Sporting their new t-shirts embossed with Fambrough

With football season starting up, families have made it a tradition is to tailgate with multiple families each year.

From left, Danel Cupps and her son Carter Cupps, along with Angie Summer, and Laura Wagner enjoy some of the variety of foods the families bring to the tailgate.

From left, Wesley Cupps and Parker Simon, play a game of catch as the children, one activity in the tailgating experience.

For die-hard tailgaters, having children isn’t an excuse to miss a pregame celebration — it’s an excuse to turn the experience into a family activity.

Tailgating with the entire family is rather easy with few special accommodations, said Kansas University alumnus Michael Lewis. He and his wife, Kelly, bring their son Trey, 4, and daughter Chloe, 5, to KU football games every season.

It’s no longer sufficient to sit around drinking all day, but it’s also not necessary to eliminate the tailgate tradition entirely. With a few adjustments and the addition of some all-ages activities, the tailgating experience can be a fun way to spend quality time with the family.

Timing

Tailgater Ryan Gerstner said that in his 18 years having season tickets to KU football games, reducing the amount of time tailgating is the biggest change he’s had to make since having children. Making sure his 2-year-old son Liam and 3-year-old daughter Addison get their naps in during the day or on the hour-long commute from Kansas City is crucial to tailgate preparation. His family usually arrives two and a half hours before kickoff, as opposed to six-hour celebrations in the early years.

“Kids just wear out,” he said. “They’ve got a limited attention span.”

Weather is also a consideration with timing, Lewis said. If it’s 100 degrees or really cold at the end of the season, it’s not smart to bring the kids out early, he said.

Location

With younger children wanting to run around, it helps to set up shop in a middle of a lot away from traffic. “There are definitely spots in the lots with cars pulling through the whole time, so we avoid those areas,” Gerstner said.

Dan and Heidi Simon have tailgated with their three boys, ages 7,10 and 13, since each of them were born. The empty lot across from them on 11th and Maine streets provides for a large yard where the kids can “run around like crazy.” Luckily the oldest kids in the group can look out for the younger ones.

Strength in numbers

Heidi Simon appreciates the coordination of duties with their multi-family tailgate. Split up tasks so that one family brings tables, another brings the grill, and each family has a designated food to share with the entire party, including friends that pop by to socialize.

The Lewis family has had a steady group of 40 to 75 people to collaborate with for the past 12 years.

The longer you remain in one area, Lewis said, the closer you become to those around you. They tailgate in a yard at 10th and Alabama streets away from the stadium where they now know most of the people in the area. Lewis said they only see them during football season, but it’s like coming together as one giant family.

It also makes for the perfect ratio of parents to children, he said, and an ideal refuge for bored or tired children.

“The kids can go into one the houses where someone lives and hang out there for a little bit,” Lewis said.

Food

Traditional tailgate food is pretty kid-friendly, Heidi Simon said, but keep it simple.

Breakfast burritos cut in halves and wrapped up individually are good for morning games because they are easily transported and always go over well, Simon said.

Lewis said they like to mix it up as much as possible, packing breakfast casserole for morning games, sandwiches for lunch, and burgers, wings, pulled pork or even steak and potatoes for dinners. Always include a few hot dogs in the cooler for pickier children.

Cookies are always a big hit, he added.

“Our son probably eats a year’s worth of cookies during the season,” Lewis said.

Activities

Bring your own entertainment by packing a football, soccer ball or other games like ladder golf or washers, said the Simons. Have the kids invite their friends, Heidi added.

The Hawk Zone on the football practice field is a family area that opens two and half hours before kickoff and includes inflatable games, face painting and future Jayhawk photos. Stop by friends’ tailgates on the walk over, Dan said.

Big Jay and Baby Jay always make for a good photo op, too.

“We always have to find them for a Facebook picture,” Lewis said.

Watch the marching band come down the hill, Gerstner said. “For one of my buddies, it’s half the reason they buy the tickets,” he says. “The kids look forward to seeing them so much.”