The 5 O'Clock Club: Tailgating & tanking

The 5 o’clock club aims to provide a forum for reader-driven discussion at a time of day when there isn’t much NFL news being published. Feel free to introduce topics that interest you in the comments below.

Tailgating

Last week, the show “Tackle my Ride” took on the challenge of reinvigorating the van that Redskins Fan, “Tailgate Ted” uses to run his tailgate events at every Redskins home game. Lamar Woodley, Ryan Kerrigan and the ‘Demented’ crew took a rusting, dying van and turned it into a big bad burgundy & gold monster.

And it’s all in support of a good cause... or many good causes to hear Ryan Kerrigan describe it. Apparently, Ted is active in support of good causes in the local community, he’s a Redskins fan & season ticket holder, and all around good guy.

At this point I have a confession to make. I’ve never been to a live NFL game on the North American continent, and never seen the Redskins live & in person; I’m strictly a TV football fan.

That means that I’ve never been to an NFL tailgate, and have only a vague notion in my imagination of what the tailgate experience is. Before watching this episode of Tackle My Ride, I had a mental image of three hot dogs on a hibachi, and 4 cold ones on ice in a cooler out of the back of an old El Camino. Seeing what Ted had in his van changed that perception quite a bit.

I guess I could educate myself by going to Youtube, but I’ve always been more of a reader than a watcher. I’d appreciate it if y’all could use the comments section today to explain tailgating theory, practice and the tailgating ‘experience’ to me, as well as sharing any great tailgating memories or stories that you have.

Educate me.

A story on Niners Nation (the 49ers SB Nation website):

https://www.ninersnation.com/2017/10/10/16454692/kyle-shanahans-goal-was-to-develop-kirk-cousins-to-the-point-where-washington-could-trade-him

The story is vaguely interesting, but the comment string is absolutely entertaining. The fans participating in the comments section are basically pulling for the Niners to tank (not necessarily on purpose) and get a top draft pick. Some are projecting/hoping for a #1 or #2 pick. No one seems to expect to be any lower than top-5.

They all seem totally convinced that Cousins will be the Niner’s quarterback next year. They are simply discussing the best way to use the combination of Cousins and their strong draft position to get the roster healthy quickly. They’re counting losses at this point — hoping to stack up as many as possible. They are bemoaning winning opportunities that might screw up their draft position. They are actively hoping for losses.

I wasn’t on Hogs Haven prior to the middle of the 2012 season. Is that what it was like around here between 2000 and 2012?