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From The Stands – Lions 24, Riders 5

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It’s always a good tailgate party when the Riders come to town!

Sunday afternoon football doesn’t come very often in Vancouver, although we have seen our share of Western Finals. With the Saskatchewan Roughriders in town and the roof open, the stage was set for a Western Division showdown before over 34,000 football fans. Here’s how I saw it, from the stands.

The Defence

The Lions offence seemed to come out of the gate a little slow, but you couldn’t say that about the defence. Cauchy Muamba had a strong game and had two interceptions, including a key pick in the fourth that really seemed to deflate the Riders.

Adam Bighill continues to flourish while Jabar Westerman and Maurice Evans filled in nicely for the suspended Khalif Mitchell. But for my money it was Dante Marsh who was the player of the game on defence. The veteran cornerback had a big interception and added six tackles and was solid all night long.

Not much more needs to be said when you consider this team hasn’t allowed a touchdown in three full games. It would likely be scary for other teams to learn that on the post game show, Muamba stated that while the Lions defence was playing well, they “weren’t there yet”.

The Offence

The Lions offence struggled early but stepped up when they were needed later in the game. It wasn’t Travis Lulay’s strongest game but he was hurried a lot, especially in the first half. The Lions were stuffed on third down from the one and a half yard line which was disappointing. Personally, instead of using the QB so much in short yardage I’d like to see us pound it with Rolly Lumbala or Harris.

Harris was held in check, with just 19 yards on 8 carries. Geroy Simon, Shawn Gore, Akeem Foster all had key catches, but it was Arland Bruce who led the way with 93 yards and a touchdown.

Ernest Jackson, making his second appearance of the season, continues to impress with size, speed and his catching ability. I loved what I saw from him in training camp and he could be on his way to finding a permanent spot in the lineup. The Lions will have some interesting choices to make when Kierrie Johnson eventually returns from his broken arm.

Special Teams

Special teams have been singled out a lot this season and most of the time not for good things. In this game there was very little not to like about their play. The Lions cover teams were strong for the most part. No yards penalties were few and far between (one?) and Tim Brown had a big return in the 2nd quarter that help set up a touchdown. Paul McCallum punted well which was nice to see since he has struggled in that department this season.

Thanks Wally

I thought the Lions did a nice job honouring the coaching career of Wally Buono. Video messages from Andrew Harris, Canucks coach Alain Vigneault, daughter Christie Buono and Wally himself were tastefully done and understated, just the way Wally would have preferred it to be.

Thanks tailgaters!

I don’t do this usually, but we had a great tailgate party on Sunday. I was very proud to return to the lot and find it spotless. Well done everyone!

Tweets of the night

@DGilmour24: Great environment at BC Place tonight. Can’t beat watching a football game at BC Place on a Sunday afternoon with the roof open. #BCLions

Absolutely, I’m certainly looking forward to more afternoon games in the future.

@angusreid64: Thanks to all our great #BCLions fans for cheering us on to victory tonight! first place feels GRRRREEEAAT!!

Angus has been eating his Frosted Flakes again.

@BCLions: Speaking of @dantemarsh, he’s just 2 tackles shy of surpassing Barrin Simpson (475) atop the #BCLions all-time rankings in tackles. #CFL

Had no idea Dante was approaching team records like this.

@Lilminimo Me and cardboard @DanielJWood won the kiss cam at the @BCLions game tonight. EPIC! haha #kisscam #bclions

It’s true, she kissed some cardboard and one the kissing cam contest. Awesome.

Talk to you next week everyone, 5-2 as we head into Bomber land!

Tailgate Empire lives on in downtown Vancouver as we return “home”.

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Remember the days of tailgating at the PNE fondly Lions fans…it’s unlikely you’ll ever have it that good again. That said, Tailgate Empire will live on in the streets in Vancouver thanks to our friends at Easy Park.

The BC Lions sent out e-mails to their season ticket holders yesterday offering parking 6 blocks away from the stadium under Pacific Centre Mall. And while the price is definitely right at $21.36 including taxes for all four games at BC Place, an underground parking lot obviously can’t facilitate tailgating.

The Lions staff took some much appreciated time to speak with me yesterday and while they wished us the best of luck in our tailgating future, there isn’t much they can do about it. Parking lots around the stadium are disappearing at the expense of real estate development and those that remain are privately owned lots that refuse to allow tailgating.

The PNE model proved once again that if tailgating is done with planning and some simple rules in place, it provides a great game day atmosphere for fans and even creates new ones for the team. Tailgate Empire will continue to pursue this tradition in Vancouver until we simply have no options left.

With that said, our regular group of tailgaters will be setting up shop at the Easy Park lot at Main and Terminal. The great folks at easy park gave us this lot during the last season at BC Place, and have graciously offered it to us once again on our return. The lot is one skytrain stop or a 10 minute walk to BC Place.

This is a small lot so spots are limited. Also there are some critical rules you must adhere to of we wish for this to continue.

1) Your spot must be paid for apon arrival. If that means you pay extra for arriving early, that means you pay extra.

2) NO CHARCOAL BBQ’s

3) All garbage must be removed by tailgaters. COME PREPARED.

4) All beverages must be in plastic cups.

5) There are no washrooms on site. Do not make the lot your washroom.

6) Eachl tailgater vehicle can only take up one parking spot.

There is another option for Lions fans pregame entertainment and that is the official club Street Party outside of Terry Fox Plaza on Beatty Street. The Lions staff have put a lot of effort into providing a great atmosphere for fans of all ages and on September 30th it will be their biggest event yet to celebrate the reopening of BC Place stadium.

I want to thanks the great people at Easy Park, in particular Greg Watrych who has gone out of his way to give us a home! Whenever you park downtown, please consider their lots for your parking needs!

So Tailgate Empire, we’ll see you on Sept. 30th at our new/old home!

An open letter to the PNE and the BC Lions

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Dear PNE and the BC Lions Football Club,

We started off with a blip and ended with a bang and as avid tailgaters we are here to say thank you.

After our rocky start, you stepped up to the plate and gave football fans in Vancouver the best tailgating experience this city has ever seen. There have been large tailgate parties in the city before. But nothing compared to what you provided for us. It was real, it was encouraged and it was awesome.

You proved beyond a doubt that tailgating is not an evil activity. You proved that with the foresight to provide garbage cans and washrooms and a few non-meddling authorities to watch over the proceedings that tailgating is an activity that just adds to the game day experience of fans, and boy did Lions fans have it good for the last year and a half.

Great steaks, prime ribs, homemade burgers, crepes, French toast, cedar plank salmon and other delicious meals were created in Lot 9. Footballs were thrown around, new friends were made and the BC Lions game experience rivaled that of our friends in Calgary, where the standard for this pastime has been set in the CFL.

The tailgaters in your lot were mostly season ticket holders, many who have never tailgated before. They are now wondering why they never did this before, and where they will do it when the games move downtown. They may be in for a shock.

We’re hopeful that those involved will make something happen downtown. It can only fill the parking lots, and create new fans if it’s done the way you showed them how to do it.

To the BC Lions we thank you as well. We know that both the PNE and the club worked together to make this happen for the fans. We hope you can work with your new partners to make sure this great football tradition doesn’t disappear in Vancouver. Your fans are now hooked.

Lastly to all the fans that came out and joined the tailgate experience thank you as well. You picked up your garbage. You respected the lot and your fellow tailgaters and you showed all the parties involved how great this can be.

We’re all members of the Tailgate Empire and it was a great ride!

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

Signed,

Tailgate Empire

We invite you to share your memories of the great tailgates at Empire Field, we would love to hear them.

Tailgate Empire brings the “A” game for a prime performance at Empire Field.

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There comes a time in every man’s life when he looks in the mirror and decides that nothing less than his “A” game will do. For the Tailgate Empire that day was last Friday at Empire Field. Members of the Tailgate Empire put their pants on one leg at a time just like everybody else, but on this particular Friday afternoon something was different. Something smelled different and we were counting on something tasting different.

The football club was 0-3, but that would not damper our spirits. There was no running game to be found in Jacques Chapdelaine’s play book, but the Tailgate Empire were prepared to run through a wall. Travis Lulay’s squad were a pass happy bunch, but the Tailgate Empire were happy to merely pass the mustard. The football club was struggling, but the tailgater’s were in mid-season form.

A tailgate menu is not unlike a coach’s game plan. We usually start preparing for the next game right after the last game has ended. It takes careful planning and preparation, and it will only be a success with proper execution. The menu this week was the best it has ever been. A slow cooked rotisserie Prime Rib, some Candied Yam, and a Garlic Lovers Caesar Salad. This was definitely an “Adult” tailgater. Well planned out and brilliantly executed.

We had to bring a full size BBQ down to Empire in order rotisserie the Prime Rib. It is a little bit more work, but a small price to pay for the epic meal that was in store for us. We started with getting our smoke box loaded up with Mesquite chips. We placed the smoke box close to the flames. We found a nice central spot on the roast to run the spit through so that it spins evenly. Once that was done we salted the fat by hand with a generous portion of table salt, and then rubbed the entire roast with Montreal Steak Spice. The roast is now ready for flame. We had a three burner BBQ, so we place the roast over the middle burner and we lit the two outside burners so as to cook the roast with indirect heat. This will ensure that we cook the inside of the roast without burning the outside.

Slow cooked goodness! Photo: BCLionsDen.ca

We roasted it on medium for about 2 ½ to 3 hours checking occasionally. It is always best to use a meat thermometer. We wanted an internal temperature of 140-150 degrees for a nice medium to medium well Prime Rib. We usually like medium rare, but in this case we like to see the marbling in a Prime Rib cook thoroughly and inject more flavor into the meat. We pulled the roast off of the grill and tented it in foil to rest for about 10 minutes before we carved it up.

The Candied Yams are a favorite of ours from way back. They are easy to do and quite enjoyable. First, peel your yam and slice them into silver dollar sized pieces. Next, position the yam pieces into a domino like row on a sheet of foil with one yam piece leaning on the next. Drizzle some honey over the yams and sprinkle some brown sugar as well. Add a dollop of butter and wrap into a foil pack. Cook on the grill with indirect heat for about 15-20 minutes and they’re ready to serve.

Candied Yams, ready for the grill! Photo: BCLionsDen.ca

We will spare you on the details of cutting lettuce, but we will hook you up with the only Caesar dressing recipe you’ll ever need. 3-4 cloves of garlic minced added to one egg in a tall container. Add ½ cup of vegetable oil and 2 tablespoons of olive oil while blending with a hand mixer. Once we’re all mixed in then we can fold in with a fork a dash of pepper, ½ tsp of mustard powder, tsp vinegar, tsp of lemon juice, tsp of Worcestershire sauce and ½ cup of grated parmesan cheese. Add this dressing to some romaine lettuce and croutons and your have the only Caesar you’ll ever need!

We definitely brought our “A” game this time out. It was some of the best Prime Rib we’ve ever had. The best part is that we pulled this gourmet beauty off in a parking lot and then headed in to Empire Field to see another entertaining football game. Check back next week as the Roughriders are in town and Cedar Plank Salmon is on the menu. Only three games left at Empire!

The finished plate! A prime rib dinner for a Lion! Photo: TailgateEmpire

Related: For more photos from last Friday’s tailgate party, check out the gallery!

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