Even now, at 49, Leif Tiley is probably the first to pull into the Colorado State University parking lot before a football game. Tiley and his group of 20 or so began tailgating in 1995, when he was still in school and Sonny Lubick yanked the team out of decades of hibernation. Tiley and his fraternity brothers decided they had earned some school support. “We would basically get up, go to a liquor store, buy a case of beer and go to the game,” Tiley says. “Sometimes if one had parents visiting, we’d crash their tailgate and get food that way.” Things are a bit more sophisticated now. Soon after he graduated, he began to meet with many of the same group and go to the game. Then he formed a Facebook group, Best CSU Ram Tailgate Group, in 2012. He began to plan out meals with them, rather than scrounge off parents’ plates. Tiley missed tailgating more than anything during last year’s pandemic. “We don’t all live in Fort Collins anymore,” Tiley says. “We’d never see each other if we didn’t get together with tailgating,” Now that he’s as much of an expert as anyone else, Tiley and others have a few tips to make your tailgate a winner.

Bougie or basic?

If you do prefer to cook yourself, you can get as fancy as you like. Tiley says he has “tried-and-true” cheese dips (the one with Worcester sauce is a unique treat) and probably had “any dip you can imagine” at one point, including a favorite with buffalo chicken. They usually also bring monkey bread and homemade breakfast sandwiches for the early games. “We have our favorites,” Tiley says, “but we all like to experiment.” They change things up every game with themes that match CSU’s opponent, including a hot dog contest. He searches tailgate ideas and clicks on ads that surround his Facebook group a bit too much. During hunting season, all kinds of chili show up. They have unofficial (or sometimes official) competitions to see who makes the best dish and will host a rib contest with dozens of unique sauces.“If we see something unique,” Tiley says, “we will try it.”Allen, however, prefers the basics, even if they vary from week to week as he coordinates with his five friends. He will grill burgers and brats one week and bring entrees and side dishes another week. He also sometimes makes beef and bean burritos wrapped in foil that people can stick in their pockets and take into the game. “Occasionally we will come up with a new idea,” he said, “but it’s pretty basic stuff. We pretty much bring what we think everyone will like.”