Road life can be one big party
Joe Cahn is living what many football fans might consider “the dream life.”
Between now and the Super Bowl, Cahn will travel more than 35,000 miles in his brand new 2005 40-foot Country Coach to at least 45 collegiate and NFL football games.
The self-proclaimed “Commissioner of Tailgating” thrives on barbecue smoke, fanatic football fans and pre-game parking lot camaraderie.
“I love sports, I love people, I love eating and I love partying,” said Cahn during a telephone interview from the road.
“Where else can people of all backgrounds come together, not only to cheer and show support for their favorite team, but also to make new friends, relax and have fun?”
In the 10 years since Cahn became a full-time RVer, the former New Orleans Cajun cooking school proprietor has driven more than 400,000 miles and has attended hundreds of tailgate parties.
Cahn is currently on his way to the New England Patriots’ season opener in Foxborough, Mass.
Last week he picked up his latest “Joemobile” at the Country Coach factory in Junction City, Ore.
His “Inspire 330” has three slides, queen-size bed, roomy living area and a 400-horsepower Caterpillar powerplant with 1100-pound/foot torque.
“It IS a big boy,” said Matt Howard, Country Coach director of marketing and public relations, in an e-mail.
Cahn left Oregon on a bee-line across the northern half of the United States for the Patriots game on Thursday night against the Oakland Raiders (ABC, 6 p.m.).
The commissioner’s companion on the 3,300-mile trip is Sophie, a smoky-colored Calico shelter cat he rescued four years ago. “She sits in the passenger’s seat as my navigator,” he said.
By this time next Saturday he will be partying on the Syracuse University campus in upstate New York. Next Sunday he will be in Buffalo for the regular season opener, when the Bills take on the Houston Texans (CBS, 10 a.m.).
“I just love being on the road,” said Cahn. “The thing that I love most about being a full-timer is that no matter where I am—I’m always at home.”
Tailgating trends
“Tailgating is big all over the country,” he said. “One of the things people don’t realize is that fans of universities and professional teams don’t only live in that immediate area. They come from 100, 200 and 300 miles away.”
That certainly is true for Washington State University Cougars. RVers travel in from the Westside, Montana and Oregon.
“There is something magical about tailgating,” said Cahn. “People yearn for socialization and the stadium parking lot provides the perfect place for everyone to come together.”
• Tailgating is getting high tech. “Many fans still have a great time tailgating with the basics,” said Cahn. “Others are beginning to take it to an entirely new level. It’s amazing how much money is spent on things like grills, gas-powered blenders and folding chairs with fancy footrests and cup-holders.”
• Tailgating food is becoming more diversified and more sophisticated and it’s about time, according to the Louisiana cook. “I love anything with a kick,” he said, “bring on the hot sauce.”
While he is always in search of new foods, he said he never turns down a medium-well hamburger with raw onions and mustard.
“I’m pleased to report that many more of my fellow tailgaters are recognizing it’s okay to get a little more adventurous with their tailgating fare,” he said.
• There’s no such thing as a fair-weather tailgater. “Not even rain, sleet or below-zero temperatures will stop most tailgaters,” said Cahn.
“In fact, the overwhelming majority of tailgaters said weather has never kept them from tailgating,” according to Cahn. “And, tailgaters don’t avoid the parking lot even if their home team isn’t winning on the gridiron. There really aren’t any ‘rebuilding years’ when it comes to tailgating.”
More information
• Follow the travels of Joe “The Commissioner of Tailgating” Cahn at www.tailgating.com.
• Country Coach’s Web site is www.countrycoach.com. For information on the Country Coach line or for a tour of the factory in Junction City, Ore., call toll-free (800) 654-0223.
• For extensive details on the National Football League and links to all its teams go to www.nfl.com.
• There are four more home games for Washington State University. The next tailgate party in Pullman will be Oct. 8, when the Cougars face off with Stanford. The Cougars’ official Web site is http://wsucougars.collegesports.com.
Wheel question
If you tailgated this past Thursday at the WSU-University of Idaho Vandals game, please get in touch, I’d like to talk with you about your experience tailgating in Pullman.