By David White

A tailgate party is a social event held on and around the open tailgate of a vehicle. Tailgating, which originated in the United States, often involves consuming alcoholic beverages and grilling food1. grilling food: 燒烤食物。Tailgate parties usually occur in the parking lots at stadiums and arenas2. arena: 競(jìng)技場(chǎng)。,before and occasionally after games and concerts. People attending such a party are said to be tailgating. Many people participate even if their vehicles do not have tailgates.

Tailgate parties have spread to the pre-game festivities at sporting events besides football, such as basketball, hockey3. hockey: 曲棍球，冰球。, soccer, and baseball, and also occur at non-sporting events such as weddings and barbecues.

In schools and communities throughout the United States, there are athletic departments, coaches and parents of student athletes who rely on post-game tailgating parties to build community and support for their program and team. Smaller, underfunded programs are assisted by the voluntary participation of parents and friends to feed the team and coaching staff post-competition, which establishes a strong core of support year after year.

There are lots of reasons to tailgate!

這是一種不分男女老少的聚會(huì)。Tailgate是指卡車的后擋板，它可以翻下來當(dāng)桌子用。一些球迷在比賽開始前幾小時(shí)就聚在一起，把酒類、三明治、熱狗或者烘烤肉類放在這張臨時(shí)桌子上舉行野餐，用這種方式為自己支持的球隊(duì)加油。這就是風(fēng)靡美國(guó)的車尾派對(duì)！

For many, tailgating is as much as part of the game day experience as the game itself.

While millions will tailgate around the U.S. in 2014 for everything from college football games to Jimmy Buffet concerts, many know little about the history, demographics, and economics of this popular tradition.4. Jimmy Buffet: 吉米·巴菲特（1946— ），美國(guó)鄉(xiāng)村搖滾樂的老牌傳奇歌星、成功的商人和暢銷書作家；demographics:人口統(tǒng)計(jì)資料。Read on to learn some interesting facts you can share with other fans at your next tailgating meet up. Some may seriously surprise you and make you see tailgating in a whole new light.5. in a whole new light: 以全新的角度。

Caesar6. Caesar: 愷撒大帝，羅馬共和國(guó)末期杰出的軍事統(tǒng)帥、政治家。 may have been history’s first recorded tailgater.

The Romans were good at a lot of things: building amazing monuments, conquering distant lands, political intrigue, and knowing how to throw a really awesome (and toga- filled) party.7. intrigue: 陰謀；toga:（古羅馬的）寬外袍。Some credit Caesar with being the first to tailgate, right out of the back of a chariot.8. credit sb. with sth:把……歸功于；chariot:雙輪戰(zhàn)車。The story goes that after a particularly crazy chariot race, the leader opened up the coliseum9. coliseum: 競(jìng)技場(chǎng)。, inviting people in to enjoy food, drink, and various types of entertainment. Wine, wild fowl, and fights to the death may have been a bit more of the standard fare at these early gettogethers than it is today, but the spirit of the events is quite similar,leading to some giving Caesar credit for getting the tailgating ball rolling, though it wouldn’t really take off for another couple of millennia.10. 相較如今的車尾派對(duì)，早前聚會(huì)上的那些必不可少的酒類、野味和生死決斗要更多一些，但是聚會(huì)的主旨是相似的，這使得一些人認(rèn)為愷撒是車尾派對(duì)的開先河之人，然而實(shí)際上，車尾派對(duì)直到幾千年后才正式登上歷史舞臺(tái)。wild fowl: 野味；get the ball rolling: 開始某種活動(dòng)，使發(fā)展；take off: 開始；millennia: 一千年。

People actually tailgated at Civil War battles.

A battle field probably isn’t the place that most of us would want to hang out on the sidelines of (even to cheer on our side),but early tailgaters didn’t let a little thing like stray bullets11. on the sidelines: 在場(chǎng)外；stray bullet:流彈。get in their way. At the Battle of Bull Run in 1861, Union Army supporters showed up with some food and drinks and loudly cheered on the soldiers while hanging out in their carriages.12. 在1861年的馬納薩斯戰(zhàn)役中，聯(lián)邦軍的支持者們帶著食品和飲料出現(xiàn)在戰(zhàn)場(chǎng)上，一邊乘坐四輪馬車閑逛，一邊大聲地為聯(lián)邦軍戰(zhàn)士們吶喊。Battle of Bull Run:（美國(guó)內(nèi)戰(zhàn)中的）馬納薩斯戰(zhàn)役（又稱牛奔戰(zhàn)役）；cheer on: 鼓勵(lì)，為某人打氣；hang out: 閑逛。They sang fight songs, took bets on13. take bet on: 打賭。how long the battle would take, and even caused a traf fic jam when the battle was over — all classic tailgating practices.

Standard tailgate fare differs depending on where you live.

What people consider essentials for tailgating spreads isn’t the same across the board14. across the board: 遍及（某個(gè)地區(qū)、國(guó)家等）。. Different areas of the country have their own favorites and traditions. While fare like burgers and chips may be common everywhere, some regions have specialties. For instance, those in Louisiana may consider jambalaya a tailgating must, while those in the Midwest simply can’t go without brats.15. Louisiana: 路易斯安那州，美國(guó)南部的一個(gè)州；jambalaya: 什錦飯（用米、貝類和雞肉做成）；brats: 香腸。And the West Coast? Don’t be surprised to see grilled fish or pasta16. pasta: 意大利面。. While dishes may differ from region to region, one thing is the same across the board: beer.

The idea for eating out of the back of a car may have started in 1866 with Charles Goodnight.

This Texas rancher and entrepreneur noticed that the cowboys he employed needed a way to eat on the road, so he transformed a U.S. Army wagon into a mobile kitchen.17. rancher: 牧場(chǎng)主；wagon:四輪馬車。There, hungry ranch hands could get their chow18. chow: 食物。, relax,and socialize after a long day of working.

Most tailgaters are men.

While many women enjoy tailgating, the stats show that it is largely a male pastime.19. stats: 即statistics，統(tǒng)計(jì)數(shù)字（資料）；pastime:消遣，娛樂。A survey found that 79% percent of tailgaters are men, making women a serious minority in stadium parking lots.

Sporting events aren’t the only places people tailgate.

Tailgating may have begun at football games, but the trend is now expanding to include other stadium events. One of the biggest nonsports-related events people tailgate for is concerts. Some, like fans of musician Jimmy Buffet, have extremely elaborate20. elaborate: 精心計(jì)劃的。and large tailgating parties before the concert begins (and sometimes afterwards, too).

Many fans watch the game from the parking lot with the help of modern technologies.

Why sit in uncomfortable bleachers21. bleacher: 露天看臺(tái)。and pay for a ticket when you can catch the game right in your car while tailgating? A growing number of tailgaters are taking advantage of technologies that let them watch pre-game coverage, other match-ups,22. pre-game coverage: 賽前新聞報(bào)道；matchup: 比賽。or the game itself from their cars.