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Blacktop Culinarians Unite!

Since 2006, Hans Steiniger has traveled to major pro sports venues across the country in an effort to understand how tailgating differs regionally as one moves from city to city.  Throughout this journey, numerous connections were made with local tailgating groups eager to share their experiences and open their grill pits to the many travelers that Quest for 31. This is their story...

Fork You Tailgating Club (F.Y.T.C)

Member Bio:
When you walk through Tailgating Lots these days, you'll see a lot of costumes, face painting, fancy equipment, gimmicky games, etc... That is not what you will see when you attend a Fork You Tailgating Club party before a Chicago Bears game. The Fork You Tailgating Club (FUTC) is traditional, old school tailgating. Good food, Good drinks, good friends, good football talk, good stories and good times! Our original three members have a combined 80+ years of Tailgating Experience.

The FUTC started out as a "pot luck" style Tailgate. Everyone just brought something to share. As the parties started to get larger, this became harder to coordinate. One time we had 50 hot dogs, but no buns. Another time the guy in charge of ice showed up 2 hours late. We eventually changed our approach... and decided that we would take care of everything and each guests throws in a $20 to cover the expense. Over 20 years later, our philosophy has stayed the same. Everyone throws in a little money and we provide all you care to eat and drink. Our price has only increased once over the years. $25 per person ($15 for kids or non-alcohol drinkers). We made a commitment from day one that every dollar we collect goes into that week's party. 25 guests = a $625 party. 100 guests = a $2500 party. Our largest party was 216 people - - - $5400 buys a lot of liquor and meat!!!

In the mid to late 90s, we mainly hosted local Bears fans. Our club started to grow through word of mouth and message boards. In November of 2000, we took one of many road trips. We attended the Bears-Bills game in Buffalo. People warned us, "Be careful, New York fans aren't always nice to fans of the opposing team." It turned out to be the exact opposite. Bills fans were some of the friendlies, most welcoming fans we had ever encountered. They shared food and drinks, talked football, told us things to do & see while in town, etc... On that day, we realized this is what Tailgating is all about. We decided that is what the FUTC would become - - Tailgate Parties that are open to all - - in a friendly, non-hostile setting. I'm proud that Hans and the THOF community promote this belief.

Since 2000, the FUTC has hosted thousands of fans representing all 32 teams. Our guests have joined us from 47 different states and 8 different countries. The FUTC has been featured on the WGN news twice and served as the Tailgate Background for the Deep Dish Throwdown between Lou Malnati's versus Bobby Flay. The FUTC has also been seen on the Travel Channel, Food Network, The Chicago Tribune, The Chicago Sun Times, The Red Eye, Tailgating.com, Tailgater Magazine, The Quest for 31, Tailgate to Heaven, NFLfootballstadiums.com and more.

You can find the Fork You Tailgating Club on a public Facebook page. For additional information, you can also e-mail denrod2000@sbcglobal.net. It's been fun watching Tailgating evolve over the years. It started in the late 70s with a garbage can, a bag of ice, a case of Old Style and sandwiches prepared ahead of time. In the 80s, the grills found their way to the parking lots and the menus started to expand. By the 90s, you started to see canopies, banners, larger spreads, larger crowds, etc.... In the early 00s, the parties started to get out of control (Animal House style parties, huge fires, extreme everything). This was the era that I'm happy cell phone cameras didn't exist. During the late '00s, the NFL and many teams started putting more restrictions and rules on Tailgating, but the diehard Tailgaters adapted and survived. Today, Tailgating is a necessary part of the Gameday Experience that you can't replicate at home (I don't care how nice your TV set is). We may be getting older, but we still know how to throw a great party! Our Tailgate Parties are perfect for the out of town NFL fan. Our parties vary in size week to week, but they are never too small or too large. Just show up hungry and thirsty and we will take care of everything.