Every NFL tailgate crew has a heart, a soul, and a story. For the Yooperman Tailgate, that story winds its way down a two-lane road in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula, across the snowy plains of Chippewa County, and into the vibrant Eastern Market of downtown Detroit. At the center of that story stands Megan Stefanski—a passionate Lions fan, road warrior, bartender, librarian, and local legend. She’s as blue-collar as the blue-collar team she loves, and she embodies the very spirit of the Tailgating Hall of Fame: grit, loyalty, and joy in the journey.

 Megan’s roots run deep in Goetzville, a rural hamlet with a population that’s small enough to know every neighbor—and every neighbor’s dog. Her family’s history is etched into the local landscape: over a century on the same farmstead, generations managing the town’s rural postal route, and Yooperman’s Bar & Grill—an anchor in the community and a second home to many. When Megan’s not tending bar or running point on her family's business operations, she’s building young minds as a librarian at a local K–12 school, where she wears as many hats as the number of kids in the hallway. But when the weekend comes, she trades the books for brisket and hits the road, Lions flag flying high.

 Every Detroit home game means a 10-hour round trip in a single day. There’s cooking after midnight, carpooling with her dad at 2:30 a.m., and long stretches of highway that Megan knows by heart. She’s part of a legacy that started when she was ten years old and now carries the torch for a community of fans who’ve made the tailgate more than just a party—it’s become a second family. Whether she’s exploring the coastlines of Europe, catching a Tigers game in a new ballpark, or blasting toward Ford Field on two hours of sleep, Megan’s doing it all with heart. And that’s why she’s this week’s THOF Spotlight.

A Conversation with Megan Stefanski
Interview conducted by Hans Steiniger

So you live and work in the Upper Peninsula (UP) portion of the State of Michigan, in one of the northernmost areas of the country. Can you give us an idea of what the UP is like?

I live in the eastern most area of the Upper Peninsula, about 40 minutes from the Mackinac Bridge (main bridge linking the Upper and Lower Peninsulas in Michigan). My town has a population of about 400 people, but they're pretty spread out. I drive twenty miles to work everyday at my school library. The weather is pretty nice year round, but it can be awfully cold and snowy between November and May. We had so much snow last year you could barely see the fence posts in the fields.

 My family has lived in Goetzville since my Great Grandpa came over from Poland in the early 1900s. He bought the farm that my grandma and parents currently reside on and it has been in our family for over 100 years. My family also owns and runs a rural postal route that has been in the family for that long as well. Our town is so small that not only do we know everybody that lives there, but we know the names of each other's pets as well!

 Following an NFL team that's over 350 miles away from home must come with some unique challenges, especially when trying to navigate down from the UP considering your busy lifestyle. Take me through what a typical NFL game week might be like for you.

On a typical week, I am the school librarian at my local school from Monday through Friday. The school has about 125 kids from kindergarten through 12th grade. From Thursday night through Sunday I also work at Yooperman's Bar & Grill, my parent's restaurant.

 On Saturdays, I open the restaurant up at 11:00 am and close it down around 11:00 pm. Then I cook up my tailgating food, run home and shower and pack up my stuff, maybe catch an hour or so of shut eye (if I'm lucky), and then meet my dad in his driveway around 2:30 am to head to Detroit for the game.

 It takes us 5 hours and we are in the Eastern Market Parking Lot to tailgate by 7:30 am. Dad usually drives to West Branch on the way down, and then I take over, I also drive the entire way home. The drive home can seem really long if nobody else is awake to talk to me or if it's an especially hard loss. Whether we win or lose though, we hang out in the parking lot for at least an hour after the game, eating and chatting and discussing the win/loss and the next game.

 The NFL season is more than just football, it's our own little family. For me, it's something I've been doing since I was ten years old. There have been so many different people throughout the years that have made that 10 hour Sunday trip with us. You get to know somebody really well when you travel with them that many miles. We've lost a great number of them and have seen a lot of them move on with their lives or move away, but they will always remain Lions fans and be a part of our football story.

 We understand that you have a fairly extensive travel resume. Tell me about some of the places you've traveled in the NFL off-season? Any future trips planned?

I’ve traveled to Australia, Ireland, Spain, France, Belgium, The Netherlands, Luxembourg, Germany and many many more, plus over a dozen major league ballparks with more to come!

 My favorite place so far was Australia. I am also hoping to get to Turkey next year and I am heading to Puerto Rico in December. My plan for Detroit Lions away games this year are Philly and Green Bay, so be ready. We are coming to your town in 2019!

 There are superfans, and then there are people like Megan Stefanski—fans who rearrange their lives around the rhythm of the season and pour their heart into every game, every tailgate, and every road trip. Whether she’s working the grill at Yooperman’s, organizing books in the school library, or tearing down I-75 at 3 a.m. in Honolulu Blue, Megan represents the best of what it means to be part of the Tailgating Hall of Fame. She’s proof that passion lives everywhere—even at the tip-top of Michigan—and that no matter how remote the road, it always leads back to the team you love.