Aside from the actual game, tailgating is one of the best parts of the football season. It's a time were you can meet fellow fans who share the same passion and enthusiasm for a team or single player, boast about beating rival team the previous week and enjoy what makes football one of the most popular sports in America. 

Here are a few tips that you can use to make your tailgating experience something you want to retell and relive for following football seasons to come.

During tailgates—better yet, community gathering of sports fans—the amount of tradition is staggering. Some people that you may meet have been tailgating in the same spot for five years, cook the same thing each year and have ritualistic behaviors that of course, are responsible for their team winning on Saturday. 

There are even people in some cases that thrive on exploring different college campuses each football season to immerse themselves in college culture. Nevertheless, no matter which category of people you fall into, the one thing that we look forward to is the tailgating and supporting our team. The long-standing tradition of tailgating brings us down to our most natural instinct of sharing food and conversation. It's the one place where groups of people can share face paint and an ice-cold beverage with state rival all in the same moment. No tailgate is the same, and the more you find yourself going to these tailgates, the more great stories about the people, sights, and tastes you accumulate.  

In college, I remember heading to the stadium early on Saturday afternoon decked in school colors from head to toe with groups of people that ranged from classmates, people I knew from the dorms, and even complete strangers that I only recognized from football games. In a sense, game day was the biggest social event on campus, especially when we were winning. The tailgating and football game were igniters of connection because not only were both mentioned on Monday during class and throughout campus, but consisted of a type of excitement that was contagious. The camaraderie, the buzz from the game, and natural high that makes sports great to watch is what makes tailgating such a huge part in American culture.