Tailgating Ideas

Whether you like it or not, beer pong is rapidly becoming more and more popular in the tailgating parking lots. It still hasn’t surpassed cornhole in popularity but it is quickly gaining.

We recently discovered a mobile app from Who’s Up? Games – appropriately named Who’s Up? Beer Pong. In a nutshell, Who’s Up? Beer Pong is a mobile app for iPhone & iPad that notifies you when it’s your turn to play beer pong. Upon downloading it, we discovered it is a bit more than just that.

The basic gist of the Who’s Up? Beer Pong app is to eliminate the inconvenience of using a sign-up sheet for whomever has next game of beer pong. Typically if you are within a group and there is only one beer pong table, a sign-up sheet gets produced. Normally that sign-up sheet invariably gets wet and the ink runs everywhere, other people’s writing is illegible or it flat out gets lost. A total pain and even if the sign-up sheet is followed, you have to linger around the table to see if you are close to playing or you might get skipped.

The Who’s Up? Beer Pong mobile app eliminates all that by keeping record of those teams in line waiting to play. The app alerts the next team electronically when the previous game is completed and it is now their turn to play. No more doing that “drive-by” the table to see how long you have to wait until it is your team’s turn. This mobile app uses push notifications to promote organization and management for recreational games like beer pong. (They also have an app that uses the same technology for cornhole and table tennis coming soon. The cornhole app is due for release in March.)

Unique features of Who’s Up? Beer Pong mobile app:

• Easily create and find games using GPS location services
• Connect with friends to create teams
• Take or add a photo for a personal sports card
• Make your own team names
• Talk smack
• Instant alerts for players when it is their turn to play
• Option for private, password-protected games
• Share wins on Facebook and Twitter
• Stat tracking

After downloading it to our iPhone, we really liked the app. It was easy to use, allows you to use your Facebook profile to set your photo and your name and allows you to create your own team name. I personally liked the stats feature where you can keep track of wins and cups made.

As for being a tailgate friendly game? It is because it is a mobile app you place on your phone. As for the practicality of using it while tailgating, that may be a bit of a stretch. Normally beer pong at a tailgate is not that highly organized to the point there is a sign up sheet or a waiting list. I have been to a few tailgate parties where there was only one beer pong table and there were people waiting to play but that was on rare occasions. I see this app being more geared towards college Greek house parties or even local bars that want to have their beer pong table be a bit more organized. Could you use it while tailgating? Of course, but the likelihood of your group being that big you need a sign-up sheet for beer pong is low. If your tailgate party is that big, hats off to you.

Currently the Who’s Up? Beer Pong mobile app was free to download. (At least it was free for me without having to charge my credit card or use a promotional code.) If the app does turn into a paid app, the folks at Who’s Up? Games were gracious enough to provide four of our TailgatingIdeas.com readers with promo codes to try the game for free.

Promo Codes:
66NMKAF4WTEY
93PWP9KJTLHJ
HEXX97MLH39R
6YJRMEHWXFLP

Depending on how fast people use these promos codes will determine how soon they will expire and be no good. So if you are interested in trying out this mobile app for free, search for, “Who’s Up? Beer Pong” in the app store. You can also get the app by visiting their website, www.whosupgames.com.

While tailgating, there are a few methods to identify which beverage is yours. Some people turn the opener tab to the side to indicate that it is theirs. Some people will push in a dent behind the back of the can to mark their territory. Others will search for that one of a kind koozie (**cough** Shark Koozie **cough**) to make it know that that can is only theirs.

We recently came across a new product called the Can Stamp. Simply put, the Can Stamp is an easy and handy solution to properly identifying your beverage can. The Can Stamp is a key chain with raised letters that imprints a word or words into the curved upper section of the beverage can you plan to consume. You simply press and rock it along the “shoulder” of the can to get a visible imprint that makes it unmistakeably your can. Take a look at their video on how to make a nice, clean stamp in a single motion.

As you can see in the video, a smooth rocking motion produces a nice, clean stamp. We were sent a sample of the Can Stamp and tried it out for ourselves to see how well it works. We have a side by side comparison of a Diet Coke can we stamped ourselves with little practice next to a can the folks at Can Stamp did with assumed much more practice and experience.

Can Stamp done by Can Stamp people

Can Stamp done by Tailgating Ideas

As you can see, we need a little more practice to get the stamp just right.

In our experience, we found that you do not have to press so hard in order to get a good stamp. Subsequent stamps we made on other cans turned out much better and after a few attempts, we started to get the feel for how much pressure to place on the stamp.

The fact that the Can Stamp is also a key chain means that whenever you go to a tailgate party, you will always be able to quickly and easily identify your canned beverage. No matter if you drove to the tailgate party or not, you will always have your keys. How else are you going to get into your dorm room? – unless your roommate hung a neck tie on the door and then you are on your own.

The Can Stamp comes in a variety of stamped sayings including, MINE, IN USE, FUEL, DRUNK and 1 MORE.

Unfortunately at this time they do not make custom messages for the Can Stamp. The tooling and the molds would cost too much for custom orders. They will make custom stamps for really large orders. We are talking huge orders of a massive bulk size number of Can Stamps. Think Fortune 500 company sized big, huge bulk sized order. For all the guys in your frat house? Not so much.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Can Stamp and for the price, durability, uniqueness, ingenuity and portability, the Can Stamp is definitely “Tailgate Approved”.

The Can Stamp runs $7.95 per stamp plus $2.99 for shipping. Order as many or few as you like and the $2.99 covers shipping and handling for the entire order to any destination in the continental USA by way of the U.S. Postal Service.

For more information on the Can Stamp, visit: canstamp.com. You can also like them on Facebook

I don’t know if you heard or not, but apparently there’s this thing going on Sunday called the Super Bowl? You may have heard about it once or twice this week from possibly a co-worker or a neighbor.

Outside of Thanksgiving, Super Bowl Sunday is probably the one day when Americans consume the most calories. One of the more popular Super Bowl snacks is the 7-layer dip. Usually consisting of refried beans, sour cream, guacamole, shredded cheese, salsa and either sliced black olives, diced tomatoes or onions or whatever you like. Pretty standard stuff. But we here at Tailgating Ideas got to thinking.

This year’s Super Bowl features the Denver Broncos and the Seattle Seahawks. One of the underlying story lines is the fact that the two states these two teams hail from, are the only two states in the union to have passed laws that legalize the recreational use of marijuana.

With that said, we thought that since we never like to follow the beaten path, why would we bring just a plain, old 7-layer dip? In honor of the two states the Super Bowl participants represent, we thought a 70-layer dip consisting of typical 7-layer dip ingredients and stoner munchie snack foods would make for a better contribution to your Super Bowl party buffet table.

So here it is. The TailgatingIdeas.com 70-Layer Dip recipe.

1. Refried Beans
2. Sour cream
3. Guacamole
4. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
5. Diced Tomatoes
6. Jalapeno Slices
7. Sliced Black Olives
8. Ground Beef
9. Chunky Salsa
10. Crushed Fritos
11. Peanut Butter
12. Sliced Bananas
13. Mini-Marshmallows
14. Cap’n Crunch Crunch Berries
15. Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough – Uncooked*
16. Nutella
17. Yellow Cake Crumbles
18. Nutter Butters
19. Nilla Wafers
20. BBQ Sauce
21. Little Debbie Cosmic Brownies
22. Flaming Hot Cheetos
23. Double Stuffed Oreos
24. Twinkies
25. Cheez Whiz
26. Strawberry Pop Tarts
27. Gold Fish
28. Rice Krispie treats
29. Cheese Puffs
30. Top Ramen noodles
31. Chili
32. Macaroni and Cheese
33. Gummi Bears
34. Crushed Cool Ranch Doritos
35. Funyuns
36. Bugles
37. Girl Scout Thin Mints
38. Ben & Jerry’s Chunky Monkey

39. Raspberry Zingers
40. Chex Mix
41. Tater Tots
42. Chorizo
43. Diced Red Onion
44. Spanish Rice
45. Black Beans
46. Mashed Potatoes
47. Totino’s Pizza Rolls
48. Turkey Gravy
49. Chick-Fil-A Cross Cut Fries
50. Cream Cheese
51. Sweet Chili
52. Apple Sauce
53. Chicken Nuggets
54. Pulled Pork
55. Pastrami
56. Mini Cinnamon Rolls
57. Spagehtti-O’s
58. Sliced Hard Boiled Eggs
59. Sliced Bagel Dogs
60. Mini corn dogs
61. Melted Velveeta
62. Marshmallow Cream
63. Chocolate Pocky
64. Grape Jelly
65. Cut up Grilled Cheese Sandwiches
66. Sweet pickles
67. Chocolate pudding
68. Whipped Cream
69. M&M’s
70. Bacon

*The consumption of raw cookie dough is unhealthy and is dangerous. Please understand that we included this ingredient for comedic value because eating raw cookie dough has been a stereotypical drunken/stoned munchie food since, well, forever. Seriously, there are real health risks to eating raw cookie dough

Nobody likes a dirty, greasy, grimy grill grate. Some may claim that the left over residue clinging to your grill grate from past tailgate parties adds flavor to the food you are about to cook. We can debate that claim all day long but what if you don’t want those flavors from tailgates of the past to permeate what you are going to cook today? Why not start with a clean grill and let the natural flavors of what you are grilling come out in the food?

We recently discovered the Grill Daddy Pro. Simply stated, it is a grill brush that is specifically designed to clean charcoal or gas grills quickly, easily and thoroughly. The ability to clean and sterilize your grill grate is produced by steam that comes directly from the Grill Daddy Pro.

(Disclaimer: We did receive a sample of the Grill Daddy Pro for free. The fact this sample was provided to us free of charge in no way influenced our opinion of the product nor did it impact our ability to test and review the product fairly and objectively.)

We were sent a sample of the Grill Daddy Pro to test out and review objectively in a real tailgating environment. We chose to test the Grill Daddy Pro while tailgating prior to the San Diego Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl on our Tailgating Ideas custom grill grate. Take a look at the pictures below and you decide if the Grill Daddy Pro does what it claims.

As you can see in the “Before” photo, the Tailgating Ideas logo in the middle of our grill grate was fully encrusted with grease and grime from previous tailgate parties. The caked on residue was left over from tailgating probably about five weeks prior to the bowl game. As you can see in the “After” photo, the grill grate came out very clean. Here are the instructions on how to use the Grill Daddy Pro.

1. Make sure the on/off water valve is in the off position.
2. Unscrew the water fill cap and fill the Grill Daddy Pro with water and replace the screw cap and tighten until snug.
**DO NOT USE SOAP OR OTHER CLEANING DETERGENTS – USE ONLY WATER.**
3. In a left to right motion, run the Scraper Brush across the grill grates to break up the really tough areas of baked on food residue. While brushing, turn the on/off valve to on and the water will release in the upside down position. The release of water can be regulated by turning the on/off valve partially on.
4. To finish cleaning the grill, grip the Upright Handle in one hand and the Leverage Knob in the other hand. This will give you maximum leverage to brush away the residue without getting your hands too close to the heat. Use the Main Brush and brush the grill in the direction of the grill grates, releasing the water as you brush. Brush until the grill is sparkling clean and free of dirt.
5. Turn the on/off valve to off when finished.

We got our grill up to about 600 degrees before using the scraper brush part to break up the really large pieces of stuck on residue. After breaking up those areas we then closed the lid to allow the heat to come back up. By bringing up the heat back to over 500 degrees, this would maximize the water coming out of the grill brush and thus make more steam.

We found the Grill Daddy Pro simple to use and highly effective. Controlling the amount of water and steam took some getting used to the first time we used it. As with any new product, the second or third time you use it, you find that “sweet spot” setting that gives you just the right amount of steam desired.

The photos will show that the Grill Daddy Pro did a phenomenal job in cleaning a grill grate that was literally, covered in caked on gunk and residue from previous cooks. The long handle and the leverage knob were perfect for getting off all the dirt and grime without having to press too hard or work too much. The steam literally melted away and lifted off the grime and removed all the gunk that a normal, non-steaming brush simply would not be able to get off.

The only negative we could find about the Grill Daddy Pro was the size. The extra long handle was great for when we were actually cleaning the grill but because of the unique shape and the sheer size of it, it might be a bit big and cumbersome to bring tailgating. For the backyard griller, we could find zero flaws with this product. Not a single one. It works flawlessly and we were very pleased with how clean our grill turned out.

It may be a bit too late to give this item as a Christmas gift but Father’s Day is just a few months away already. This would make a great Father’s Day gift for any dad who is the king of the grill either at home or outside the stadium. The brushes on the Grill Daddy Pro are removable and are dishwasher safe. With that added feature you just remove them and wash them for full confidence they will be sparkling clean for your next grilling venture.

The Grill Daddy Pro is available through Amazon. Normally priced at $24.99, the Grill Daddy Pro is currently priced at $19.98.

It seems fitting that as the year comes to a close and we say goodbye to 2013 and welcome in 2014 that we look back at the 10 most popular posts that were published here at Tailgating Ideas. 2013 was a good year for us as we continued to grow and expand. We saw traffic numbers increase and gained more visitors than in any of our previous years. (We were founded in 2007 and in August 2014 we will celebrate our seventh year blogging.)

2013 was the year of the product review. In recent memory, we can not recall a year where we did more Tailgating Game Reviews and more Tailgating Gear Reviews than we did this year. We counted them up and we did nearly 50 gear and game reviews (48 to be exact) this year alone. It stands to reason that many of our top posts from 2013 come from either of those two categories.

So without any further delay, let’s recap the year that was 2013 and share with you all the top 10 posts from this past year:

10) MegaPongo – A tailgating game review by Rob, MegaPongo takes beer pong to a new level. The game stands can be set at varying lengths and there are a multitude of cup formations to configure your cups. There are even backboards and a ball collection system for missed shots. Because this new game is so different from the regular beer pong played on a table, it is no wonder this tailgating game review was one of our most popular and most read posts in 2013.

9) Chill Bit – Since our original product review was published, the Chill Bit successfully completed a Kickstarter fund raising campaign that allowed them to redesign the product and bring it to mass production. But before all that success started, we reviewed the 1.0 version. The Chill Bit basically snaps onto a warm can or bottle and spins it in ice using your cordless drill and will chill it down to the same temperature had it been sitting in your cooler for hours. It does this all in about 90 seconds to two minutes and it is safe to open immediately after spinning without fizzing over or exploding. You have to read the review to understand the science behind it but the bottom line is it works and the Chill Bit was our No. 9 most popular entry this year.

8) Tailgating Fantasy – Originally written to help promote the Visa #MyFootballFantasy campaign, this was a humor piece written to outline my own football fantasy. With things like the a luxury cruiser, battling celebrity chefs, Isaac the bartender from the Love Boat serving up drinks, piloting an F-18 Hornet for the stadium fly-over and making it rain bacon strips, this was one fantasy that if reality and money were not a factor, would have been epic. But alas it is only a fantasy but at least it is all mine and it was fun to write and share.

Tampon Flasks

7) Tampon Flasks – Smuggling booze inside the stadium or concert venue has been the topic of numerous reviews here on TailgatingIdeas.com over the years. It is no wonder that three of the top 10 posts in 2013 had to do with saving a little bit of money by doing a sneaky BYOB past security. These flasks look like test tubes you used in high school science lab but are designed to bring in liquor wrapped in a tampon wrapper. We all know security guards will not even touch a woman’s purse if he sees some tampons in there and will waive her right through. That is the genius design in these little flasks that hold about an ounce and a half of liquid and are sold in a 5-pack.

6) Pool Pong Party Barge – Back in 2007 when we started this tailgating blog, we discovered the PortOPong inflatable beer pong table. You knew it was bound to happen that someone would take that basic concept of a floating beer pong table and improve upon it. Hence the Party Barge was born. Not only does it float in water for games of beer pong but it has additional cup holders around the edges to be used for game spectators or to use it as a floating bar. The biggest improvement was the addition of a sunken cooler in the middle that can hold up to 18 canned beverages plus ice. With that added feature you never have to get out of the water to grab another cold one. No wonder this post and product review was our sixth most popular in 2013.

Georgia Bulldogs

5) FanMug – When it comes to tailgating, we sure do love to show our undying support and devotion to our team. From team apparel to hats to face painting, we love to show our support in many different ways. When we discovered the FanMug, an authentic, miniature replica of your favorite football team’s helmet, we knew right away it would be a hit with tailgaters. It can be used as a can or bottle koozie or as a regular mug to hold hot or cold beverages. High quality with extreme attention to detail the FanMug was not only quite popular out in the parking lots but was one of the most popular posts and gear reviews we did in 2013.

4) Sunscreen Flask – The second of three posts that involve a new and genius way to smuggle your booze past security when attending a game or concert. These 8 oz. tubes look identical to a tube of sunscreen but they are made from food grade plastic. Nowhere on the tube except in very fine print on the back does it reveal that it is not a legitimate tube of sunscreen. From a reasonable distance and at close examination it looks exactly like an SPF 30 sunscreen bottle. Why a flask disguised as a sunscreen tube? Quite honestly because all events allow sunscreen in past security. Football games, baseball games, concerts, state fairs, outdoor festivals all have security staff checking bags and backpacks before entering the venue. All of these events allow sunscreen in past the gates and the Sunscreen Flask is so stealth, the security won’t think twice about checking it closely. With the cost of alcohol inside a stadium these days sky high, no wonder this post was our fourth most popular this year.

3) Hi-Tops – Hi-Tops is a new tailgating game that combines elements of other popular tailgating games like cornhole and beer pong but puts a new twist on it to make it a fun and unique tailgating game. Hi-Tops was invented by two recent University of Central Florida graduates. They came up with the concept of hi-Tops when they were on a road trip, talking about the tailgating and drinking games that are available on the market now. Both agreed there just wasn’t really anything that satisfied everything they would like to see in a game that was also easy and convenient to play while tailgating. We took Hi-Tops tailgating with us to a Monday Night Football game and it was a big hit. Gauging from the amount of people that read the review, making it our No. 3 most popular post in 2003, the readers thought it was a big hit too.

Photo Credit: Associated Press

2) Best ways to smuggle alcohol – With so many different gadgets and techniques to smuggle your booze out there, we decided to compile a list of the best ones . Over the years we have tried out numerous booze smuggling techniques and why not put together a 10 best list for the booze smuggling crowd? We featured such gadgets like the Freedom Flask, the Bootlegger and even The WineRack for women. More sneaky ways to smuggle your booze were featured in this post and it is no wonder why it came in ranked at No. 2 of our most popular post in 2013.

1) The Whizdom – the Whizdom is a personal urinary device that basically extends the end of your penis to the ground in a self-contained tube so you can urinate without having to go to the port-a-potty. Guys, how many times have we peed on a tree while out camping? Same concept here but you would be doing it more discreetly and in more of a public setting. Just make sure the cops aren’t looking and follow you to the area where you have targeted as your “relief zone”. This post came in at No. 1 for two reasons. The sheer outrageousness of this little device generated some social media buzz and it was shared on Twitter and Facebook quite a bit. The big boost was when we received a link from Sports illustrated that really boosted the number of people that saw this post.

So there you have it. Another year in the books and another successful year for all involved at making TailgatingIdeas.com the best tailgate party lifestyle blog on the web. We did have a few other popular posts that took in a lot of visitors but just didn’t make the top 10. Those honorable mentions include: The Kegster, Ryobi RYI 2200, OYO Sportstoys, CocktailGator and the Flip-Box Iceless Cooler.

Thanks for reading and we expect even bigger things for 2014.