It's Game Day!

Football season has started and tailgating is underway! We are season ticket holders for the Oakland Raiders and attend the majority of the home games. I think we'll be skipping their Christmas Eve game again this year but besides that we are at the games. We don't just attend them we tailgate at them and have a lot pass to do so. Our typical home game day timeline...

The night before we load up the car. We put our tent, grill, ice chest, chairs, charcoal, utensils, food that doesn't need refrigerated, paper towels etc. If we need it for the game it goes into the car the night before.

Game day...
5:15 a.m.- Wake up and get ready.
6:00 a.m.- Leave the house.
8:00 a.m.- In the line of traffic at the gates of the Oakland Coliseum.
8:15 a.m.- Park in our spot and immediately get the tent up.
8:30 a.m.- Get the grill heating up.
We grill out, eat some food. I people watch hardcore. Have you ever been to a Raiders game? These people are crazy! They come in costumes, they sell items in the parking lot, your tailgating neighbor asks for forks or foil etc. Anything goes during this time.

So what do we grill? Well hot dogs are a must. I love eating hot dogs off the grill. We will also do either chicken or a tri-tip. Sometimes we will do all three. It just depends on if we are expecting to see anyone we know during tailgating. First game of the season we did hot dogs and chicken.

If it's a 1:30 p.m. start time we have the tent and dismantlement done by 12:15. You've got to walk from the lot to the security lines and then fight the crowds to get into your seats. If you've ever been to an Oakland game then you know walking and maneuvering through the crowds can be tough! The lines for the concessions go out in to the walkway making it extremely difficult to make your way through the crowds.

Once we are in our seats, I try to stay there! We do love getting a Round Top pizza for the 3rd quarter. So one of us will face the crowds or we will get lucky and one of the guys walking around selling items will come near us with the Pizza. We usually get the cotton candy guy or the lemonade guy always coming down our row. During this time I'm people watching yet again. You never know what can happen in the crowd. Last week I watched two Raider fans actually get in an argument about them winning. After a touchdown one man ran down the isle and acted like he was going to punch the guy but ended up giving him a hug.

You just never know what you'll see at a Raiders Game!