California - Best tailgate parties ?

There was an article in Frommer's online newsletter today about the best College Football tailgate parties.

Link in case anyone is interested;

http://www.frommers.com/articles/3910.html

Which got me thinking. I am going to be travelling through California later this fall. What better way to enjoy some local culture than at a tailgate party for either an NFL or College team.

I did a search on this forum and found recommendation for Green Bay and Cincinnati ( NFL ) as well as Columbus and Los Angeles ( College football ) tailgate parties.

Can anyone provide recommendations for other tailgate parties that are interesting and welcome visitors ( on foot, no tailgate of my own ). My immediate interest is California, but I would appreciate any information on other good tailgate parties in the USA for future trips.

Thanks in advance.

Rose Bowl tailgates for UCLA games are great! ^ The last time I was there, most of the parking area is grass.

USC...not so good. The Coliseum is in a bad part of town, and there's not a lot of parking next to the facility.

I don't know how the reconstruction of Stanford Stadium has affected the grounds around the stadium, but I went to a couple of very nice tailgates before Stanford games when I lived in California. Mature landscaping (especially lots of shade-provicig trees) made for a very nice ambience, and there were some very elaborate spreads (with some feindly people sharing their goodies with their neighbors).