Tailgating Happiness = 49ers vs Lions

Posted by Lauren

Monday: Alarm sounds at 7 am. I literally can’t move – sore all over and completely exhausted.

Sunday was T-I-R-I-N-G!

AND, oh my goodness, so much F-U-N!

After Saturday night’s USC game at Stanford, my mom, David, and Nicole dropped me off at my car. The football game was pretty intense, and I especially enjoyed rooting on the Trojans from the student section. I see why Nicole loves football season!

I fell asleep quickly, but didn’t have a peaceful night’s sleep due to pre-race anxiety. Sunday morning I woke up at 6:30, packed my bags, and hit the road at 7:10 with Kevin (one of my roommates) for San Francisco.

Insert: Giant Race half marathon before/during/after recap here. < < I will post about that on Tuesday. Although I wanted to barf at the end, I am really proud of myself for pushing through every mile. I won't keep you guessing - my finish time was just under 1:45! :) Full report with Garmin info (hopefully) tomorrow!

So..... Back to football....

Around 12:30 we arrived in the cash lots to start tailgating. Who is 'we'? Well... myself, Kevin, Clay, Victor + Maria, Kyle + Meaghan, Tyler + Aubree, and Vic's friend Tyler. Five of the six guys are friends from the dorms freshman year. I <3 them, basically.

We set up tables for food and beer pong, cranked up the music, and heated up the grill.

chips on chips on chips

Bacon wrapped jalapeños stuffed with cream cheese – also known as ‘something too spicy for Clay to finish.’ No worries, I helped him out.

The four hour tailgate went by super fast! Although it was windy (as to be expected of Candlestick) we had a great setup at the back of the cash lot, next to bathrooms and on pavement! 80% of the lot is straight up dirt (Nicole: Farm alert!) and it was nice to avoid that. We talked a lot about the #Ninerrrrs and fantasy football. (I lost again this week! Sad.)

I also found out why Victor is a Lions fan. Little Vic watched the Lions play every Thanksgiving and rooted for them after getting a jersey. Too cute…. But Lions still suck.

Victor and Maria grilled up some tasty food while the rest of us snacked/drank. My contribution – chopped carrots and celery with two types of hummus for dipping.

I had a WWND (What Would Nicole Do) moment Friday night at the grocery store and picked up a bottle of champagne. I think the conversion is 1 bottle to 1 half marathoner ;)

Logan (my car) rescued Clay’s car from a dead battery. Folks, make sure to alternate cars when playing music for hours on end!

You can see the guys setting up beer pong in the background…

The wind made the games challenging!

We walked over to the stadium and found a huuuge crowd queuing at the gate. Maria and I agreed to threaten the boys – no group picture, no tickets. Muahahaha.

Aww such a good one!

Then….. It was game time! My throat still hurts from all the screaming!

Our favorite fan ambassador, Krizia, stopped by to say hi. She’s #49erFaithful 100%.

Candlestick was CHILLY!

The 49ers played beautifully in their season opener against the Detroit Lions, beating them 27-19. Last year’s game in Detroit caused quite the stir when coach Harbaugh’s handshake + slap on the back offended the Lions coach Schwartz. Our Facebook event was actually named after the silly controversy.

I had a blast at the game and owe a big thank you to Victor and Maria for organizing the whole day…. even if they are Lions fans! ;)

Question: What are some of your tailgating tips? How do people watch TV from their cars?!

-Lauren