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WELCOME TO...
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Tailgating Renaissance Man By Mark Dau The Tailgater Publisher |
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he graduates this month and is engaged to marry his college sweetheart in 2010. But most importantly, Jason tailgates at every home game at Virginia Tech, select away games, camps at NASCAR races and has a cool tailgating website. He is the next generation of tailgater. He is, a Tailgating Renaissance Man!
Jason tailgates at Virginia Tech with friends from Tech as well as many family members from all over Virginia. “My dad graduated Virginia Tech in 1979,” says Jason. “In fact, we have 10 Hokies in the family – besides my dad, there’s my mom, brother and his wife, one aunt, two uncles and my fiancée.”
The tailgates consist of almost 30 fans. Besides family coming in from all over, Jason’s fiancée Dawn, also a senior at Tech as well as 10 or 12 other buddies, join in the fun. Because it is such a family affair, Jason created SpitzerTailgate.com to chronicle their tailgating and camping adventures. Awash in Hokie colors (maroon and orange) and proudly proclaiming it is “the place for all tailgating Hokies on the Internet,” SpitzerTailgate.com comes complete with picture galleries, merchandise offerings, tailgating recipes, links and guest book.
And it’s gotten raves, with over 1,500 visitors since December. “We were really getting into tailgating last year,” says Jason, who is the webmaster and created the site. “I knew this was going to be my last season down here so we created the site right after the ACC championship game and it just grew from there.”
The parking at Virginia Tech is spread out amongst the 2,600 acre campus. “There’s at least 10 or more lots full of tailgaters, from one side of our campus all the way to the football stadium,” says Jason. “Tailgating is everywhere. You can walk from the stadium to the opposite end of the commuter lot and you’ll see tailgaters everywhere.”
Martinsville
But tailgating at Virginia Tech is only half the story. The race tracks at Bristol, Martinsville and Charlotte are all within close proximity to Blacksburg. Earlier this year Jason and some fellow tailgaters drove two hours southeast to Martinsville Speedway. They spent the weekend camping and taking in the races, catching Denny Hamlin edge Jeff Gordon for the win.
“At the NASCAR races, we rough it,” says Jason. “We bring a nice charcoal grill and in the morning we cook up some eggs, sausage and bacon. Later on after the race we serve up beer, chicken and T-bone steaks.”
“At every NASCAR race we have a blast, meeting so many people from all over the country that are so unique. At the Martinsville race there was a guy who camped next to us who uses a Dutch Oven to make his Crazy Mountain Man Breakfast, which is a dozen eggs, a two-pound bag of diced hash browns, a half pound of bacon and sausage each, a half pound of grated extra sharp cheddar cheese and a medium onion.” Words fail at the thought of such an amazing creation!
Later this year Jason and the college contingent will camp at several World of Outlaw Sprint Car/Late Model races as well. But their hearts are always in Blacksburg.
Dad’s in Charge of the Grill
Jason grew up in Winchester, Virginia, about three and a half hours straight up Interstate 81 in northern Virginia. It is where his dad and step-mom still live. They make the trip south to Virginia Tech for each and every Hokie football game. “Dad mans the grill,” says Jason. “That’s his job, we steer clear. He does a fantastic barbecued chicken.”
But it’s the family and friends gathering once again that are most important to Jason. “We try to keep it simple but not just with hot dogs and hamburgers,” says Jason. “Simple just for the fact that we’d rather enjoy the tailgate and see people then be cooking all day.”
The Spitzer Tailgate starts off with croissants in the morning, moves to hot dogs right before they go into the game and then after the game they really get started. In addition to the chicken, they will add in pork, lasagna and meat balls. “My step-mom prepares a lot of the food during the week, prior to the game,” says Jason. “Staples include a nice garden salad with nuts and small tomatoes as well as chocolate chip cookies.” Sunflower seeds are a must to chew on while kibitzing with the crowd.
Looking Forward to the Fall Season
With camping at the races extending through the summer months, Jason and the gang are looking forward to Virginia Tech’s fall campaign. “We’re going to expand the tailgate,” says Jason, with thoughts of purchasing a special tailgating van within the next year. “We will paint it Hokie maroon. It will probably be ready for the 2009 season.”
“We’ve also made a corn-hole board to throw the bean bags through,” says Jason. “I made it with my grandfather, which was a real special time.”
“It is how we can show support of our team and show our Hokie pride. “
Spoken like a true Tailgating Renaissance Man!
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"When tailgating, we're all on the same team!" Tailgate Media, LLC, 252
Orchard Street, Westfield, NJ 07090 |
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