The Brotherhood of Tailgating

We tailgate, year after year, and add a few more individuals to the core each year. Most of the time we only see each other, 8 to 10 Sundays a year.

Yet the bonds of the friendships we build run deep. Each year we pick up where we left off. The running jokes, the foods, the drinks and the laughs sustain us.


We share a common love of football, cooking/eating, entertaining and fun. Tailgating feeds this bonding.

Knowing that when we hit the parking lot early on Sunday that the experience we have together will be like no other.

Some show up every week, some once a year. No matter because it is all fun.

Tailgater Down

Jim Dillehay, dedicated husband, father, and die hard Redskins fan. Rest in peace my friend. Hail to the Redskins!

Equipment Readiness

The tailgate footballs are pumped to regulation psi.

Tailgate Parking Lot Patching and Tree Trimming

It was work day at Extreme Tailgate Society. We arrived at 10 am with 7 bags of concrete, four bags if gravel, and filler stones and brick.


Meanwhile Mike trimmed the tree overhang for his RV to fit.


Here is the problem. We pay for a spot that is usually underwater. We need the real estate to cook.


Mike finishes the tree trimming.


Paul sets stones, then gravel.


A few layers of concrete, then water.


Hopefully we are good to go for the season.


Thank you Paul and Mike.

Tailgate Response Unit - We Are Under Way

I pulled the tarp off the Tailgate Response Unit yesterday. With our first tailgate just three weeks away it is darn time to finish all the desired tweaks.m


I posted the NFC South Championships and lft room on the line for 2014.


This old 1946 NC plate I found on the property was just too cool not to use.


A little more eye candy I had lying around.


Gotta get that tag renewed.


A private joke, but there's been a ton of Old Speckled Hens consumed at this bar that it deserves a shrine.


This year a fire extinguisher is with us.

This afternoon I'm off to the welder to install a receiver hitch for a 30 foot flag. Then the tongue will have a framed metal mesh so I can hold more supplies in transport.

#KeepPounding

The Uniform Schedule 2014

#KeepPounding #CarolinaPanthers #BabyBackRibs #ExtremeTailgateSociety

Extreme Tailgate Expenditures

I overhead just yesterday that a local group of tailgaters has acquired a custom made $30,000 smoker for Sunday tailgates at Bank of America Stadium.

Let that soak in for a moment. $30,000 just to smoke meat on Sunday in the NFL. Amazing. I am humbled.


Now to put it in perspective, we have in our arsenal the ability to serve 100, perhaps 150 with additional planning, on any given Sunday. That is quite a crowd in the confines of a parking lot.

We have a 40 inch commercial Weber Smoker Grill, $1200 new, a modified Weber Bullet $375 new, a new three burner and griddle $250 new, several drum smokers, and a reserve of standard webers and smokers if needed. This is all standard equipment to any solid tailgating group.

Add to this our RVs, tents, tables, chafing dishes, mobile bar, TVs, generators, coolers, and you see the variety of approaches to Extreme Tailgating.

My hat is off to these tailgaters, their $30,000 cooker, and their legion of followers. It is what makes Carolina Panther Tailgating the best.

#KeepPounding #Panthers2014 #BabyBackRibs #ExtremeTailgateSociety

Weber Grill Fact

The chefs at the Weber Grill in Chicago use the same grill as we do at Extreme Tailgate Society.



#KeepPounding #CarolinaPanthers #BabyBackRibs #ExtremeTailgateSociety

4 Weeks to the Day

Our first sanctioned event of the year. Panthers vs Chiefs on Sunday Night Football. Come early and stay late.


#KeepPounding #CarolinaPanthers #BabyBackRibs #ExtremeTailgateSociety

If You Boil Ribs, the Terrorists Win

#KeepPounding #CarolinaPanthers #BabyBackRibs #ExtremeTailgateSociety

Training Camp Begins

I'm trying out some new flavors. This is a marinade that has promise without overpowering.


Then I hit them with wing dust.


On to the grill indirect with smoke wood.



They finished out nicely.


#AceBoogie #CarolinaPanthers #TheKracken #ExtremeTailgateSociety

Beer on Tap in 2014

Working independently, our dedicated tailgaters are preparing for an amazing season. I talked to our Charlotte 49er chapter yesterday and he spilled the beans that his tailgate van will in fact have a beer tap on the outside. He will be joining us on Sundays too for Carolina Panthers games.


Expect to see his van pushed up beside the mobile bar.

#AceBoogie #CarolinaPanthers #TheKracken #ExtremeTailgateSociety

Dry Rubbed Wings?

Soon, dry rubbed wings, 40 pounds at a time. Never are there leftovers. Sauce them if you must, but they are good on their own.



#AceBoogie #CarolinaPanthers #TheKracken #ExtremeTailgateSociety

Jordon Gross

We are are going to miss Jordon Gross on Sundays. So will Cam Newton.






#J2theGross #CarolinaPanthers #TheKracken #ExtremeTailgateSociety

We Are Not Alone

Back when Joe Cahn, the commissioner tailgating visited Charlotte. There are many among us. Good effort by all but it's not Extreme Tailgate.



Nice try, but our bar is better looking.


Just steaks? Really?


Where's the woman folks?


Panther Nation.


#AceBoogie #CarolinaPanthers #TheKracken #ExtremeTailgateSociety

57 days until kickoff

#AceBoogie #CarolinaPanthers #TheKracken #ExtremeTailgateSociety

Bar and Buffet Tent

No more rain, hot sun, or glare on the HD TVs. This is tailgating at its finest. It should reach out to the two RV awnings. A separate tent is set up for cooking.


#AceBoogie #CarolinaPanthers #TheKracken #ExtremeTailgateSociety

2014 Trailer Release

#AceBoogie #CarolinaPanthers #TheKracken #ExtremeTailgateSociety

Grilling Practice Makes Perfect

I decided to do two racks of baby back ribs for the 4th. First a light rub of mustard that acts as an adhesive for the dry rub.


Then the dry rub. It was off the shelf pork rub.


The smoker is set at 235 and I'm using two rack levels.


I prep the foil for steaming the ribs with some sweetness of brown sugar, butter, honey, and apple juice.


After three hours the smoking is done. Time to foil and return to the smoker to steam and tenderize.


I pull back the foil to check. Perfect. The bone is pulling back and meat is tender. Now they rest. I'll reheat with as use to glaze and firm them up.



The finish. Best I've ever had.


#PantherNation #CarolinaPanthers #NFLTailgate #ExtremeTailgateSociety

67 Days to Tailgate One

67 days to the first home regular season tailgate. No, we're not excited. So many upgrades this year to infrastructure. New recipes, new huge shelter, new coolers, second motorhome, huge...I mean monster grill, new smokers, safety equipment, music system, major upgrades to the tailgate bar, new propane burners, new koozies, new lucky pickled eggs in Carolina blue, and the photo roll of all tailgates from the last ten years on the big screen.

#PantherNation #CarolinaPanthers #NFLTailgate #ExtremeTailgateSociety

Oh Bacon, How Do I Love Thee?

Somehow, bacon usually attends the tailgate events. Oh thank goodness.


#PantherNation #CarolinaPanthers #NFLTailgate #ExtremeTailgateSociety

Can We Pull This Off?

#PantherNation #CarolinaPanthers #NFLTailgate #ExtremeTailgateSociety