Tailgating, It Pays Off -- Thank You Niners!

This past weekend, The San Francisco 49ers became the 2011 NFC West Champions. For a longtime fan, and endless mornings of tailgating, rain or shine, it has been a long year. I am a part of a 49er tailgate crew that is made up of a few of my wife and I's high school friends, lead by our friend Chef and whatever fans we pick up along the way.

We even have a name for our tailgating crew; we call ourselves "Prime Time 49!" We have been doing this tailgate party since 2003 rain or shine and if there is a home game, Prime Time 49 will be there with the pre-party. We use to arrive at the stadium at 6:30am to get a great spot, but for the first four games we were treated like cattle until they felt it was a good time to open the gates.

This year there was no easy feat because of all of the regulations that the stadium has put into effect after a wild "Battle of The Bay." That was Raiders/49ers game earlier is season that resulted some violence in the parking lot. Because of that one game, tailgating was almost lost for the rest of the season.

The stadium stopped allowing fans to show up before 9am or line up to get in when a home game starts at 1pm, but die-hard 49ers fans want to be early and ready to have a good time and watch their team make it to the playoff which is now a reality.

Police presence has been higher than any year I can recall. Also all tailgate parties end at one and are not allowed to continue. Now this all sounds like reasonable regulations but to the die-hard tailgate fans it was an inconvenience. So much so that we almost lost our fellow tailgater friends, some that have been tailgating since 1981. But tradition is key and no regulation could keep the fans from showing their love for their team. Never the less, the season has been a success both on and off the field.

As a tailgate crew we did our thing, at one game we had a DJ, a Taco guy, and a Bartender, oh yeah and birthday cake for my wife’s 26th. All of which lead up to a really good time, and game. We try to bring some good vibes to the stadium to get the fans ready; we are located 25 yards from the main gates. After the early mornings, the rain, the fights, all the tailgating drama you can imagine, it was worth it. Congratulations 49ers on becoming the NFC West Champions!