No bull: The birthplace of tailgating

There has long been some debate over exactly when the first tailgater took place. Some believe that it was at a Rutgers vs. Princeton football game in 1869. Horse racing aficionados steadfastly maintain that tailgating history began at Churchill Downs at the Kentucky Derby in 1875. Some NFL fans contend that tailgating roots go back to Canton, Ohio and the creation of the American Professional Football Association in the early 1900's. In spite of all of the debate, one date in history cannot be overlooked: July 21, 1861.

The Battle of Bull Run - The first tailgater. When you really look at it, there shouldn't be much of a debate about this one. The first major land battle of the American Civil War on July 21, 1861 in Manassas, Virginia was without a doubt the true birthplace of tailgating.  Lets break it down in the interest of ending this debate once and for all:

It naturally happened on a Sunday. In those days, Sunday was the only leisure day of the week. Strangely similar to fans getting up early to hit the roads for NFL games and NASCAR races, people back in 1861 filled the streets leading out of Washington in wagons, on horseback and on foot to go see the main event at Bull Run. This may not have been "Any Given Sunday", but it was one that would shape the direction of the Civil War and forever change this country.

Chris Berman, meet William Howard "Don't Call Me JaMarcus" Russell.  Today's pre-game reporting and predictions were probably born at Bull Run too. William Howard Russell was a respected foreign correspondent for The London Times and is widely seen as one of the fathers of modern war reporting. Before there were "embedded" reporters, there was Russell who chronicled how congressmen in Washington had predicted a swift victory for the North at Bull Run and that the Confederate troops would be driven "back, back, back, back, back" all the way to Richmond.

Fine food, booze and babes; Now we've got a party. Historians have noted that carriages headed off to watch the battle of Bull Run were loaded with fine wines, whole country-cured Virginia hams, Chesapeake Bay oysters on ice, soft-shell crabs, turkey, fried chicken, cold pheasant, champagne and Maryland rye whiskey.  The spreads displayed at Bull Run could have easily held their own against any modern tailgater today. Not only was the food fine, but so were the women who accompanied the congressmen to the spectacle. Undoubtedly with a lot less skin, silicone and spandex, these women could have been the precursors to the Oakland Raiderettes, Buffalo Jills, Cincinnati Ben-Gals or the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders.

American Idol goes old school. As troops on both sides assembled and advanced, the Union troops passionately sang their fight song, "The Battle Cry of Freedom," while the confederate troops sang "Dixie" and turned to their infamous "Rebel Yell." Flags were flown by both armies and cheers such as "Go Big Blue" and others were used then as they are on NFL sidelines today to rally teams. It is also believed that this is the only American pseudo sporting event that didn't play "We Will Rock You" by Queen or "Rock and Roll Part II" by Gary Glitter at least once during the event.

"Let's get ready to rummmmbbblee!" The North was favored big-time in this spectacle. With the northern troops coming in cocky, arrogant and with youthful exuberance, nobody was giving the South any chance in this epic confrontation. As spectators watched the battle from afar, it was reported that many were making bets on how long it would take for the Union troops to conquer Manassas Junction. It remains unclear to this day what the over/under and spread was or if there were any Civil War fantasy leaguers keeping stats.

Typical post-game traffic jam...with bullets.  As the battle turned decidedly in the South's favor, Union solders tried to retreat back to the fortified safety of Washington.  Bridges and roads became jammed In the disorganized mêlée that followed. Russell reported that "Wagons were swarming with men who threw out the contents in the road to make room...yelling with rage...there was nothing left but to go with the current one could not stem." It all sounds curiously similar to the post-game scene on the streets and roadways outside of any NFL stadium. Be sure not to cut off or give the finger to General Stonewall Jackson as you change lanes there, soldier...

In cities across the United States during the NFL season, two teams with 53 players each bring thousands of people together for a reason to tailgate. At Bull Run, hundreds of spectators came out to watch tens of thousands go to battle.  Unfortunately, almost 5,000 men from the North and the South didn't come home from the main event on that Sunday in July 1861.

"The Drive," "The Catch" and "The Fumble"... meet "The Great Skedaddle." Sure, tailgaters today thankfully involve a lot less drama, politics and bloodshed, but its hard to dispute the comparisons from Bull Run to our tailgaters of today.

So it's July 21st... Happy birthday tailgating!