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Photo by Sean Kilpatrick / THE CANADIAN PRESS

The downward trend will almost certainlycontinue next year, when the rebuilding team is once again expected to reside at or near the bottom of the NHL standings.

That is, unless tailgating catches on like we fully expect it will.

Now, going to a Senators game will be about much more than watching your team suffer through its growing pains. It will become a social event you’ll look forward to with great anticipation.

The team owner should be clicking his heels.

On Saturdays, you won’t head all the way out to Kanata at 5:30 p.m. You’ll get to CTC at noon, with grill, propane, beer, steaks, lawn chairs and drinking games.

You will also make sure to bring a designated driver.

If you’ve been to an NFL game, you know how good this is going to be. The Buffalo Bills have never won a Super Bowl — they’ve played a single playoff game in 19 years and haven’t hosted one since 1996 — and the lots around New Era Field in Orchard Park are among the best tailgating parties in the league.

Pittsburgh has great tailgating. So does New England, Chicago, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Kansas City and every other city in which we’ve attended a NFL game. The tradition is also big before U.S. college games, and we’ve also witnessed some great tailgating at Nassau Coliseum before Islanders games andtheWells Fargo Center prior to the Flyers taking the ice.

A friend suggested the Senators might not be so hyped about tailgating because it will mean fans don’t buy beer inside the building. But he doesn’t drink. On the contrary, if you have a few over the course of the afternoon, you’re not going to stop once you get inside the building for a live sporting event. You’re going to be fired up and you’re going to have a couple more.