Throughout the season we've talked about many great ideas to assist the tailgate masters, upgrading their status into Captains of the Tailgate. We've enjoyed recipes from finger foods like fried chicken strips loaded with BBQ sauce to the Kirkendall Famous Ribs, loaded with BBQ sauce. Any hints on what the key ingredient is for both? We've talked about the Stadium Pal Portable Urinal for Men, allowing the Captain of the Tailgate to cook unimpeded when nature calls. Well, provided that call's area code starts with a "1" and not a "2"; you would need force powers to deal with the latter.
We've provided good cost efficient ways to staying warm with heats small enough to keep a few people warm, to a heater that's warm enough that scientists could mistaken as a second sun.
And finally, for our final Captain of the Tailgate post of the season, we're going to talk about games. No, not those football games where 99% of Cincinnati writes a bunch of names on a dry erase board titled, "People to blame for my miserable Sunday", always with Mike Brown's name drawn out on top.
There's Sholf, a game that mixes table shuffleboard and golf. There's ladder golf, a game where you take two balls tethered together and try to hit one of the three boards, lined up like a ladder, with the most points awarded to the top step. Bean bag toss, beer pong and why not a game of croquet? Many games exist for different people.
But then there's Cornhole -- a game immensely popular in these parts, mostly because it's widely believed that the game was created in Cincinnati. You can find Cornhole in backyards, at some bars with a patio and tailgates. And tossing a beanbag underarm is hardly sapping of one's energy that must be saved for the countless sighs going on inside Paul Brown Stadium. Right?
You can customize your Cornhole boards with the Bengals insignia made of plywood or plastic. The game is simple, if you've never heard of it or played it. You can play in teams, but works fine with two people. The objective is to be the first to score 21 points, with three points awarded for making it the hole and one point for placing the bag on the board. Each side gets four tosses per inning (or frame). Scoring can differ. There are cancellation rules, which is the result of canceling each other's points out. If Josh knocks all four bags into the hole, Josh receives 12 points. If Carson Palmer misses the board three straight times but lands on the board for one point, then at the end of the inning, Josh gets 11 points. You can also stipulate that no one can go past 21 points, so that if a team gets 22 points in an inning/frame, then that team must revert back to the points they had before the frame. Though if you're smart, once you realize you have 21 points, try not to be all Drew Brees and instead toss it aside.
In order to be the Captain of the Tailgate, you have to provide games. And there's always enough games available to keep everyone entertained.