Road Trippin' - Point, click, - friend!
By Meaghan Molsberry and Stephen Tomlinson

11/08

By Meaghan Molsberry

Huddled in my jacket, surrounded by thousands of strangers, watching my team throw away a divisional game; I was having the time of my life. If I hadn't been there myself I wouldn't have thought it was possible. Four strangers from four different cities: Indianapolis, Chicago, Concord, and Manchester all brought together with one goal... TAILGATING!

The trend has spread through the state, around the nation, and across the sea. Whether by plane, train, or automobile; three other football fanatics and I made our trip to the Monday night football game in Nashville, Tennessee. The food tasted great, the beer was smooth, and the experience was incredible.

The four of us met for the first time on Saturday, yet we have known each other for over a year. Members of the same online fan forum, we had been talking intermittently for some time. We had traded insults, swapped stories, and shared opinions and yet never really knew the person we were debating. In one weekend, all of that changed.

Excited and maybe a little nervous, we all met at the Nashville airport. Arriving within minutes of one another, we quickly drove to our hotel to check-in. That was as mundane as the weekend was going to get. We had a nice dinner at The Palms; wine and lobster. From that point on, the weekend quickly progressed: lunch at the hotel, drinks at the bar, Sunday morning football, and so many games of pool I've lost count. It quickly became clear that we would share the same easygoing camaraderie in person as we do on the Internet. It was a thrill to spend the weekend with friends - and that's what we were; friends.

The Internet housed our community, our dysfunctional family of fans, and allowed the relationships to blossom. Many fear the anonymity of the Internet, others abuse it, and yet it allows a person to be themselves without fear of prejudice. It was in this environment that we met. We all love football, though our tastes, opinions, and knowledge differ greatly. Football gave us a common thread while the Internet gave us a base of operations. Many conversations were had, threads were filled, and debates were abundant. We created a rapport in our ethereal world of the Internet.

Monday morning came too quickly, yet we were excited for the day. Jerseys were donned, faces were painted, coolers were packed, and colors were flown. Titans fans mixed with Colts fans mixed with football fans, surrounded the parking lot and grounds of LP field. We bundled into our coats, gloves, hats, and gear and headed for the tailgate.

As I walked into enemy territory I was concerned about my welcome. I was expected, we had planned our meeting in advance. This does not mean, however, that I would be welcomed... yet I was. Rival meets rival at the same time that friend meets friend. It didn't matter that my banner says Colts and not Titans. I was welcomed into the GoTitans world as a guest and a friend.

I joined the parade of Titans fans on the way to LP stadium, burrowing in my jacket as I took my seat. Many Colts fans had made the trip, same as me, for the Monday Night game, yet all stood out like sore thumbs. We were the infiltrators and enemies. However, none of this affected me. My team was taking a beating, my fingers were frozen in my gloves, and I was standing next to a group of guys I had met only two days before. I couldn't stop smiling.

By Stephen Tomlinson

On a Friday in late October, my girlfriend dropped me off at Manchester Airport. I was headed to Tennessee, to watch my undefeated Titans take on the Indianapolis Colts for Monday Night Football. When I got there, I was to meet Kian, Meaghan and Mike at the airport - three people I'd never met before in person. We all knew each other from a few years of chatting it up on two NFL message boards: ColtsFreaks.com and GoTitans.com. It was totally nuts.

Mike was driving down from Chicago, and picking up Meaghan in Indianapolis along the way. Kian was flying in from California and due into Nashville around the same time I was. We were all going to arrive at the airport at around 5:00 p.m. They were to pick us up, and then...Well, my flight to Chicago arrived an hour late and I missed my flight to Nashville. I was able get booked on the next available flight, but it was already boarding. I ran through the terminal and begged to the front of the security line. People were great and didn't mind. But security decided to put me through hell and emptied out my entire luggage. When I arrived at the gate it was closed, and I was told I'd missed my flight. I pleaded with them to let me on and explained I'd already missed one flight.

Finally, I stumbled onto the plane, completely stressed out and needing a hard drink. When I got to my seat, the guy across the aisle next to me - who I hadn't even looked at - leaned over and said, "Are you Steve?" It was Kian. In a bizarre coincidence, he'd missed his flight too, and we both ended up on the same plane AND seated next to each other. It was the kind of freaky coincidence that you only see in movies. In seconds we both went from being stressed to laughing and joking.

Although we were late, so were Meaghan and Mike and they arrived just as we walked out of the terminal. It couldn't have worked out any better. And so began three nights of drinking and partying.

We kicked things off with a meal at The Palms which was by far the most expensive meal I've ever had, but worth every penny. The place was packed with the rich and shady, and Meaghan said she had never seen so many hot and surgically enhanced bra-less women in one place. I didn't notice, honestly.

Downtown Nashvegas is packed with bars, restaurants and clubs. We kept to the ones on Broadway which constantly have live music playing. Nothing flashy, but it had the authentic country feel to it. Most of them were full of Colts fans and it made for great fun with Kian and I in our Titans jerseys. We shot pool Sunday afternoon and listened to a great solo artist in the Paradise Park Trailer Resort. Mike chose it as our hang out based purely on the Camaro wreck parked inside the entrance. It turned out to be a great choice, where we met some tailgaters from the Indianapolis Brew Crew - and Karen and Jay! We all had dinner at Rippy's Ribs & BBQ then partied until the bars closed.

Monday we hit the tailgate scene early in the afternoon, met up with two more online friends, visited Jay's stunning RV, and then finally ended up at the GoTitans.com tailgate lot. Had a great time and met tons of other people we knew from the message board. We watched the Titans win from some fantastic seats, and then chilled out in a bar for an hour before we went our separate ways on Tuesday morning. It was all a blur that I didn't want to see end.

We were amazed at the hospitality of all these people we only knew from the Internet. I can only speak from my tailgating experience in Nashville, but if it's like this everywhere it's a lot of fun. Local fans welcome rival fans with open arms - and feed them with food and alcohol - and it creates a great atmosphere.

It was an amazing feeling to meet so many people whom you kind of knew, but hadn't met. Socializing via message boards set up for a common interest is fun, but it's no substitute for meeting people in the flesh. Still, the reality is that today it is possible to have more contact with friends online than with those in your normal social circle in daily life. Whether it's at home, at work, or on your mobile, you can chat daily without the need to invest a great deal of time in doing so. Message boards are kind of like tailgating - every day.