The Nighttime is the Right Time for Tailgating

This space is reserved for "game day experience" kinds of articles. Ahead of our first night home game, allow me to wax philosophic on the beauty of the night game tailgate. From the preferable temps that arrive as the sun goes down to the joy of ending a day with a live NFL game, the experience of a night game is like no other.

The lots open four hours ahead of kickoff, which means that on any given Sunday, we get four hours of immortality on the asphalt. When the Redskins host a night game--during the week--the possibility exists that we get more time than that.

The parking lot folks will closely monitor how fast the traffic backs up from the gates to the beltway. Once the line backs up to the beltway exit, they will start letting cars into the lot to do their best to avoid creating a worse situation on the roads. Rush hour plus stadium traffic provides for the perfect storm of awfulness on the D.C. highways. I often recommend that people arrive at the gates around noon to avoid this, but only some people will never listen to reason.

There is nothing wrong with getting after it on a Sunday morning. It feels right, but a Happy Hour tailgate is simply divine. It is not only the perfect way to cap a day, it is the perfect way to begin a weekend, making Thursday Night Football the best scenario for a guy who loves few things more than time in the parking lot at the cathedral that is our tailgate.