The End of an Era

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — No longer feeling welcome in the Buffalo Bills' main parking lot, a tailgating institution is on the move as the NFL draws a line between what's considered family friendly and R-rated entertainment.
After 21 years of tailgating in the same lot outside Ralph Wilson Stadium, Ken Johnson plans to take his party across the street starting with the next home game in two weeks.
And with him, Johnson's bringing along his wildly colorful and popular traditions: from the red 1980 Pinto on which he grills meat on the hood to the pizza oven made out of a filing cabinet to a chicken wing-cooking mailbox and, yes, even the long-established ceremony of drinking shots of Polish cherry liqueur out of the thumbhole of a bowling ball.
"It disappoints me that I have to move away from a lot where I've been for about 20 years, but I saw it coming a long time ago," said Johnson, who's tailgate has attracted international recognition as he's been featured in newspapers, on The Food Network and even profiled in a German magazine. "I have known for a long time that they want to sanitize Lot 1 and turn it into a family lot."
The reality of that shift became apparent Sunday when, Johnson said, a league official threatened to shut down his party before the Bills' season opener. Aside from his tailgate creating a potential crowd control issue, Johnson was informed by security that the league official frowned on the bowling ball shots he provides to passers-by who line up at his site.
Johnson complied by plugging the bowling ball and started informing his regulars he was moving.

I know that I always go on rants about injustices in the world, like that time that somebody thought it was a good idea to whore up Taylor Swift or when Patty shack trade raped me, but I literally started to tear up watching this video knowing that they were relocating Pinto Ron from his spot in Lot 1.

Pinto Ron was as much a part of my life growing up as any one of my uncles. My father and I had season tickets for the Bills dating back to 1992, and I can still remember the first time I walked by Pinto Ron's tailgate. I was at most 8 years old, and I was wearing my Bruce Smith jersey and painted my face so that I would get on the Jumbotron (no one told me it was an impossible task while we were sitting in the nose bleeds), and Pinto Ron called me over to take a shot of apple juice out of the bowling ball.

We stopped by Pinto Ron's tailgait every home game, grilled on the hood of his pinto, and there were always beers to spare for everyone of age. He is a major reason why Buffalo is rated the #1 tailgate in the country year after year. Moving Pinto Ron from Lot 1 is the equivalent of moving the Statue of Liberty to Canada. This is the injustice to end of all injustices.

BTW if you havent tailgated in Buffalo, you haven't tailgated. Period. I don't want to hear shit about SEC football games, Ohio State vs. Michigan or Lambeau. Watch and learn how its done.


I was there they actually whipped full cans of beer at the kid in the Cowboys Jersey.