A Tailgating Veteran's Thoughts on Reliant's New Tailgating Policy

I said in my show last night that this past Sunday at Reliant was the first time I had not had an absolutely terrific time tailgating. In fact, it was quite the opposite. It was an excruciating and miserable time. I've been going tailgating since day one of this franchise and NEVER have I seen so many fights, arrests and apprehensions. But Dallas comes to town and this happens.

News broke last night (actually, season ticket holders got e-mails about it long before Twitter or the radio stations did) that there will be a new tailgating policy in effect immediately at Reliant henceforth. And it's very simple: No Ticket, No Tailgate, unless you're a season ticket holder and willing to fork over $10.00 each for something called a "tailgate access pass."

More thoughts after the jump...

I was immediately e-mailed and hit up on Twitter with people wanting to now my reaction to this news. Well, honestly, I have season tickets, so it doesn't effect me. But I do know lots of people who tailgate every year and never buy tickets. They just buy the parking passes off of Craigslist or something and set up tents and flat screens and watch the game from the lots. So, this is going to cause quite the shitstorm amongst some of the most avid tailgaters out there.

I'm really not sure how they're going to enforce it to be truthful. It already takes a long time to get in the lots early in the morning when the gates are first opened. This should force Reliant to open the gates an hour earlier for all the lots like they do for the Platinum lot, but I doubt it. Plus, what about people like me that walk between the lots? Are the tickets lot specific? Man...this is going to be a mess...

Bottom line is that after this past weekend, I knew there would be complaints. And Bob McNair isn't going to risk losing his season ticket holders over this. But I think the fact that this was the first time anything like this has happened, it might be a bit of a knee-jerk reaction. Let's not mince words here...it was the fact that Cowboys fans were there and felt like they had to "crash" the Texans fans tailgate. I guarantee it wouldn't have been like that with the Giants in town in Week 5. Like MDC and I talked about last night, Cowboys fans ruined a perfectly good tailgating system in one visit. I'm not saying that Cowboys fans were the only guilty parties involved. There were quite a few drunk Texans fans just looking for a fight after the game. But it's the Cowboys, so screw 'em. They get the blame.

So here I have a tailgating video show encouraging people to come to the tailgates and hang out with us...I guess from now on I will have to add "Buy a ticket, and come hang out with us at a tailgate." Depressing. But I understand why the rule changes are happening and I totally expected it. But that doesn't mean I like it. Like Tim told me in an e-mail this morning:

If ever there was an overreaction to last week's game against Dallas, this is it. The parking lot was far more crowded and rowdier than usual because of the opponent, not because the "tailgating experience" has somehow been irreparably compromised.

This is nothing more than the Texans rolling over to appease a vocal minority. This is no different than the 50/80 rule.

Truer words, my friend. Truer words.

Make sure you thank your local Cowboys fan with a big fat middle finger next time you see them.