Falcons BirdWatchers Fanbulance | Inside Tailgating

We?ve seen ?fanbulances? popping up across the nation in recent years as tailgaters refurbish retired emergency vehicles. If you visit fanbulance.com, you?ll find Tom Dunn, the man who has the term trademarked, and for good reason. Dunn and his BirdWatchers crew have become the Atlanta Falcons? dominant tailgating group, regularly including more than one hundred pre-gamers.

Dunn has been attending Falcons home game since the ?70s. His first idea for a tailgating vehicle was a hearse. ?My original vision was that you?d roll up to the game, open up the back and roll a coffin out with a manikin wearing the helmet and jersey of the opposing team.? His wife Diane, who is also a proud BirdWatchers member, assured Tom that she only planned to take one ride in a hearse?and not to a football game. So Tom purchased a box ambulance from Iowa and worked tirelessly to transform it into a true tailgating marvel. The ambulance has worked out fabulously as a tailgating vehicle thanks to the numerous electrical outlets. The slight downside is the inevitable visits from drunken and grill-burned tailgaters who think Tom can give them a lift to the hospital (a true, and recurring story). You can see the Fanbulance in action in this NFL commercial.

With a crowd that has reached 150 people for home games, the BirdWatchers crew pulls out all the stops on Sunday mornings. The main course of food is usually tailored for the opposing team?for instance, cheesesteaks are on the menu when the Eagles visit in Week 1. ?A Bombs??pineapple soaked in a Jack Daniels-based concoction?are a popular treat. And before heading into the stadium, ?Falcon Piss??that?s Jack, Fresca, and jalapeno juice?is imbibed by the group. The name has more to do with the color of the shot than the taste.

Along with an abundance of other awards and honors collected in the past decade, Tom Dunn?s tailgating commitment and expertise earned him a 2011 induction into The Pro Football Ultimate Fan Association. Tom?s son Christopher, a sports editor for a local paper, covered the event here. A motto of the PFUFA is, ?Hate the other team, but love their fans.? Tom, his family, and his BirdWatchers group truly live by this mantra, welcoming fans of all teams to their party with open arms and making new friends and sharing tailgating tips at away games. As Tom told us, ?We?ve met a lot of nice people because of the Fanbulance. They?ll see it, come over, get their photo taken with, start talking, and all at once we have a friend that when we go to their city, we?re invited to tailgate with them. We?ve made a lot of good friends over it.?

Source: http://insidetailgating.com/fans-thrills/falcons-birdwatchers-fanbulance/

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