Play-by-play guide to tailgating

Drinks
Drinks are an essential part of any good tailgate, but there's no need to stock a full bar. Instead, focus on the basics: Pack plenty of beer and wine, plus supplies for classic two-ingredient highballs such as gin and tonic, bourbon and coke, and 7 and 7, and you'll have plenty to satisfy your crowd. Here's a rundown of your basic beverage needs:

1. Beer: Pack lots of beer and keep it on ice. If you're serious about team spirit, opt for your favorite regional brew. A good rule of thumb is to buy one more six-pack than you think you'll need. It's always smart to have a few extra cans for sharing with neighboring tailgaters.
   
   
2. Wine: If you have a wine-drinking crowd, bring several bottles each of red and white. This isn't the time to splurge: Wines in the $10 to $12 range will fit the bill nicely.
   
   
3. Liquor: Since a tailgate is equal parts picnic and camping trip, it's best to keep your cocktail selection simple. Take an informal poll of potential guests, and ask them to choose one brown and one clear liquor. (Usually, it'll end up being bourbon or rum on the dark side and vodka or gin on the clear.) Match these with a few bottles of appropriate mixers, and you'll please most of the people most of the time.
   
   
4. Mixers: Depending on the liquor you bring, fill out your bar with Bloody Mary mix, club soda, cola (regular and diet), ginger beer, lemon-lime soda (regular and diet), orange juice, and tonic water.
   
   
5. Garnishes: You don't need to stock fancy garnishes, but you should always have essentials like olives and lemon and lime wedges. Bring a small cutting board and paring knife, or, better yet, cut the wedges ahead of time.
   
   
6. Supplies: You'll also need plenty of disposable cups (at least two or three per person) and napkins (aim for six per person), a sturdy card table for your drink setup, a dedicated beverage cooler, and plenty of ice for keeping everything cold. Pack a few wine and beer openers, and if you're offering cocktails, make note of any necessary bar tools — at the very least, you'll need something for stirring drinks. Set up garbage and recycling bags so folks can dispose of empty bottles, cans, napkins, and cups.
   

Planning
Throwing a party for a dozen friends might not be such a big deal at home, but take that same party to a sun-baked or snow-filled parking lot, and you've got a different ball game. Keep the following tips in mind, as you're getting ready to take your show on the road.

• Plan ahead: To avoid last-minute scrambling or forgetting essentials like charcoal, make a checklist of all the food, drink, and equipment you plan to bring. Remember that you'll also need to clean up and cart everything away afterwards, so make a second checklist for all the items you want to bring back home.
  
  
• Know the rules: Most stadiums have strict rules about when, where, and how people can tailgate. At the University of Washington, Huskies supporters do their tailgating on the waters of Lake Washington, but before they pull their boats up to the designated party zone, they consult gohuskies.com for the necessary paperwork. Fans of the New York Giants find home-game tailgating regulations at meadowlands.com. Save yourself some serious hassle by checking your athletic department or stadium Web site for tailgating rules and guidelines.
  
  
• Meet the neighbors: If it's your first season on the tailgate circuit, be respectful of established “party lines.” At many campuses and stadiums, tribes of tailgaters have been setting up in the same place for decades. You can usually spot them a few days before the game, patiently guarding their traditional territory. Also, they tend to fire up their grills early, so it's often possible to simply follow the smoke trail straight to their party sites. Once you find these loyal fans, be sure to check out their setup — they're experts, and you're bound to learn something.
  
  
• Pick a team: Unless you're a professional caterer or a glutton for high-pressure punishment, it always pays to make tailgating a team sport rather than a solo production. Pull in help from the following folks:
  

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