Tige Washko sits at a small wooden table inside a bustling microbrewery, the kind of place where the chalkboard menu stretches from wall to wall and every stool is filled with travelers who love conversation as much as they love beer. In front of him rests a perfectly arranged flight, each glass lined up with scientific precision. His wife Janet, his partner in every sense of the word, leans in with a knowing smile as he lifts a coin for his traditional THOF challenge coin photo. The two of them have repeated this ritual in cities across the country as they follow their beloved Detroit Lions from stadium to stadium. The brewery is always different, yet the moment is always the same. A flight of beer, a coin in hand, and the quiet pause before another memory is made. This is where the story of “The Aviator” begins, a nickname earned because Tige is all about the flights. He is famous for them at every brewery he visits.

Tige’s love for the Lions was born long before his first brewery flight. His story began at the Pontiac Silverdome in 1984 when he was ten years old. His uncle, a season ticket holder, brought him to the Thanksgiving game after a friend could not attend. That singular moment hooked him for life. Thanksgiving games became their shared tradition until Tige finished high school. When his uncle eventually gave up the tickets, Tige stepped in and secured his own, continuing the ritual he loved so deeply. The current era of Detroit Lions football stands as his favorite. For the first time in his four decades of fandom he has watched Detroit claim back to back division titles and back to back playoff wins. He credits Brad Holmes and Dan Campbell for assembling a core of players who finally transformed the franchise into a contender. It is an era defined by Jared Goff, Anom-Ra. St. Brown, Penei. Sewell, Brian Branch, Kirby Joseph, Jameson Williams, Jahmyr Gibbs and Aidan Hutchinson. It is also the era that has aligned perfectly with the height of his adventures on the road.

Before joining the Blue Crew tailgate community, Tige’s pregame experience was a patchwork of bars, parking lot grills and improvised gatherings. He enjoyed those moments, but he had no idea what he was missing until Willie Murray and Denny Arney from the Blue Crew introduced him to organized tailgating. One invitation on Facebook changed everything. Tige and Janet showed up, and from that very first game they knew they had found their people. The atmosphere was warm and inviting with Lions fans standing shoulder to shoulder with visiting fans from around the league. Conversations flowed easily. The DJ kept the energy high. The hot tub provided something he had never seen anywhere else. Tige instantly loved the camaraderie. Janet loved the dancing. They were hooked.

The Blue Crew and Tubgaters completely reshaped his gameday rituals. He arrives early to help set up. He proudly participates in the Lions fight song during the blue dye pour into the hot tub. He tries every local beer he can get his hands on. Most importantly, he makes the rounds to talk with as many people as possible. Tige’s superpower is connection. He is a natural conversationalist who genuinely values the time he spends getting to know people. He sees tailgating as an opportunity to build relationships that last long after the final whistle. He calls it the best part of NFL fan culture, and for him it is the thing that keeps him traveling year after year.

Stadium travel has become the centerpiece of Tige’s identity. Each season he selects several road games and approaches them with the precision of a professional trip planner. He begins by asking locals for insights on their city. He studies online lists of top attractions. He wants to hit every major landmark, museum and iconic food spot. Philadelphia required the Rocky statue, the steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, and the traditional Philly cheesesteak pilgrimage. Washington DC required monuments, history and a full slate of breweries. He pairs this mindset with a devotion to brewery exploration. His smartphone app Untapped helps him track the beers he samples, rate them, and remember which breweries he wants to revisit. He prefers flights because of the variety. A good flight in Tige's opinion offers a mix of styles. A bad one offers only a single note. His favorite styles are IPAs, stouts and sours and his top three beer cities would include Denver, Seattle and Grand Rapids, each packed with local options and packed with memories he can replay with a smile.

The beer flights led to something else, a collection of sorts. First he bought pint glasses from every brewery he visited. That collection grew too quickly and soon overcrowded the shelves in his home. The glasses were condensed to a top curated group, and Tige switched to collecting brewery stickers. Those stickers eventually covered his garage fridge, then the walls, then the cabinets. Eventually he moved on to brewery patches which opened the door to one of his most defining creations. His denim jackets.

Tige’s jackets became a phenomenon. It started with one jean jacket covered in brewery patches. He wore it during brewery visits and owners began offering their patches hoping to earn a spot on the garment. Friends began buying patches for him while traveling. The jacket filled up. Then another started. Today he has three jackets. One covered in brewery patches. One dedicated to his Detroit Lions and his favorite NFL tailgates. One dedicated to the Detroit Tigers. Each one is a visual story of the people and places that mattered to him most. His Lions and tailgating jacket features over one hundred patches. It became a walking billboard for the NFL’s best tailgates and an easy way to help visiting fans find the groups that meant the most to him. He considers it his way of giving back to the communities that welcomed him.

Outside football he loves baseball and travel. He has visited all fifty states and every Major League Baseball ballpark. His man cave holds baseballs from every stadium along with ticket stubs arranged across the wall. On the opposite side sits jars of dirt collected from every ballpark he visited. It is a reflection of his commitment to seeing the country, meeting new people and experiencing the world through sports.

On gameday he arrives early, meets everyone he can, helps where he is needed, and captures the moments through photos. On the road he prefers organized tailgates with full-service options where a wristband gets you everything you need for the day. He enjoys the convenience and appreciates that it helps visiting fans feel at home. He collects tailgate patches and stickers from every stop so he never forgets the people who made the day special. His favorite road tailgate so far has been Tampa Bay. The warm weather, the friendly crowd, and the presence of familiar travelers made the day unforgettable. The creamsicle themed workout bicycle that mixed the pregame drink was the perfect finishing touch.

The Hall of Fame and legacy component of tailgating culture means everything to Tige. His closest friendships have formed in stadium parking lots. Some of his favorite memories were made far from home with fans who quickly became family. Behind the denim jackets and the thousands of brewery flights is a man who simply loves people. He loves hearing their stories. He loves sharing experiences. He loves building bridges between fanbases. Tige “The Aviator” Washko has traveled the entire country to watch the Detroit Lions, and in doing so he has made an impact in every city he has visited. His story is one rooted in passion, adventure, community and an unwavering commitment to the friendships that make the NFL world feel a whole lot smaller.