Game 8. NFL week 2. Baltimore Ravens 31-26 San Diego Chargers. Qualcomm Stadium

The Mullet can only hold fourteen people when driving, and we maxed it out for this game! Not only did Jay bring his friends along on the bus, plus his three children but even his dog, Manning! A 1:15pm (local) kickoff, meant an 8am tailgate kickoff, and we parked in the R.V lot with plenty of room.

Jay got to work cooking early on and before we knew it we had nearly fifty people on the bus. David Lamm , a world renown tailgater came by and it was great to finally meet him. From the very beginning the vibe was almost opposite to that of the tailgating yesterday at UCLA. Here hundreds of people must have passed through the bus, had a quick, drink or bite, checked out the rig and went on their way. Although there were several larger tailgating parties around us, many stuck to themselves while we played host to the folks passing through.

Jay organised a small bloody Mary taste off, in which four contestants came by with their concoctions. The idea is that the winning Bloody Mary will have their recipe published in Jay’s new book this year. I gave them all a try and Jay’s friend, Victor had a great tasting B.M that he calls the De-virginizer!

Last year when I was at the Charger tailgate I was treated with a hero’s welcome by several tailgaters. Now the vibe is very much different because I am the one cooking or entertaining others. I would have liked to have seen the tailgaters I met last year, but they have moved to different spots around the tailgate and sadly I could not find them.

Our satellite was working and we were able to watch the early games. Karen was happy that her Saints were spanking the Eagles. The game was about to start inside but I was unable to hunt down a ticket. Though I thought it was about time I should join the “T.V Tailgaters” and watch the game on T.V outside the stadium. This was the first game I have “not gone in” in 48 games!
Jay and his brother in law went into the game, and I tucked into some chicken dip, home made tortilla chips, guacamole, corn on the cob and two types of salsa, one extremely more fiery than the other.

Someone had told me that because the Chargers game today was not sold out it meant that the game will be blacked out for T.V viewers in the San Diego area, which I was bummed about. But that only meant a quick change of the channel and I had the Super Bowl champs playing against my favourite team; The Bears. It was very surreal, sitting in a decked out school bus at Qualcomm stadium car park home of the Chargers, listening to the popping stadium fireworks, overhead fighter planes and cheering fans while I watched a game some 2100 miles away.

Several Charger fans came on the bus, and were meandering through the lot. They came to the tailgate in hope to score some cheap tickets, but when they saw the bus, they wanted to watch the game on TV on the bus. They told me to switch the channel back to a local station, where they were airing the Charger game. Which was odd because the game was blacked out on Direct T.V.

The next few hours I spent hitting the “previous” button on the remote, switching back and forth between the Charger and the Bears game. The Bears were 7-0 down and Santonio Holmes was having a free run over our dilapidated secondary. A loud roar emerged from inside Qualcomm. Knowing there is a visual delay going through the T.V we switched back and saw the Ravens score a touchdown. The system I had created was perfect. I could watch the Bears game, and every time a loud noise came from inside I would switch it back.

The Bears game reached half time before the Chargers game. So I went to the grill. Karen had just finished cooking two huge slabs of pork, and I slapped my English sausages onto the grill. I didn’t have milk for the mash potatoes so I plated up the sausages (Bangers) with English mustard which everyone loved. Then we had some trip tip steak and everyone was full and ready for the second half of football!

There had been some surprising results in the early games, The Texans had beat the titans, and the Bengals and Jets both won against tough opposition. The Bears clawed their way to a 7-7 half time score, but after the half break they were down 14-7. Loud fireworks popped across the evening sky and we switched back. Because there was fireworks, but no cheering we knew it must have been a field goal, which took the score to 21-16 to the Ravens.

At this point in the fourth quarter a Spanish lady came round with huge black sacks. She walked around the whole lot taking people’s cans. In California you get some money back when you recycle cans. Which is a great idea generally, but an even better one at the tailgate. This way when the tailgaters depart they do not have to go to the recycling centre themselves and take up space on their R.Vs with empty cans. Plus the homeless lady can make some extra cash, so it everyone wins.

The Bears rookie, Jonny Knox was firing for the Bears. He returned kick offs and then became Jay Cutler’s go to guy. A long Bear drive ensued and Knox caught a great pass to tie the game 14-14. Whilst in San Diego the Ravens had extended their lead 28-16, and my Charger friends on the bus were getting more drunk. In fact they brought over a bottle of “Gentleman Jack”. Which apparently is the same as regular Jack Daniels but just in a fancy bottle. The Charger fans were miserable with their team and within the fourth quarter they had finished off the whole bottle!

“The Q” got loud again and the Chargers hinted at a comeback. The score was 28-23, but the Chargers made a crucial interception. The Chargers fans around me went crazy and demanded we keep watching a potential historic comeback. Though I wanted to watch the Bears, who were 14-14, with 50 seconds to go. The Steeler kicker had missed two crucial field goals and now it was Robbie Gould of the Bears preparing to make the kick that would beat the world champions.

Fireworks popped out of the “The Q” and I didn’t know what to watch. A field goal came out of the interception for the Chargers making a tight 28-26 game. I switched back to see Gould score and win it for the bears. I was the only one excited and I was jumping around the bus. With “comeback” on everyone’s lips, we were all glued to the T.V. Many Charger fans who left early came onto the bus once they caught wind that the Chargers might win. With an audience of about 30 the atmosphere got very intense.

A Ravens interception ensued which resulted in loud groans from the fans, finalising in a field goal. There was one last drive for the Chargers and they needed a touchdown to win it. Phillip Rivers last week orchestrated a last minute winning drive against the Raiders. But the Raven’s defense is not the Raider’s defense. The Chargers made it to the red zone. Jay and his brother in law had returned from the “The Q”, and told us that although they had great seats, it was sun trap, and both of them had suffered sun burns to their faces. Just as well I didn’t go in.

The Chargers went for it on fourth down and needed just a few yards. Rivers handed off the ball to a running back, but no one saw the Ray Lewis blitz coming. He flew through the gap and popped the running back for a loss, and it was game over.

Charger fans came pouring out the stadium, with their heads low. There was dejection in the air. Our party all returned and we had some more food. We gave Manning the tailgate dog some food. Our neighbouring tailgater told us he had given Manning not one, but two pieces of fillet mignon steak already today. That dog ate better than the rest of us!

The post tailgate vibe was rather non-descript. A couple named Kim and Aaron came by. Interestingly enough it was Kim, who is the football nut and goes to as many games as she can. She told me it was her husband’s first ever football game. I explained to her that it was my first time watching the game on T.V at the stadium car park. I explained I was able to watch the game in more detail and of course watch the Bears. She disagreed with many T.V watching tailgaters and told me:

“I love the intensity of the live game, the crashing of the helmets and that T.V just doesn’t do the game justice”.

She makes three excellent points there!