Eat, drink and be cheesy: as packer backer know better than anybody, the game starts in the parking lot.(BUZZER BEATERS: Things all sports fans must do before they die)

Tailgating is an art.

And though all art is subjective, there certainly is a difference between good tailgating and bad tailgating. Bad tailgating involves last-minute Kwik Mart beef jerky, not enough beer and a parking spot nowhere near cute girls or a Porta Potty. Good tailgating consists of a gourmet spread, lots of beer and a parking spot, close to a Porta Potty, where cute girls walk by and compliment you on your spread and your beer.

If there is one place on the planet where tailgating has reached its full potential, it is Green Bay. For Packers fans, the Sunday tailgate is a religious experience. They come from far and wide (and from right across the street) to park their cars, batter their brats and chug their beer.

For a football fan, or just a fan of being alive, tailgating outside Lambeau Field is the rarest of treats. I drove from Chicago to Green Bay late Saturday night and stopped in for a beer at the Glory Years Sports Bar & Grill. Glory Years is a special place. The back room of the bar once served as Vince Lombardi's office.

"If you're going to tailgate, you better get there early," said Melissa, a bartender at Glory Years. "They start at 7 in the morning."

"Does that mean everyone goes to bed really early the night before?" I asked.

"The old ones do. A lot of the 25-and-under tailgaters just party all night, then fire up the grills for breakfast."