Tailgate

There were so many exciting parts in last night's Michigan-Notre Dame game, but I think I know what was the most exciting part.

It wasn't Denard's pass to Roundtree with two seconds left when Hoke decided to go for the win instead of chancing it with a field goal.

It wasn't Notre Dame's drive with less then a minute left in the game to get back up on top.

It wasn't the night game atmosphere at The Big House.

In fact, the most exciting part of the night happened before the game even started and didn't even occur in the Northern Hemisphere.

It was the first piece of grilled, kosher salami that I ate on a piece of pita with hummus before kickoff.

To mark the first night game in Michigan Stadium history and share a bit of what I love about college football season with my Peace Corps friends, I decided to host a little Robinson family-style tailgate at my apartment.



The excitement continued until halftime when I polished off the salami plate. Maybe that last piece was a bit more lukewarm than the first one, but it was delicious nonetheless. (The food definitely made up for Michigan's piss poor performance in the first 30 minutes.



We streamed the game through a Sling Box and used a projector to make my living room wall the big screen. It wasn't quite like being at the corner of Stadium and Main, but there is no replacement for that.



One thing that they didn't have at Michigan Stadium was this display of chocolate-covered fruit.



The broccoli and cauliflower have non-dairy, dark chocolate.

Not all of my friends are Michigan fans, and some were even rooting for Notre Dame. That didn't really matter to me. (I'm not just writing this because Michigan ended up winning the game)

After enjoying that grilled salami before the game started, the night was already a victory. While it's great if your team wins, the most important part of Michigan football for me is to enjoy the games and tailgates with friends and family.