13 Things Ohioans Do at a Tailgate That Confuse Everyone From Out of State

Tailgating doesn’t take much: a parking lot, a game and something on the grill.

Ohioans often take it further, and fans from other states don’t always know what to make of it.

Here’s what Ohio tailgaters do that leaves visitors scratching their heads.

1. Matching the Menu to the Opponent

At the Pit, a Browns tailgating lot downtown, different opponents inspire different dishes, Cleveland Magazine‘s 2021 guide found.

An Eagles game brought cheesesteaks, and a Saints game brought Creole cooking.

A menu built around the opponent might surprise some fans from out of state.

A Browns tailgater profiled in 2021 served a drink of the week tied to the opponent, a Baltimore Zoo for the Ravens and a Lynchburg lemonade for the Titans.

Know your opponent.

2. Raffling for Charity

In the guide’s telling, tailgaters at Cleveland’s Burke Lakefront Airport lot regularly did a 50/50 for local charities.

Stop by Before the Roar in Cincinnati and you’ll find a charity at every game selling raffle tickets, host Jimmie Foster told Cincinnati Magazine.

Prizes include helmets and jerseys.

This season, the tailgate will come close to $1 million raised for charity since 2019.

Grab a ticket.

3. Early-Morning Arrivals

Dedicated tailgaters showed up as early as 6 a.m. to claim spots in Cleveland’s Municipal Lot, known as the Muni Lot, at the September home opener.

In 2024, the city’s rules had that lot opening at 5 a.m. for a typical 1 p.m. weekend home game.

NBC4 reported that several groups at Ohio State’s 2019 homecoming were already grilling breakfast by 5 a.m., more than 14 hours before kickoff.

Set your alarm.

4. Holding a Wedding in the Muni Lot

Have you ever been to a wedding at a tailgate?

Desire and Charles Bevel held their wedding in the Muni Lot on the morning of the Browns’ 2025 home opener.

The couple met at a tailgate.

The team heard about the wedding and dropped off 50-yard-line tickets for the newlyweds.

Then came the cake.

In Cincinnati, Before the Roar host Jimmie Foster told the magazine his tailgate has had multiple weddings and engagements.

5. Welcoming Visiting Fans

The 2021 guide said the Muni Lot seems to draw a fair number of visiting fans, and its tailgaters try to welcome everyone but Steelers fans.

An Akron native tailgated in the Muni Lot in Jets gear before a December 2023 game against the Browns, and told Ideastream Public Media the mood was pretty chill.

A few Michigan State fans mingled with Ohio State fans at the 2019 homecoming, too.

Wear your colors anyway.

6. Converting Buses and Ambulances

In 2021, tailgaters entering the Muni Lot passed two Browns-themed buses, each a rolling bar, News5 Cleveland reported.

Scott Nunnari’s converted bus had a ten-seat bar, a propane fireplace and a pair of seats from old Municipal Stadium.

In Cincinnati, three natives picked up a bus in a junkyard in May 2020.

At the same Longworth Hall tailgate, about 100 people showed up in the Burrow Bus section alone, Fox19 reported in 2021.

In Columbus, former Buckeye Barney Renard bought an ambulance in 2016, and it became a mobile shrine to Ohio State football history.

One side shows national championship-winning coaches and the other shows Heisman Trophy winners, which earned it the nickname The Heisman Hauler.

You’re invited.

7. Finishing With Buckeyes for Dessert

At Ohio State tailgates, you’ll often find buckeyes, Food & Wine reported in 2024.

They’re chocolate-dipped peanut butter balls that resemble the nut of the state tree.

It’s candy, not a nut.

Buckeye Boosters president Butch Moore told Sports Illustrated in 2018 that the final item at an Ohio State tailgate should always be buckeyes for dessert.

8. Making Pierogies by Hand

At Top Dawg, a Browns tailgate group at the Pit, the most popular dishes were pierogies and chicken paprikash, a 2024 profile found.

Many fans from out of state tend to picture burgers and brats at a Browns tailgate.

Co-leader Eric Barr estimated the group would do almost 1,500 pierogies by hand.

Your move, bratwurst.

The group’s paprikash is a Slovak recipe, and its recipes are European-inspired.

Dan Brezovec, Barr’s co-leader, turned an ambulance into a food truck.

9. Skipping the Game

Walk through the Muni Lot and you might meet tailgaters who aren’t even going to the game.

At the Pit, one tailgater estimated in the guide that about half the fans there go to the game and the other half watch at bars in the Flats.

Moore said in 2018 that many people who tailgate at Ohio State never go inside and watch the game on TVs instead.

Plenty stay put.

10. Keeping the Same Spot for Decades

Would you give up your tailgate spot after decades?

NBC4 reported in 2019 that some longtime Buckeye fans had been setting up their tailgate near the same spot for decades.

In 2022, the Roemer family of Toledo said the Michigan game would end more than 90 years of tailgating at every Ohio State home game, across four generations.

For the finale against Michigan, they planned to set up on the east side of the lot, the same spot they used for every other Buckeyes game.

Moore said in 2018 that his tailgate had been in the exact same spot, with the exact same families, for more than 25 years.

Spots run in families.

11. Naming the Crew

If your group has tailgated together for years, it might deserve a name.

Giovanni Castelli and Paul Kaspick, friends since second grade, had tailgated with their group, the Muni-Lot Degenerates, for more than 19 years by late 2023.

In Cincinnati, Chris Neace has been captain of the Bengals Bomb Squad West, a crew at Longworth Hall, for 25 years, Fox19 reported in August.

The crew watched other people tailgate, then started adding cornhole and music until it grew into a big thing.

Names stick.

12. Staking Out Spots on Thursday

At Ohio State's 2019 homecoming, many fans staked out their spots Thursday evening, when the lots opened after 5 p.m., and came back Saturday morning to set up their tents.

Ohio State's rules let you put tents up on the grass around campus no earlier than 5 p.m. Thursday before a home game.

Tents come down by noon on Sunday.

Weight down 10-by-10 pop-up tents instead of using stakes.

Stakes stay in the truck.

13. Taking the Party to Away Games

Jimmie Foster told the magazine that his Before the Roar group usually goes to every game, home and away, though it doesn't throw a massive tailgate for every road game.

The group pre-sold more than 1,000 tickets to its tailgate in Miami last year.

You don't have to root for the Bengals to join in, since the group is welcoming to any fans.

Foster estimated that 25 to 35 percent of the people at those away tailgates come from Cincinnati.

The party travels.