Tailgating Ideas – Don't Just Tailgate, Tailgate Better

When the opportunity to review the ScoreBand was presented to me I was pretty ecstatic. Regardless if the product was any good I was getting myself a free watch.

The product review turned out to be a win-win for me. A free watch that was actually really useful. In my opinion I think that the watch is also quite stylish. Take a look at their video to see what the Scoreband is all about.

I tested the ScoreBand on two separate occasions… one tailgating related, the other non-tailgating related (though there was still beer involved).

The first test was last weekend when I wore the Scoreband when my buddies and I went golfing. The ScoreBand has as “Golf Mode” that allows the user to keep track of each hole stroke with the simple touch of a button. Hit a shot, hit the top button of the watch to record the stroke. Sadly, with my golf game I was forced to hit the top button more often than I would have liked. Once the hole was completed all you had to do was hit and hold the bottom button to add the hole score to your overall score. The simplicity of the watch allows the user to keep accurate scores. Shots that would have been missed while the scorecard was in the golf cart are now captured. And for those folks whose math skills plummet after a few beers, the overall score feature of the ScoreBand allows for accurate score taking. The lightweight design (made of flexible and durable silicone material; snug fit) makes for a very comfortable wear that had no impact on my golf swing.

The second test was this weekend during my Eagles game tailgate. During the tailgate I was able to use the “All Score Mode” on the ScoreBand. Unlike the “Golf Mode” where only a single player’s scores can be tracked, the “All Score Mode” allows you to keep the scores of two players or teams. I used the ScoreBand to track the score of our Cornhole games. The top and bottom buttons allow you to keep score for the different players. Every time that I would score I would hit the top button. Every time my buddy would score I would hit the bottom button. Keeping score on the ScoreBand eliminates the need to manually track scoring or track scoring on the counter attached to the Cornhole board. No bending down means no spilling of beer. Also, if your tailgating games are like mine accurate scoring means the correct person or team is taking their penalty for losing. In our case that is chugging a beer or two. For giggles I also tested the ability of the watch to withstand spilling of beer on the LCD display… it passed!

Sure you can get by without a ScoreBand but for under thirty bucks why not simplify score keeping? Once the games are done there is no need to remove the watch as it can be worn for standard time keeping (hour and minute display). And with the watch always being worn there is no reason not to make new games in everyday activities. During a recent business meeting my colleagues and I made a game of shooting paper clips into an empty coffee mug. I was able to use the ScoreBand to keep score and earn myself a free lunch.

Head over to www.scoreband.net for further product details, including the “Tennis Mode” feature. The product comes in multiple colors and includes a printable size guide.

No matter what part of the country you come from, cornhole is by far and away the most popular and well recognized tailgating game out there in the parking lots. You would be hard pressed to find any tailgater worth their weight in BBQ sauce that doesn’t enjoy a good game of cornhole. The only problem is that while tailgating, you have to suspend the game due to darkness.

We recently discovered Cornhole Lantern, formerly called Bag-O-Lantern, and wanted to test it out to see if cut the mustard.

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If this kid asks you if you want to play cornhole and then puts a wager on it, run.

Back in December we did a book review of Cornhole – Throwing Bags in a Hole written by Mark Rogers. For those that enjoy playing cornhole either at a tailgate party or in the backyard, this book is a comprehensive informational resource that will answer any and all questions you may have about the game of cornhole.

The book covers how the game originated, building your own boards, rules, organizing tournaments and most importantly, understanding the unique language and slang terms used by cornholers. Cornhole – Throwing Bags in a Hole is the one book that you should have as a permanent fixture in your tailgating kit in order to resolve any possible disputes about rules and game etiquette right then and there.

The good news is that in anticipation of the upcoming football season, we are giving away two paperback copies of Cornhole – Throwing Bags in a Hole to our readers.

We will be randomly giving away two copies of Cornhole – Throwing Bags in a Hole, signed by the author Mark Rogers, to two lucky readers. There are two ways to enter and qualify.

The first way you can enter and qualify is via Facebook. All you need to do is become a fan of TailgatingIdeas.com on Facebook at our Facebook Fan Page. There you will find a posting regarding this giveaway. Leave a comment on that post telling us why you would like a free, signed copy of the book. We will then randomly select the winner using Random.org’s true random number selection tool. Deadline to post on the Facebook page is Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at noon pacific time. Once a winner is randomly selected we will contact you for your mailing address and your book will be mailed directly from the publisher.

The second way to enter is via Twitter. Make sure you are following @TailgatingIdeas on Twitter and then send out this tweet:

@TailgatingIdeas #giveaway of a free copy of the book “Cornhole – Throwing Bags in a Hole” by Mark Rogers http://t.co/2tpSbci #Cornholebook

We ask that you tweet that once a day because each daily tweet will earn you one entry into the random drawing. Multiple tweets in a day are appreciated but will not increase your entries. Deadline to get your tweets in are Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at noon pacific time.

A winner will be selected using the Random.org true random number generator and the winner will be notified to provide their mailing address. Make you are following @TailgatingIdeas on Twitter because we will be notifying you that you won via Direct Message. (Twitter does not allow users to direct message another user unless they are following each other.)

If you don’t win a book or just can’t wait until a winner is announced, you can get your own copy of Cornhole – Throwing Bags in a Hole from a number of different places. The softcover book signed by the author Mark Rogers is priced at $19.95 and you can order it online at cornholebook.com. If you prefer to buy your hard copy books through Amazon, you can buy this book there too.

If you are more of an electronic reader, you can get this book on Kindle, NOOK, iPhone, iPad and iBooks or even download it electronically to your computer. The electronic versions are much cheaper than the hard copy editions but they are still the same when it comes to the content no matter which format you prefer.

Good luck and remember, you have until Wednesday, July 27, 2011 at noon pacific time to enter.