Tailgate party just the ticket
By PEDRO F. FONTEBOARain during a Dolphins tailgate party means only one thing to Scot Barten -- you eat wet food. But there is no cancellation. Not even a thought about it.
``No way, no how, do we cancel a tailgate party,'' said Barten, a Weston resident who spent Monday night tailgating with more than a dozen friends at Pro Player Stadium before watching the Dolphins-Bills game. ``We live for tailgate parties.''
Barten could have been at home, out of the rain. The game was nationally televised.
``No TV for us. We are real tailgaters,'' Barten said. ``Besides, if I weren't here with my good buddies getting wet, eating, drinking and cheering for The Fish, I would be at home with my wife. Considering the alternative, the mud here looks pretty good.''
Barten, 32, and his buddies have a pre-season meeting to determine the tailgating schedule and rules.
Each person in the group, 16 strong, gets a copy of the schedule that coincides with the Dolphins' home games, and is expected to deliver an exquisite meal almost as much as the team is expected to deliver victory.
Rule 2: ``Feed at least 16 slobs.'' Rule 4: ``Bring all condiments. You will be judged.''
They always meet in the same spot, the west parking lot outside Gate H.
Grill, charcoal, tables, chairs and trash bags are the season-long responsibility of Carey Laufer, who lives in Weston.
``My family has been season ticket holders since 1967,'' said Laufer, 31. ``We do this before every home game. We are usually the first guys to arrive in the entire parking lot, because we have been in this same spot since we moved here from the Orange Bowl.''
The group was enjoying their grilled goodies about an hour before kickoff when heavy rains moved overhead. All 16 tried to cram under one eight-by-eight tent. Not everyone made it. But the food was good and the drinks were cold.
``It's tight, but we fit, almost,'' said Coral Springs' Bob Katz, who coordinated Monday's meal. ``As long as we are out here together, the weather really doesn't matter.''
They consider themselves true fans.
``Only real fans come out here rain or shine, and party with their friends,'' said Stuart Friedman, who works in Hialeah. ``Most of us work in Miami-Dade and live in Broward. But all of us are Dolphins fans. All of us are tailgaters.
``And, we like to think, the best tailgaters in South Florida. I can't think of a better way to spend a Monday night.''
