After a week off for Thanksgiving, The Bing National Tailgating Championship was back in full swing this past Sunday. Four teams descended upon Arizona’s University of Phoenix Stadium where they battled it out for tailgate supremacy.

Congratulations to “The Arizona House of Cards” team who will proceed to the national finals in Dallas/Fort Worth on February 3rd for the right to call themselves the best tailgaters in America.

Next Sunday,  we will be in Joe “The Commish” Cahn’s hometown of New Orleans. If you’re in the area, come check out the competition and learn how Bing can help you make the most of your game day decisions.

The next event will take place at the New Orleans’ Louisiana Superdome on Sunday, December 12^th. From there, the Bing Team will move on to Seattle and finally Dallas/Fortworth for the championship.

• New Orleans’ Louisiana Superdome – December 12th at 12:30 pm
• Seattle’s Qwest Field – December 19th at 10:30 am
• Dallas/Fort Worth’s Sundance Square (Finals) – February 3^rd

Joe Cahn joins us again this week with a recap of the event as well some thoughts on the meaning of leadership.

– The Bing Team

The Valley of Fun

by Joe “The Commish” Cahn

The Great Lawn at University of Phoenix Stadium is unique.

When the gates fly open early in the morning, Arizona Cardinals fans flock (pardon the pun) to get their tailgate set up, ready to enjoy an atmosphere that both raucous and laid back at the same time.

Imagine you’re at the beach with thousands of friends — that’s what a day of tailgating feels like in Glendale, Arizona.

On this stop of the Bing National Tailgating Championship, we had four teams who had no shortage of enthusiasm and energy. And our judges, Cardinals great Seth Joyner (who signed my head — seriously), radio personality Mike Jurecki and Kori Knoesel of Mid-First Bank, got a sense of that right out of the gate.

Kid Stallyn of Kidz Krew, who was inducted in to the Pro Football Fans Hall of Fame as the best fan of the year in 2004, was in his full regalia — velvet suit, huge hat and a hairstyle that would make even Kid Rock blush.

Rob Greer and the crew from the House of Cards amped up the volume even more. I looked over time and time again and that crowd just kept getting bigger and bigger.

Gilbert Ochoa, who had a ton of family at his tailgate, was clearly proud of the work they put in — and their setup was really fun and comfortable.

Nancy Hendley and the Big Red Rocking Tailgaters made you feel right at home — big screen TVs, an impressive spread of food and a big crowd that included her granddaughter, dressed in her Cardinals best.

The food, like all stops along the way, was impressive. Seth, Mike and Kori kept making that “wow, this is really good” face when dish after dish came out. There were Southwestern influences, Arizona flavors and some classics served under the beautiful sunshine.

There were plenty of things that stood out to me on this stop on the tour. But, what really made an impact to me was the idea of commitment. Kid Stallyn served in the Air Force. Rob Greer served in the Army. Gilbert Ochoa is a former Marine.

Three team leaders, all who served this great country of ours. They made a commitment to do what they could to help preserve our freedom. They dedicated themselves to honoring the United Stated of America with their service.

They helped us all protect our way of life that we hold so dear — including the freedom to get together before a football game and enjoy each others company.

And that’s win for all of us.

So now, we move on to my hometown of New Orleans. Oh, the stories I could tell — and probably will.

I’m excited to share part of my heritage. I’m thrilled that my home is part of the Bing National Tailgating Championship.

And it’s going to be a big party before the gates of the Louisiana Superdome fly open.