Vince Wilfork is preparing to suit up on Sundays, but he’s not getting on the field anymore. Instead, he’s turned his cleats in for a grill and a spatula. The two-time Super Bowl champion has teamed up with Emmy Award-nominated TV personality Sunny Anderson to lead Food Network’s Tailgate Takedown.
“In each episode, Sunny and Vince welcome two teams of talented tailgating duos outside the stadium on game day – one representing their home turf and the other fans of the visiting team. In the first round – known as “The First Down” – each team must create a platter of their best bite-sized snacks with a dip that represents their city’s flavors. The winner of round one, as determined by a rotating panel of judges, gets an advantage and selects an ingredient significant to their hometown that both teams must use in round two,” the show’s description reads, according to Variety.
“In round two’s ‘Between the Uprights’ battle, the duos must make their best handheld tailgate treat between the buns and the losing team is penalized as one player must complete a tailgate game before entering the final round. In the “Hail Mary” third round, each team must create a tailgate platter of a meat and two sides that would make their hometown proud. Finally, the grand-prize winner is named and presented a ‘Yum-bardi Trophy’ by a guest NFL legend and then, in a once-in-a-lifetime moment, the winning duo is ushered right into the stadium to their VIP seats on the 50-yard line.”
Throughout the six-episode season, Anderson and Wilfork will stop at MetLife Stadium, Empower Field, Arrowhead Stadium, Gillette Stadium, Highmark Stadium and NRG Stadium. Along the way, former NFL players like Carl Banks, Johnathan Joseph, Brandon Stokely and Thurman Thomas will join the show. Tailgate Takedown is set to premiere on January 4, 2023 at 9 p.m. EST on the Food Network.
