Chapters
| [ 1 ] | [ 2 ] | [ 3 ] | [ 4 ] | [ 5 ] | [ 6 ] | [ 7 ] | [ 8 ] | [ 9 ] | [ 10 ] |
June was so excited, she couldn’t sleep. They were going to tailgate at the Buffalo Bills football game tomorrow. They had gone to games in the past, but never with their RV. There is a special “campground” right in the Ralph Wilson stadium parking lot for campers to park. The stadium is south of Buffalo in Orchard Park, NY.
She and Stan, Mark and Shannon came to the stadium late Saturday afternoon. They were told by some friends that the best party is the night before the game.
When they got to the stadium, they were greeted by some acquaintances of Stan’s. “Hey, Arvee we’re glad you finally got your camper so you could come tailgate with the gang. You know, this guy here, Arvee, has exactly the right name to go RVing! That’s cool, Stan.”
Stan told June, “It’s a good thing we have our truck pulling this trailer or we wouldn’t have a “tailgate” to use.” June said, “Stan, be serious, you don’t actually use the tailgate anymore, you set up tables and chairs, a buffet and mosey around talkin’ Bills talk with everyone. You have to get with the 21st Century and get blogging to find this stuff out.”
They set up camp by their friends, the Wisniewskis. Stan and Mark set up the grill and table and chairs. The girls put up a Bills banner, flags and set up the cutouts of their favorite players. They decided to crack open a cold bottle of their favorite beverage,Genny Cream Ale. Other fans were strolling by and commenting on their cutouts and welcoming them to the tailgate party. They were going to cook NY strip steaks tonight with grilled baby potatoes & veggies. Tomorrow would be the Buffalo feast.
The Bills were going to play the Seattle Seahawks in the game. Stan and Mark were jawing back and forth on this Edwards kid starting at quarterback for the Bills. June and Shannon were talking with Stella Wisniewski on the fact that the Bills were favored in the game by 1-1/2 points (June places a little action on pro football).
After dinner, they cleaned up and decided to get to bed so they could get an early start tomorrow.
So here June is wide awake at 3 am on Sunday morning. She decided to go for walk around the campground so she wouldn’t wake anybody else up at this ridiculous hour. To her surprise, there was other insomniac Bills’ fans out walking too. She spoke to a few; everybody was so wound up in anticipation for opening day.
A while later, Stan, Mark and Shannon were up too putting on their game gear. It was going to be a great day for football in Buffalo…60 degrees and raining. The only thing that would be better was 25 degrees and snowing. “Oh, those crazy Buffalo Bills fans,” asChris Berman from ESPN would say.
The campground was buzzing as everyone was preparing for the tailgate party. The Arvees were making Sahlen hotdogs, topped by Weber’s mustard and onions. They also had fresh Kielbasa from the Broadway Market along with some pierogies that June’s sister made. To snack on they put out chips with Bison dip (Mark says it’s the best chip dip in the world). June made some of her “awesome” potato salad (a name Will, her grandson gave it). Shannon made up a veggie platter, “after all you have to have some healthy food at a tailgate party,” Shannon said.
Jerry & Stella Wisniewski were making beef on weck with fresh horseradish they made themselves. They also had chicken wings with celery and blue cheese. Stella made the wings from the original Anchor Bar recipe.
The group next to the Wisniewskis had gotten Chiavetta’s Chicken Barbecue to reheat and bring along. The smell of the barbecued chicken just floated throughout the campground.
What a Buffalo feast!! Of course, theGenny Lite, Genny and Genny Cream Ale was flowing along with the Labatt’s beer. The football was being tossed around, a lot of Bills talk was happening and the “The Bills Make Me Want to Shout song” was blasting from a boom box somewhere. Not surprising, there were not a lot of Seahawks fans in Buffalo.
After everyone was stuffed, they decided to head up to the stadium and see the pregame warm ups. It was just about kickoff time and the whole stadium was rocking. The Star Spangled Banner was played and 3 Jet Fighters flew over the stadium giving everybody goose bumps.
The Buffalo Stampede was on the big screen scoreboard and the game was on.
After the game, on the way back to the camper, June, Stan, Mark and Shannon were replaying all the great plays in the Bills 34-10 victory. Roscoe Parish had a spectacular punt return for a score. But, they all decided, the play, and call of the game was the fake field goal for a touchdown. The holder, Brian Moorman connected with defensive end, Ryan Denny for a touchdown. They just couldn’t get over it.
June and Shannon decided they were still a little hungry and thirsty. They got out the food and drink and continued to rehash the game with the guys and their fellow campers. They finally headed out of the stadium about 7 pm from a very satisfying day of tailgating, football watching and fun. Stan told everybody, “Honestly, this is why I bought this trailer, to go to Buffalo Bills games.”
