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Detroit Lions Tailgating with The Tubgaters & The Blue Crew!

January 2, 2018

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Detroit Lions Tailgating with The Tubgaters & The Blue Crew!

The main spot for Detroit Lions Tailgating is the Eastern Market district in Downtown Detroit, which is not far from Ford Field where the Lions play.

Here you will find thousands of people pre-gaming it with music, booze and Honolulu Blue. These groups include The Tubgaters and The Blue Crew, two of the top Lions tailgating crews.

The Tugaters and The Blue Crew set up shop in Eastern Market’s Lot One, which is in front of Vivio’s Pub (2460 Market Street, Detroit).

Vivio’s is known for their kickass bloody mary mix and the strongest bloody mary’s we’ve ever had were flowing freely at the Blue Crew mini-bar!

NFL pre-season is August and regular season is early September to late December. We were here for the last game of the season, Detroit Lions v.s. Green Bay Packers.

The game was at 1pm but everyone started gathering to tailgate at about 7:30am.

You pay the bartender at The Blue Crew bar $20.00 in cash. He gives you a sticker and a souvenir Blue Crew plastic cup and then it’s all-you-can-eat-and-drink until they close up shop at around 12:30pm to head into the game.

On the menu were:

Smoked chicken legs

“Cheesehead” bacon n’ cheese mac

Chili

Keg of Rolling Rock

Bloody Mary’s

Rum and cokes

Krew-Aid shots (blue liquid = blue Fanta and blue UV vodka) that you drink out of a football shot glass.

The Tubaters are led by Denzil “Denny” Arney. They have a mobile hot tub with 108 degree water that they truck down from Ortonville. Denny is also a guitarist in The Vinyl Experience band.

The Blue Crew is led by Willie “BigBlu” Murray and Jason “J-Pride” Hricovsky and they bring their own mini-bar and party bus.

Hans Steiniger created The Tailgating Hall of Fame.

There were a variety of colorful characters: Ron “Crackman” Crachiola, Mark “Pilgrim” Mullins, BigBlu Murray, Donny “Yooperman” Stefanski and dozens of others.

Overall, the pre-game tailgating was a fun party atmosphere. It was cold, so we were standing around barrel fires. There was a white tent full of food laid out in catering trays.

At the mini-bar, there was a blue and white football affixed with a shotglass in the center, everyone doing shots of Krew-Aid, “Best Detroit invention since the Model T!” Denny Arney says thru his mini-megaphone while sitting inside the mobile hot tub.

Suddenly there’s a ceremonial induction of someone being entered into the Tailgaiting Hall of Fame. Everyone is gathered around and chanting as Hans bestows the sacred coin upon this individual. Afterwards, we all sing the Detroit Lions Gridiron Heroes, oldest fight song in NFL.