From W.HYY in Philadelphia, welcome to season two of peak travel, the show about how tourism

affects people who live in popular destinations. I'm Teriram Zazawa.

We're kicking off this season at home in the U.S. talking about something very American,

the Super Bowl, which is just a few days away.

And I swear we didn't plan this, but our hometown Philadelphia Eagles are going. We start where so many journeys set off, a parking lot. I got there at around sunrise,

and there were plenty of people there. I wanted to get there well before anyone else,

and I did not do that.

It's an unseasonably warm fall day in Philadelphia,

and producer Michael Alcott is trying to beat the early birds

to Lincoln Financial Field for the Eagles tailgate.

It is quarter of eight in the morning,

and there is journey blasting on some speakers.

And people are, you know, have a solo cup in their hand. They're ready to go.

Right away, he saw evidence of eager fans who had fought their way into the parking lot over the years.

It's fenced off with these steel bars, and right in the corner of the parking lot, and this is actually how I got in, something, someone bent two of these steel bars.

They are crooked such that you can get through, and that's now the

entry point to get into the tailgate. Tailgating, named for the picnic setup at the back of a pickup

truck, is a huge part of football fandom. According to one study, 240 million Americans attend a football tailgate every year.

That's over 70% of the population.

So, yeah, it's a big deal.

And no tailgate gets more hype than the Super Bowl,

happening this coming weekend at the Superdome in New Orleans.

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