Tailgating pros take in Opening Day

Dearborn resident Mike Bruff and Adrienne Swindlehurst like to tailgate in style.
We’re talking about a 42-inch flat screen TV set up in the back of Bruff’s Dodge mini-van, a 1,000 watt “cool-inator” speaker system and lawn chairs all set up in a parking lot directly in the shadow of Comerica Park.
“I only paid $25 for this spot, first come, first served,” Bruff said.
“I’ve been doing this for about 15 years now. I don’t really like going into the stadium  because it’s so crowded, and you have to wait in line for everything.”
Bruff also has the same set up for Lions games.
Although Comerica Park now allows fans to grill outside the stadium, Bruff and Swindlehurst brought food with them.
“Submarine sandwiches and lots of beer,” Swindlehurst said. “And we’ll go into Leo’s for coney islands so we’ll have hot dogs, too.”

Tom Greenwood
Tom Greenwood has been up to his neck in concrete and asphalt since starting his column in December 1997. He generally looks at commuting from the driver's point of view and centers itself on subjects such as road construction (when, where, why and how long), gas prices, traffic laws, seat belt use, safety issues, question and answer columns and the occasional oddball story from readers.

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