Tailgating: Because IU Football and Sobriety Don't Mix

October has been disappointing for me. The Angels imploded against the Yankees in Game 6, the Chargers can only win against the Chiefs, and the Hurricanes choked against Clemson. With all this bad, it's time to focus on the good in sports: tailgating.

A couple weeks ago, I went tailgating for homecoming at Indiana University with my friends in Indiana. Those Hoosiers do it right.

On a cold, crisp autumn day, rows and rows of cars enter a series of huge fields, right near the stadium. A bunch of friendly Midwesterners fire up their grills to make pancakes and eggs. That's right, pancakes and eggs. These people are on the tailgate fields as soon as they open. In fact, my friends arrivedthree hours early. From 9 am until noon, we parked on the street and stepped into the tailgate fields to drink and start the tailgating fun. This was for a 7 p.m. game. Compare this to University of Miami students barely making it to a noon game.

Cornhole, burgers, and beer: it truly is a tailgater's heaven. It is one giant outdoor party that lasts all day. In my seven years of tailgating, I have never witnessed such a commitment to a tailgate. One group of people brought an entire pig to roast. Yes, they were sawing off the hoofs at 9:30 am. I couldn't watch.

I have tailgated at a lot of football schools. Nobody does it better than IU. And to think...all of this for a team that is perpetually in the Big 10 basement. Here's the secret: most of the tailgaters don't go to the game. At IU, tailgating is the main event.

Here's to you Hoosiers: Hoo Hoo Hoo...Hoosiers!