Miasmatic Review

Tailgating, denied!

This is unconscionable. The NFL is prohibiting tailgating at the Super Bowl. That’s right, they have banned tailgating.

"There is no tailgating allowed in the Dolphin Stadium parking lots," Sue Jaquez, a member of the Super Bowl XLI Host Committee, confirmed on Tuesday. "And there is no tailgating anywhere within a one-mile radius of the stadium." "And there are no RVs allowed."

Now, this isn’t something that the Dolphin’s organization did. It’s the NFL.

Tailgating is permitted during regular- and post-season games for Dolphins fans, a team official on Tuesday said it would indeed be allowed at the Super Bowl. According to Jaquez, however, the official has been seriously misinformed.

The Dolphins do not organize and oversee the Super Bowl, Jaquez pointed out. Instead, those duties are left up to NFL officials. And because of security reasons, no pre-game partying on (or very near) the premises will take place. Fans spotted tailgating could face charges, Jaquez said.

Okay, there are some things that are sacred to football, and tailgating is one of them. As many of you know, I’m a huge football fan. Heck, my obsession with football can almost be labeled as unhealthy. With that being said, the NFL is starting to piss me off. First with their stunt of moving games to Thursday night and only showing them on their network. Now this.

I have to stick up for my NFC central rival fans. I know that if my team was going to the Superbowl, I had tickets and wasn’t allowed to tailgate; I’d be pretty damned pissed off. Bears fans that make it to the game are being denied the joy and pleasure of tailgating at the most important game of the year. The tradition of tailgating is almost a sacred thing, and especially if your team is in the big game. To take away that tradition would be like having the Fourth of July without fireworks, Christmas without presents, Thanksgiving without turkey or St. Patrick’s Day without green beer! Time honored traditions them all.

I’m wondering how they are going to enforce no tailgating within a one-mile radius of the stadium. I mean seriously, the NFL may have jurisdiction over what can be done on the stadium grounds, but once you get off the stadium property, they have no authority. Did the city of Miami and Miami-Dade county officials approve this as well? I mean, you would think this would be an enforcement nightmare. Then again the officials are probably bending over and taking it from the NFL just so they can host the Super Bowl. I’m not sure how the Dolphin’s Stadium is set up, but if I lived with in that mile radius, I think I’d be having a big arse BBQ that day. Just to see what they did, or tried to handle it.

So NFL, shame on you! Shame on you for once again giving your fans the shaft!