KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Chiefs fans flocked to Arrowhead Stadium early Sunday morning to start game day off right.
A group of fans celebrated 10 years of bussing in one of the best tailgate parties in the lot.
“When anybody is walking by, this is the tailgate we want them to stop and go 'wow, that’s amazing,'” said Marc Dipoto, founder of the Fan Van.
Fans are drawn to Lot N for a unique tailgating experience.
“This is a 1990 school bus, actually from Indianapolis,” said Dipoto.
Dipoto and a few of his neighbors bought the bus for $1,400 in 2010.
“It was so bad that the guy was throwing in a Ford Taurus for the price of the purchase,” said Dipoto. “We had to convince him not to give us the Taurus because we didn’t want it.”
At the time, the bus was a big upgrade from the original Fan Van.
“Our first vehicle was a little Chevy van, and our first tailgate was me and three guys,” said Dipoto.
Since then, the bus and the tailgate party that surrounds it has morphed. Becoming one of the best stops to get your pre-game on.
“That it grew to this is kind of crazy. Most tailgates we host 75 to 100 people,” said Dipoto.
Over the years they’ve given it a new paint job, added a kegerator, bar tables and even a makeshift bathroom for when those lines to the port-a-potties get too long.
“The engineering that’s gone into this bus is half the fun,” said Mike Armstrong, who is part of the original Fan Van crew. “I mean the hiding spaces, the way things collapse, the way things can add on.”
The tailgate has even attracted some celebrities.
“So all the celebrities we have come out to tailgates we have them autograph the bus. We’ve got Clark Hunt, a couple of the Chiefs cheerleaders,” said Dipoto.
Through all the years of change, one thing has stayed the same.
“We all still get together after 10 years and tailgate every Sunday,” said Armstrong.
Which really, was the whole reason they got the Fan Van in the first place.
“This is our favorite place to be and we’ve been coming to the same party for 10 years and in no way is that disappointing,” said Dipoto.
The Chiefs took a win over the Eagles 27-20, improving to 2-0 for the season.
