I live out of town now and have lived out of state for most of the Texans' existence. When I go to games, my dad drives and parks in the purple lot with his purple lot parking pass. He doesn't drink (much) and we usually go to church prior to the game. Suffice to say, I am a complete Texans Tailgate novice.

However, on Saturday, my brother and I will convene in Reliant for our first ever tailgate at Reliant. We're bringing wives, cornhole, tons of beer, grills, meat, and four tickets in section 634. However, we won't be bringing a parking pass.

My understanding is that you need to pre-purchase a parking pass in order to park in one of the Reliant lots; additionally, there's no cash parking available. What I'm looking to find out is how true this is in practice. Could I, for example, drive around the lots 4 hours before kickoff and find someone willing to sell me a parking pass the day of? They are currently selling on stubhub for oodles more than face value, so I'd prefer not to shell out $50 just to park.

What I'm looking for is a good tip on where to look for parking the day of. I'd hate to get all gussied up and then have nowhere to go...