Some people have no interest in tailgating, and that’s fine.
Tragically misguided, maybe. But fine.
Other people approach the pregame parking lot partying with the sort of reverence it deserves. For them, a smartphone can be less a luxury than an essential tool, somewhere between a spatula and, say, eye black.
I packed my smartphones and tablets for a two-day, three-game tailgating marathon last weekend, partly to winnow a handful of apps that can help party organizers and participants.
The most useful apps were those that help the party organizers (like Tailgating [1] , free on Apple). Some of the newest tailgating apps, like Tailgate Fan (free on Apple [2] and Android [3] ) and TailgateChamp (free on Apple), which help organizers spread the word about their parties, are also promising if a bit underdeveloped.
For organizers of more ambitious festivities, Tailgating offers the best checklist-based system for tracking items you’ll need and items you’ve stocked. It also includes a way to share lists with others, at least theoretically. (I couldn’t activate that option.)
The checklists are divided into two major categories, food and gear, with subcategories within each. I was able to build a decent checklist with both, but I wished for a bigger selection of alcoholic beverages, for instance, because it included only a few.
I also wished for a way to revise the list after it was initially set. Instead of simply checking a box to add an item, I could edit the list only by typing in items I’d forgotten.
Still, the app is good, and can even help more experienced organizers remember what to bring. One of the more elaborate gatherings I visited last weekend was in a parking lot at the University of Maryland for its game against Temple. It featured at least four picnic tables worth of food and an enormous grill that had been towed in.
One of the cooks set a 10-pound brisket onto the table and stood back as if it were a masterpiece, which it was, and then peered around the table, looking deeply concerned.
“Knife?” he said. “Tell me we have a knife.”
No one did. The grillmeister looked horrified. (Luckily, he later found a hunting knife in his truck.)
The app may have helped the more, shall we say, boring tailgaters I came across later that day, before the University of Pennsylvania and Villanova game in Philadelphia. With cues from Tailgating, these poor souls may have gotten some tips on what to bring besides a hibachi and a six-pack.
Tailgating Planner [4] , on Android, is similar. It costs $1, which is high for a checklist app, but given the steep social price of organizing a subpar tailgate, $1 is a small price to pay.
The newer apps, Tailgate Fan (free on Apple and Android) and TailgateChamp [5] , are for those who want to publicize their parties among friends and strangers.
Tailgate Fan, which was developed by CBS Local Digital Media, lets people find details about parties they’ve organized and posted on the Tailgate Fan Web site (tailgatefan.com [6] ). The site is still in testing mode, which was painfully obvious this week when I tried to build a list of tailgating items with essentially white-on-white text.
Once you create a party on the site, invitees can use the app to find you on a map and paste photos of the gathering. You may also scroll through public parties in a city and find them on a map, if you’re feeling voyeuristic.
People who download TailgateChamp would welcome the voyeurs. The app is meant to enable tailgating competitions, with photos of the food and participants, and a point system that rewards those who post the most photos and attract the most virtual visits.
The app is easy to use, but it has no inherent value unless other people use it, too. If TailgateChamp had free recipes or a checklist, for instance, more people might be inclined to download it.
There may be generational hurdles as well. Walking through the parking lot before the Eagles-Giants game in Philadelphia on Sunday, I couldn’t imagine the grizzled tailgating gurus taking time away from the flat screen or the chili to chronicle their party on an iPhone [7] .
Twentysomething fans, though? Absolutely.
Beyond the planning and sharing apps, at least one other item bears mentioning. People who become distracted while grilling may consider the $100 iGrill, a sort of griller’s assistant.
The product is a small plastic box to which you connect a metal probe. The probe goes in the meat while you grill, and the unit wirelessly connects with the iGrill app [8] (free on Apple). When your food reaches the desired temperature, your phone alerts you.
The product has received plenty of positive media attention, but reviews on iTunes suggest a considerably more mixed experience for consumers. My experience was mixed, too.
The first time I used the unit, it worked well, and I got to my steak before it turned to carbon. The second time I used it, the unit went haywire, with temperatures bearing no resemblance to reality. The company said it had experienced problems with the probe, but that it had since remedied the issue. I had no problems with later meals.
On iTunes, some users fully endorsed the product, while others complained about it not sending alerts if the phone went into sleep mode, among other things. (I did not run into these issues, and the company said a coming software update would fix the problem.)
The units come with a three-month warranty. Previously there was a $15 restocking fee for returns, but no longer.
That makes it easier to give the iGrill a try, at least. Perhaps the next time you’re searching around for a knife, your brisket won’t burn.
Quick Calls
Pops [9] , free on Android, is an amusing little add-on for phones and tablets. Install the app and customized animations appear whenever a notification alert reaches your device. ... The Sports Illustrated Football Rivals [10] HD, free for iPad [11] , iPhone and Android phones, chronicles 10 of the most heated rivalries in college and pro football.
Links
- ^ Tailgating (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Apple (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Android (market.android.com)
- ^ Tailgating Planner (market.android.com)
- ^ TailgateChamp (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ tailgatefan.com (tailgatefan.com)
- ^ Recent and archival news about the iPhone. (topics.nytimes.com)
- ^ iGrill app (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ Pops (market.android.com)
- ^ Sports Illustrated Football Rivals (itunes.apple.com)
- ^ More articles about iPad. (topics.nytimes.com)
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