There I was at nine in the morning enjoying a nice cold beer before a Kansas City Chiefs game at Arrowhead Stadium. I wasn’t in my hotel room, a bar or on the way to the game. Instead, I was actually in the middle of a good old-fashioned NFL tailgate party with tens of thousands of other football die-hards in the parking lot. Suddenly the question popped up: can I do this before a Blue Bomber game?

Let’s be clear on what a tailgate party is. Technically, it is a social event or group of people gathering around a vehicle or on the tailgate of a truck in a parking lot before a large event. In the States, if you are not at church on Sunday, you are at a tailgate party celebrating another religion called football.

After contacting many NFL football stadiums and asking why alcohol is allowed in parking lots, the common answer was “because you can.” There is tons of security patrolling the area at all times, but they look the other way unless you are that drunken idiot.

In Canada, our laws were made to be followed – or were they?

To be sure, I called all eight CFL teams to get the truth about each stadium’s tailgate party policy.

Here in Winnipeg, the liquor laws strictly tell us to not drink on public property including parking lots. We also have fire laws that do not allow us to use things like barbecues in parking lots for obvious safety reasons. Regina, Edmonton and Montreal all follow our exact rules with no exceptions whatsoever.

In Vancouver and Toronto, tailgating is being cracked down on because of past incidents, but both stadiums do provide small beer tents for people to have a few cold ones in. On top of the beer tents, Calgary has a small parking lot that does allow tailgating at all levels but if you abuse this privilege, you will never be allowed back in.

That only leaves Hamilton? It was made clear to me that tailgating is not encouraged by the team and its owners but it is allowed if not abused. Rumour has it that they have been known to be as big as the ones down south. Again, as long as you follow the basic laws of the world and have your vehicle parked in one spot, security turns their cheeks.

So at the next Blue Bomber game feel free to go a few hours early for a legal tailgate party. This means that you must bring lots of diet pop, pre-made burgers or tuna sandwiches and a nice apple pie. Remember that all alcoholic drinks and fires are no-nos at our parking lots; save that stuff for a pre-game party at home.

And for everyone’s sake, please have a designated driver or call a cab.

Published in Volume 63, Number 18 of The Uniter (January 29, 2009)