The parties have been great but now it's time for the main event. There's more cattle herd-style queueing getting into the official NFL Tailgate, but finally I make it and pounce on some wings and a tasty Blue Moon to wash it down. Daughtry is on the main stage, and while the guy sings pretty well, I find his dude-rock to be blander than the turkey sliders being served. Evander Holyfield strolls by toward the ultra-VIP "team area," graciously posing for photos with fans, as does Tom Arnold in a pair of horn-rimmed specs. Mr. Arnold tells me he's rooting for "the underdog" without hesitation and I give him a high five and a "who dat!" before he heads into the VIP as well.
Steve Winwood is the next (boring) pre-game performer but over in one of the side tents I find a hip-hop violin duo who are killin' it with classical remixes of Flo Rida and Lady Gaga tunes. I get a green-screen photo of myself scoring a touchdown and am off to the stadium for the 6:30 kick off.
This article appears in Feb 3-9, 2010.