, or even destroy his ability to cope with large groups of strangers completely. Once you’ve got those logistics handled and you’ve established a game plan to assure your dog’s safety and comfort, the real preparation begins.
Make sure you:
Including your dog in a tailgate party requires thoughtful preparation and honest evaluation of the situation and your dog’s comfort levels with social situations. However, if you do your due diligence it can be a good experience, especially if you’ve drawn sentry duty at the party site while everyone else goes to the game. You’ll have good company. Man’s best to be exact.
This guest post provided by Shellie Copeland of www.pet-super-store.com: Where you can find high quality pet doors and pet stairs.
September 30, 2009 in Tailgating Games
When it comes to tailgating games you pretty much need to be throwing something at some sort of a target. Beer pong, cornhole, washers, etc. are all tossing games that have become a tailgating staple . Now you can add YOCU to that list of tailgating games you should see popping up within the confines of the tailgating parking lot.
Simply stated, YOCU (Stands for “Your Own Custom Game Board”) is a wooden game board with scoring holes, a masonite finish and you toss washers at it. Sounds like many of the other washer tossing games on the market, right? Wrong. YOCU combines washers with shuffle board for enhanced game play that includes tactical defense along with potent offensive scoring. Check out the video to see YOCU in action with people playing it for the first time.
As you saw in the video there is more to YOCU than just tossing washers in holes on a single board. There is strategy and precision involved along with some defense for both teams. Also, YOCU boards have two playing surfaces. The “beginners” side has four scoring holes all in a single line down the middle of the board. The “pros” side has nine scoring holes as you can see in the above image. Both sides contain a masonite finish for ease of sliding washers much like you would incorporate into a game of shuffleboard. The YOCU game board measures 68″ x 20″ and weighs around 25 lbs.
The Official Rules of YOCU:
1. The game begins with two teams of two players per team.
2. The YOCU game board lies flat on the ground with either side facing up.
3. The players stand 6 feet directly back from the YOCU board with one player from each team playing from either side.
4. Each round consists of one player from each team (playing from the same side) throwing 4 washers onto the YOCU board and sliding them into the holes for points.
5. The team who throws first, Team A, throws all four washers. Once team A has thrown all 4 washers, team B throws their washers.
6. DO NOT pick up washers until the entire round is finished. All 8 washers must be tossed before the round is over.
7. The point value for each hole corresponds to its position on the board according to which side the player is throwing from. The side with 4 holes directly down the center, has a point system where: Hole 1 = 1 point Hole 2 = 2 points Hole 3 = 3 points Hole 4 = 5 points The side with 9 holes and a total of 5 rows has a point system where each hole is worth the exact amount of points equal to the corresponding row it is in: Row 1 = 1 point Row 2 = 2 points Row 3 = 3 points Row 4 = 4 points Row 5 = 5 points.
8. If a washer is leaning into a hole, but is not laying flat across the bottom, it is a LEANER and worth only one point, no matter which hole it is leaning into.
9. The game is over when one team has reached 21 points after the completion of the round.
10. All 8 washers must have been thrown to finish the game.
11. If one team goes over 21 points it is a BUST, and that team goes back to 13 points, automatically loosing the round.
12. The team that throws first each round is determined according to the ‘Honors’ system, which means that whichever team scores the most points in the current round, without busting, throws first the following round.
13. Players must shag their partner’s washers from the current round to continue into the next round.
14. If a player makes all 4 washers in one round they receive an extra ‘bonus toss’. This rule does not apply to Leaners.
15. The washer must be laying FLAT across the bottom of the hole to receive its full point value. Otherwise it is considered a Leaner. If multiple washers lay on top of each other, all leaning into the hole, they are ALL worth 1 point each.
16. If one player from each team tosses a washer into the same hole in the same round, both washers are canceled and no points are awarded. This rule applies on a washer by washer basis, so if Team A throws 2 washers into a hole and Team B tosses 1 washer into the same hole in the same round, the points for Team B’s washer is canceled along with 1 washer from team A. Team A still gets to keep the points for the one washer still remaining. If team B then tosses another washer into the same hole, in the same round, all four washers would be canceled and no points awarded for any. If team B then tosses a third washer into the same hole in the same round, team B then collects the standard points for that hole. The ‘cancel’ rule does not apply to leaners
17. If a washer misses the board or slides/rolls off, 1 point is deducted from that team’s score.
18. Teams can not go below 0 points.
19. Team B can attempt to knock off washers left on the board from Team A, causing team A to lose 1 point.
20. Any washer left on the board can be knocked into any hole by any other washer and the points will be awarded to whichever team the washer in the hole belongs to.
The genesis of YOCU was a brainchild of Nick Garbowitz of the Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas area. He created YOCU as a means so he and the guys he worked with would have some kind of entertainment during lunch breaks. Some of his co-workers liked it so much they wanted one for their families. He then started making some for camping and tailgating and going to the lake. From there people would see YOCU in action and it has grown organically based on the game play itself. Because YOCU has lived in relative obscurity (until now) you could be one of the first to have a YOCU of your own. People love new tailgating games and YOCU ensures you will be one of the few to have one of these set up and available for game play.
YOCU comes in a variety of colors for the scoring holes. (After all, it is Your Own CUSTOM Game Board) Color choices for the game board scoring holes are: White, Black, Gray, Light Blue, Navy, Lilac, Violet, Pink, Red, Brick Red, Yellow, Orange, Lime, Green, Brown and Tan.
You can buy your own YOCU directly from our online <a href=”http://shop.tailgatingideas.com/”>tailgating store</a>, Shop.TailgatingIdeas.com for $89.00 plus $35 flat rate shipping. Football season just started so there is still time to get your own YOCU game board before the season ends. All YOCU boards will ship directly from the manufacturer in Texas.
When ordering through Shop.TailgatingIdeas.com, please send a separate email to [email protected] and indicate what colors you prefer for your scoring holes. Be specific and tell us your color choices for the side with four holes (select between one and four colors) and the side with nine holes (select between two and five colors). Have fun and enjoy being one of the very first ones to be playing YOCU at your next tailgate.
Buy YOCU from Shop.TailgatingIdeas.com.
