Root for your team at local faves Otey’s Tavern & Avondale Brewing Company

Whether you bleed crimson and white, orange and blue, or gold and green, this season the Idea Specialists™ at the upscale Retreat at Mountain Brook apartment home community in Birmingham, Alabama, have some tailgating tips for you!

Family & Friends, Food & Fun

Tailgating with family and friends is first and foremost about the fellowship and fun of sharing in the excitement of game day–not to be confused with enjoying ESPN’S popular College GameDay, which is also big fun! Whether you gather together on campus, in a stadium parking lot, or in your comfortable den or the Retreat at Mountain Brook clubhouse, food and drink are key players to have on the field.

Depending on the time set for kickoff, you might want to have brunch and mimosas or some beer and bottled water with afternoon burgers and baked beans. Either way, the Publix at Montclair Place has you covered with its extensive selection of regular and craft beers, sparkling and still waters, and pre-made mimosas in bottles! Perfect for when you’re planning to set up near Protective Stadium, the new home football field of the UAB Blazers; you can just leave them in your cooler while you welcome the team as they make their Blazer Walk.

Maybe you can count on friend Ragan to always show up with his famous chicken wings and special sauce, or maybe you’d rather let Publix  do the heavy lifting when it comes to grilled meats and party platters. Either way, if you’re rooting on the Crimson Tide you’ll for sure want to have on hand that classic University of Alabama student and alumni favorite adult beverage—a Yellowhammer! While Gallettes, the bar inside the Campus Party Store near Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has never shared the recipe for this cup of tropical sweetness, Garden & Gun says the ingredients are a combination of orange juice, pineapple juice, white rum, amaretto, and vodka served over ice. We’ve been known to mix ours with a plastic shaker stick while yelling Roll Tide (or singing Sweet Home Alabama!).

Tasty Treats

And speaking of brunch, who better to turn to than the inimitable Southern Living for recipes that will have your guests cheering for the way you’ve upped your hospitality game. They’ve put together a list of “45 Super Tasty Tailgate Treats To Make Ahead For Game Day” that the Retreat at Mountain Brook Idea Specialists™ have bookmarked, and you should, too! From Buffalo Chicken Pinwheels to Muddy Buddy Mix to Pepper-Pepper Cheese Dip, there something for everybody to enjoy as the soak up the gameday atmosphere on the Plains at your tailgate at Auburn University’s Graves Amphitheater. Especially if you stop by Byron’s Smokehouse on Opelika Road for some ribs on the way. (Did somebody say War Eagle?)

Score With Comfort & Convenience

Cute top for her from Gameday Couture? Check. Comfy T-shirt from Vintage Sports for him? Double-check!

With everybody dressed and ready to go, the next thing to do if you’re going to tailgate near Sloan-Alumni Stadium in Fairfield, Alabama, is make sure you have comfortable seats, a good cooler, and enough table space for everything you’re sharing with your personal teammates. One favorite of the Idea Specialists™ from an HGTV list of “tailgating essentials” is a Giantex Folding Grill Table; you can get something similar online for not much more than $100.

Then, once you’re ready to go inside, you can enjoy both the athletic prowess of the Miles College Golden Bears, and the fantastic halftime entertainment provided by the school’s Purple Marching Machine!

Pub & Grub

There are lots of fun sports bars convenient to the Retreat at Mountain Brook in Birmingham, Alabama. If you and your crowd don’t already have a favorite place to spend a Saturday afternoon or Sunday evening (we know a lot of y’all pull for the Saints, Falcons, and Titans!), you can always count on Otey’s Tavern for a good time.  And, like the Retreat at Mountain Brook community, Avondale Brewing Company is pet-friendly—you can enjoy watching the game with your furry friend!