Ben and Liz Shooner
Hometown: Cincinnati
Favorite team Cincinnati Bengals
TailGating tip Division of labor is the main thing. When we first started, people would bring lots of their own food, and we would often 'pot luck' this resulted in a mis-match of food (too much meat, people bringing the same snacks, etc.) Not to mention the 'too many cooks in the kitchen' syndrome of when to cook what, timing, etc. Now we have a much better system in that 8 of us have season tix, and there are 8 home games…so each person takes one game (determined pre-season) and prepares breakfast, lunch,
Tailgating Recipe(s) 'Jungle Curry' (Thai) is great-and different. Goetta (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goetta) and eggs are a must for breakfast. For cocktails, we enjoy the occasional 'Who-Dey Bomb' which is a shot of Jagermeister (black), dropped into a cup of Sunkist orange soda…and plenty of all kinds of beer.
Tailgating Phrase or Quote 'Who Dey Bitches!!!' or 'It's 8AM Somewhere'
Tailgating Story In 2005 we took a road trip to Detroit. The game wasn't until 4:00, but we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time. We weren't sure what the situation would be, so we didn't bring food. But we did bring beer, music, signs, and other regalia. We got there by 11:00am and there was no one there yet. It was very, very cold (~-15). We ended up parking in the garage on the second level overlooking the main entrance to Ford Field. We greeted all the Bengals fans as they streamed into the stadium,
How far in advance do you go to the venue? About 8:30am for a 1:00 game-a tiny bit later for a 4:00 kickoff. Mid-afternoon for night games.
Do you have a "Don't Like" experience to tell? Chicago is not so friendly to tailgating. We thought we were on private property and were drinking some cold ones-in our orange and black we stuck out like sore thumbs. Before you knew it-the cops were on us writing tickets. Never got paid though-so I guess we won't be going back to Chicago. Also, some Cincy cops yelled at our group for throwing cupcakes at Steelers fans (they took out our QB en route to winning the SB in bogus fashion-they deserve much worse than cupcakes!)
Cold weather tips Probably that Detroit game. Also, it was pretty cold for the Buffalo game (in Cincy) a few years back. It was snowing that year and the 49ers game in '03. The main thing is wear layers, bring a portable fire pit if you have it, and keep you toes and feet warm at all costs.
Hot weather tips Probably in the 90's for several early/pre-season games. Biggest thing is just stay hydrated-beer and heat wear you down. So you need water and Gatorade if you're going to be in for the long haul.
Favorite grilled food(s) I'm a little partial, but I really like my jerk chicken kabobs after they've been marinading all night.
The most $$$ you've ever paid for a ticket Parking seems to always be $15-30..I paid $100 for a ticket to that Detroit game because I didn't want to sweat it out and wait until we got closer to kickoff-that was pretty steep.
The least $$$ you've ever paid for a ticket Probably $10 for a really bad spot far away. It wasn't me, but my buddy got a free ticket to the 2005 playoff game vs. Pitt because he found a guy on the message board who had an extra ticket and didn't want to drive. The guy lived in Dayton, so it was a bit of a haul-but he came through on his word. This guy had never tailgated, and he had a great time-and my buddy got a ticket for free that was going for $200+ on the street.
Rowdiest venue you have tailgated Probably at Paul Brown for that playoff game vs. the Steelers-absolutely electric energy
Favorite Tailgating Songs Any Beastie Boys, 'I Don't Wanna Work (Bang the Drum) by Todd Rundgren, 'Zombie Nation' by Kernkraft, and the Bengal Growl (fight song)
Favorite Tailgating Beverage(s) As mentioned, Who Dey bombs are great, I prefer Coors Original as my 'all day long' beer, but also any good microbrews are welcomed. We usually have a variety-at times we get into the moonshine.
Do you Tailgate at home and away? We don't make a big production out of it-kind of take it easy. But we try to get together and we always have some sort of food and beer-sometimes fancier than others. We do always have a big Super Bowl party and pull out all the stops-the final farewell to football season.
What are your favorite tailgating games? Hard to say. The games are all important, you never know when you'll get that energetic vibe from everyone-sometimes you can feel the energy even spill onto the field. I'd say the division games are all really big. The best is when you have a good crowd at you tailgate, have good weather, everyone is pumped up-and the Bengals win
Favorite win for the home team The Denver Monday Night game a few years ago-no one thought we had a chance-and we won. Hopefully we'll pull off the same thing vs. New England!
What type of vehicle do you use for Tailgating and what makes it special? Shamima the Who Dey Van. It is big enough to carry all of our stuff (grills, coolers, etc.) and our crew. We use a generator to run the TV and the stereo that are installed inside. It also has seats from the old Riverfront Stadium (the original 'Jungle') in it. We outfitted and painted it ourselves, so it's special to us-even if it is a little rough around the edges.
