How To Have The Best College Tailgating Experience Possible

Game days are a highly coveted part of the college experience. Most college students only get four years to make the best of football season, and sometimes, they happen to mess up. Whether it be going to the wrong bar or not making it through the whole day, there’s definitely a variety of ways that game day can turn into… well, lame day. BUT, if you know how to tailgate right game days turn into magical, lifelong memories, and there are five things that make tailgating the best experience possible.

1. Resting the night before or being ready to rally.

Too often, people make the mistake of staying out too late Friday night and not having the energy for game day on Saturday. Not allowing yourself prepare for an entire day of drinking, dancing, and rooting on your home team is a definite and obvious self-sabotaging approach to football season. Whatever party or bar you were at on Friday night is not worth being half asleep during a tailgate at all. Unless it was… in which case, you better be ready to rally.

2. The perfect pump up playlist

Especially on early 11am game days, music is so, so important to bring the energy for the day. The right music can ignite the right kind of attitude for everyone at your pregame, so having a pre-made playlist can help you set the mood while also not having to constantly pay attention to the aux. The songs on this playlist should get everyone moving and grooving, and more importantly, wanting their team to win. Some examples of perfect game day songs are: Let’s Get It Started by Black Eyed Peas, All I Do is Win by DJ Khalid, and Power by Kanye West.

3. The right outfit

Having cute game day clothes makes you way more hyped for the day to come. It’s not necessary to spend all the money in the world on the right outfit, but just making the right purchases (that will hopefully last you through four years) makes game day so much fun and the perfect photo opportunity. No one wants to stress the morning of for an outfit, so just make sure that you have an idea of what you want to wear the night before, so you can focus on the more important aspect of game day: drinking!

4. Mimosas

Sometimes shots are a tad aggressive in the morning, so mimosas are a great way to commence the drinking for the day without eliciting the gag reflex after a straight vodka shot. Who knew just some champagne and orange juice will make sure that everyone is ready to get the day started and also set a somewhat classy vibe for the Saturday to happen. And no, this isn’t out of a college kid’s budget; mimosas do not have to be expensive whatsoever. Five dollar bottles get the job done just fine!

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5. Find My Friends

DOWNLOAD FIND MY FRIENDS. Once the unruliness of a game day begins, it becomes way too easy to lose your friends at the tailgate or bar. Remember, the best part of tailgating is spending the day with your friends, who knowing game days, will most definitely not be checking their phones regularly. Downloading Find My Friends and tracking your friends is the perfect way to make sure you can always meet back up if you split up. Not only is being able to easily meet back up with your friends important to having the best day ever, but it’s also important to staying safe. It’s a win win situation for everyone!