Gameday.Style

When we hear Tailgate, we think football.  But parking in a lot and having a little party can happen for any occasion.  You might be in a parking lot for another reason...a Trunk or Treat tailgate.  Trunk or Treats are such a creative way to celebrate Halloween...and it's just another reason to have a tailgate party.

This photo is posted on this Gameday in honor of my almost 7 year old, whom for his past 7 Halloweens has chosen to dress as a football player.  The young man in the photo has either squeezed in a paper route to his Gameday or is just choosing to dress up like some of his football heroes. Happy Halloween weekend Gameday to you! 

  How do you show your team spirit on October 31st? 

I will never forget a game we played on Halloween in Boulder, Colorado.  I thought it was so clever the Colorado dance team used their costume collection to create a costume for each girl..a cowgirl, a flamenco dancer, a police officer, a detective...  This weekend's games run into Halloween and it's so fun to add a little Halloween flair to your Gameday celebration. But don't just limit these ideas to football...these would be great just to simply celebrate Halloween.  

We love really good food in our house and at our tailgates, so the Queen Mother of good food, Paula Deen , has had a strong influence in my recipe repertoire.  In her book, Paula Deen Celebrates!, she discusses her sons' love for Georgia football and their high level of tailgating expertise.  Here is the menu from Paula Deen Celebrates! for a Football Party:

Super Sparkles! A friend of mine started making these darling sequined headbands...thick ones, skinny ones, multi-colored ones, embellished ones.  She is a nurse and wears her hair up for work.   When looking for something to accessorize her "up-dos" and keep her hair out of her face, she discovered her love for making sparkly headbands.  

This incredible display was discovered over at Bakerella.com . Click anywhere on the photos and it will take you to the entire post on Bakerella so that you can also enjoy the narrative.   Props to Cupcake Julie and Bakerella on this gorgeous work of art they prepared for last year's Super Bowl.   Enjoy while your mouth waters! Super Bowl Sweets

The three-man Chain Gang stands on the sideline.  Their responsibility is to mark the yard line of the ball on 1st down (the beginning of each new series).  They keep track of the Down (you can see the down marker 1,2,3,4 on the sideline) and the Yardage (distance between the two poles attached to the chain) needed by the Offense to make the necessary 10 yards for a new 1st down.  The 10-yard chain is brought out on the field for any close measurement for a 1st down.   Click here for The New York Times' in-depth look at football chains Most chain gangs, also called chain crews, are provided by each team that is hosting the game.  Many are volunteers. All Xs and Os posts are adapted from the  Coach Bass College Football Map.   Coach Bass's maps are a fold out "Beverage and Mustard Proof" {not kidding!} map that defines and explains the game of College Football.  I would bet you might see a woman folding out one of these babies at a game, but a man would n

Sara and Meg over at  Gameday Stylist  are inspiring lots of spirited looks for a  super stylish gameday: Blacks and Golds

I love  They have all sorts of team colored and team logo-ed items in a unique style that's  Gameday Style appealing:

Tailgating is one of those events where all the work is definitely worth all of the fun.  But how do we make our lives simpler on gameday?  Food and drink are not always the obstacle.  It's the Plays--- the method of transport, setting up and taking down for which many tailgaters feel inept.  You know what I mean...how everything is packed in and just might explode out the back of the car if you hit a bump just right en route to the stadium.  Then you can't find a serving spoon.  And you should have thrown in some bags for the dirty dishes.  And somehow nothing fits back in like it did on the way to the parking lot.  I have a few items you might want to round up before your next party out of the back of your car....

  I bring to you a little diversion during this football season....   The World Series!

The quintessential, iconic prepster apparel resource is Brooks Brothers, the place to land for uber-classic men's clothing.  Now they've entered the foray of campus clothier, going beyond the bookstore.  While the schools offered are limited (many probably based on trademark issues...some schools are more costly to obtain than others), if they get enough requests, they might just expand their range of schools.  Check out this handsome and refined collection:

Remember these? Or perhaps you've seen a gargantuan Homecoming mum recently?   An artist in Marfa, Texas, Nancy Newberry,  did a series of photographs in 2009 called "Mum".  Click   here   for a narrative about her portrait series.     You can go to nancynewberry.com for the entire series, but here are some highlights...total slices of Americana pie.   It is so fun that giant bedecked Homecoming corsages are a tradition that stands strong in high school football.  There is even an online retailer, monsterspirit.com , that sells all the supplies you would need...charms, lettering, miles of ribbon...stuff. Here is a fantastic little watercolor from a blog called Texas vs. New York , comparing Homecoming mums between Texas and New York.  (That would be Texas on the left) Texas vs. New York by Sam Stefan Giant Homecoming mums render themselves impractical at college games because of space issues in the stadium as well as the all d

Here is a collection of football themed gift items you can have delivered with a phone call or a click of the button...for a Happy Homecoming...for a Thanks for letting us stay on a Gameday weekend....for a Good Luck on the Game...for a Happy Birthday...for a Loved your Tailgate Party...for a Missing you on Gameday....for a Thanks...for a Great Game! crowd pleaser for a tailgate party fun for anyone, love the football bank amazing cookies...fun bowl to use later crowd pleaser...with chocolate great packaging personalize with colors and jersey numbers elegant.  great centerpiece for the tailgate. fun.  football mums in team colors. fantastic hostess gift  clean modern arrangement. can be personalized with team logos If you would like to send something around Homecoming time, find a local florist in the area that does the traditional mum corsage for that school.  It is fun to see alumni and fans in a retro looking gam

Adabelle's ( www.adabelles.com )  has some darling pieces to wear for Gameday!

The first Homecoming game, Missouri vs. Kansas, November 25, 1911 photo courtesy of the University of Missouri What a grand tradition in high school and college football! Once October hits, campuses all over the country are celebrating the uniquely American celebration of Homecoming.   College football is filled with much pageantry in its traditions.  Many of these traditions occurred in such a graceful and gradual way that the roots and histories can't be documented accurately.  The tradition of Homecoming, though, definitely began at the University of Missouri.  This is fact because Jeopardy! and Trivial Pursuit and the NCAA say so.   Baylor, Illinois and the Harvard-Yale rivalry also stake claim to the tradition, but you can't argue with Alex Trebek.  Over at Mizzou magazine, www.mizzoumag.missouri.edu , Stephanie Detillier explains Mizzou's claim that it was the first school to not only encourage alumni to "come home" for their rivalry game against th

Dips are very All-American.   We have such strong affections toward dips..french onion dip; ranch dip;  Ro-Tel dip (the one with Velveeta and sausage) and the classic three ingredient Artichoke Dip (mayonnaise, artichokes and Parmesan).   Speaking of ingredients, the first item I look for when judging a dip's crowd pleasing potential is

Referee, umpire, linesman, judge...what?  I thought football officials were referees, umpires were in baseball games, a linesman fixed telephone lines and a judge was in the courtroom. Here's the lowdown on the Officials...those gentlemen wearing the black and white stripes: Referee: in charge of all Officials; wears a white hat; positioned behind the Offense Umpire: positioned behind the Defensive line Head Linesman and Side Judge: positioned on one Sideline Line Judge & Back Judge: positioned on the other Sideline Field Judge: positioned behind the Defense in the center of the field Some other little known facts about football Officials: Groups of Officials officiate in "teams", meaning they officiate games together all season An Official is always associated with a conference in college football A letter on the back of the shirt indicates what position they are on the field An American flag was added to the Official's uniform following Septe

University of Washington Most football stadiums are landlocked, so the very thought of riding in a boat to gameday sounds completely fun.  There are a handful of football stadiums located on the water--mainly rivers--so that people can dock right outside the stadium and tailgate on the water.   Coastal Living magazine wrote an article on "Boatgating"  and this just sums it up:

We love this football stadium bundt cake pan by Nordicware.  

One of the most comprehensive online resources for gameday fashion is www.meeshandmia.com