Game day at Hard Rock
How I do a home game, start to finish.
Getting there
The drive in
Hard Rock Stadium is in Miami Gardens, and on a game day everybody is headed to the same place at the same time. Whatever your map says, add half an hour to it. Then add a little more if it's a big game.
I leave early enough that traffic can't ruin my mood. The drive is part of the day. Windows down, music up, a horn tap for every car with a Dolphins flag on it.
Going with a group
Pick one meeting spot before anybody leaves the house, and make it somewhere you can describe in one sentence. Phone signal gets thin when that many people are in one place. "By the tent with the big flag" works a lot better than a pin that won't load.
If you're in more than one car, arrive together. Trying to hold a space for a friend who is twenty minutes behind is how you start the day arguing with a stranger.
Tailgate setup
Keep it simple
The best tailgate is the one you can set up in fifteen minutes and pack away in ten. You are there for the people. Nobody has ever gone home talking about how organized the table was.
- Shade first. A pop-up tent changes the whole day in South Florida.
- One folding table for food, and keep the drinks off it.
- More chairs than people. Somebody always turns up.
- A speaker, at a volume your neighbors would thank you for.
- Two coolers: one for drinks that gets opened all day, one for food that doesn't.
The food
Cook what you can cook in your sleep. Game day is not the day to try a new recipe. Do the chopping and the marinating at home the night before, so the lot is just heat and eat.
Make more than you need. The people parked next to you are your neighbors for the next four hours, and a plate is the fastest way I know to make a friend.
What you can cook on is the stadium's call, so check what the lots allow before you load a grill.
What to bring
In the car
- Water, and more than you think
- Sunscreen, and somebody to remind you to put it on again
- A poncho, because the sky changes its mind down here
- Trash bags. Leave your spot cleaner than you found it.
- Wet wipes and a roll of paper towels
- A change of shirt for the drive home
On you
- A charged phone with your ticket already open
- A hat. I have a favorite. You may have noticed.
- Sunglasses
- Your voice. You will need all of it.
What you can carry through the gate is set by the stadium. Check the bag policy before you leave the house.
My timeline for a 1:00 PM kickoff
This is how I count a one o'clock game backwards. The clock times are mine. Lot and gate times are the stadium's, and they can change from game to game.
- Lots open
Be in line for it
The stadium posts when the lots open for each game. Whatever that time is, I want to be rolling in right behind it.
- First hour
Set up before you socialize
Tent, table, grill, chairs, in that order. Then go say hello. Do it the other way round and you will be eating at kickoff.
- 11:00 AM
Food on
Two hours out. Anything that takes longer than an hour should already be cooking.
- 11:45 AM
Plates out, last call
Eat now. Nobody enjoys a first quarter on an empty stomach or a full sprint to the gate.
- 12:10 PM
Pack it down
Coals out and cold, cooler shut, valuables out of sight. Ten minutes of work that saves the walk back later.
- 12:20 PM
Start walking
Earlier than feels necessary. Everybody else has the same idea at 12:40.
- 1:00 PM
Kickoff
In your seat, on your feet, phone in your pocket. Be loud when the other team has the ball.
- Final whistle
Do not rush
Win or lose, the lot empties slowly. Sit down, have a water and let the first wave go.
Bringing the family
A kid's first game is a big deal, and it goes a lot better with a plan. The game is long, the sun is strong and the noise is real.
- Ear protection for little ones. A loud stadium is fun for you and a lot for them.
- Write your phone number somewhere on them: a wristband, a card in a pocket.
- Agree on a meeting spot the moment you sit down, and point at it.
- Feed them before you go in. Hungry and hot is a bad mix in the second quarter.
- Take a walk at halftime. Nobody under ten sits still for three hours.
- Leave when they are done. A good first game beats a full one.
After the game
Let the lot clear
Everybody leaves at once and nobody moves. I don't fight it. I go back to the car, open the cooler I packed for exactly this and give it forty minutes. The drive home is shorter and I'm in a better mood for it.
Win or lose
After a win, that last hour in the lot is the best part of the whole day. After a loss, it's where you remember you are not the only one who feels like that. Either way, shake hands with the people next to you. You'll see them at the next one.
Stadium rules: we link the official page
Prices, lot names, gate times and what you can carry in are set by the stadium and they change. This guide doesn't guess at them. At launch each line below opens the stadium's own page, with the date we last checked it.
- Parking and lots Official page
- Gate times Official page
- Bag policy Official page
- Paying inside Official page
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