A Professional Tailgater? Jeff Dockeray On Best Tailgaiting Products and How Florida Can Up Its Game

By Dori Zinn Fri., Nov. 2 2012 at 9:53 AM

Categories: Ask an Expert

The last time Jeff Dockeray was in South Florida, he watched his prized New Orleans Saints win the Super Bowl in 2009. While Doc, as he likes to be called, basks in the glory of his team winning the most important football game ever, he also remembers the tailgaters.

"There isn't a lot of space down there," Doc says, referring to Sun Life Stadium. "It's tough with the traffic and it's kind of cramped. You need more room."

Doc is a professional tailgater. That's right -- your Sunday hobby is his full time job. It started out as fun for 20 years until he decided to make a career out of it for the last 10.

I always thought being a professional tailgater would be like playing on Facebook: you do it a lot, but no one would ever pay you for it... would they?

Clean Plate Charlie caught up with Doc, and he told us what it takes to triumph during a pre-game gather, and how to make it a lifestyle.

Clean Plate Charlie: How does one become a "professional" tailgater?
Jeff Dockeray: My "professional" background is "recreational and leisure studies." [laughs] I was in the food industry before I got into the tailgating business. Food is love. Eventually, I moved into the $20 billion tailgating industry.

Earlier this month, you released a list of the Top Tailgating Products of 2012. What happened to good ol' fashioned burgers and hot dogs?
There's a culture in tailgating. The bigger the culture, the bigger the swagger. People are now bringing $20,000 smokers to games. It ups the ante.