Dan Snyder Kills the Tailgate Party

In some way, it was inevitable. That is, the demise of the tailgate bacchanalia that was the one redeeming feature of attending a game at Fed Ex Field. The stadium is generally a nightmare for fans to get to and fro and once they are in it the prospects are not much better: long lines for food and drinks, bad beer and a puzzling inability to keep the women's rooms stocked with toilet paper.

The uber fan tailgate was the one great thing that made the trek worthwhile versus watching the game on my HDTV. And The Danny, the Darth Vader of Redskins fans, has killed that.

Under new rules intended to ease the flow of parking, the Skins have outlawed tailgates that take more than one parking space and will relegate those loyal fans to the outermost lots. From the Wa Post:

The Washington Redskins will restrict large tailgate parties in the FedEx Field parking lots this season, limiting tailgates using more than one parking space to "the back" of parking lots, the team said in a statement. The team also said that drivers of all vehicles will be directed to specific areas of the lots instead of being allowed to choose their own.

"The most significant new procedure will have parking attendants directing fans who wish to tailgate in more than one space to the back of lots, where they will be allowed to occupy two spaces until required for additional vehicles," the team said. "Fans who wish to only park, or tailgate within their single parking spot, will be directed to the front of lots, filling the lot from front to back."

In the past, early-entering fans were greeted by something of a free-for-all in the empty lots, leaving a chaotic checkerboard pattern as fans gradually staked out spots and erected tents, grills and buffet lines. The parking lots have traditionally opened four hours before kickoff, but hundreds of fans lined up outside the gates before dawn for the chance to stake out prime spots, with several large tailgates appearing each week in the rows closest to the stadium.

The system also led to fans spreading out over multiple spaces early in the morning, tying up spaces and contributing to gridlock when later-arriving cars pulled in. But to many fans, the system helped foster a community atmosphere, with tailgates springing up all over the massive expanse of asphalt, mapped out by an honor-system geography under which the same families would grab the same spots nearly every week.

What the Wa Post omits is that those folks who took the primo spots to tailgate are the most elite long-term season ticket holders also known as the most loyal fans. To deny them this tradition does not seem to be a smart business move, but The Danny is not very smart about business save the Internet bubble sale of his marketing company which, unfortunately, gave him enough money to buy the Redskins. His ventures since have been failures. Six Flags is not doing too well and neither are the Redskins.

My great memories of the now-outlawed tailgates feature my friend Brooke's family, who have been season ticket holders for a long time. They would line up a couple of SUV's and grills and also deep-fried a turkey. A pic attached shows their grills and the buffet line-up. If Danny wants to outlaw this, I want to outlaw Danny.