Here's a hot take: the only reason people like watching live sports is because they're drunk. Remove the alcohol and it's boring af and no one wants to be there. "Tailgating" is fun because it's one of the only situations where people will get drunk with each other in public outside of a bar. It sure seems like there are an awful lot of activities in the west that serve as nothing more than a guilt-free excuse to get hammered, it's honestly absurd to me.
Anything becomes fun when alcohol (and food) is involved. Seriously, you can put 10 people into an empty room and give them a few bottles of Jack Daniels and they'll have a good time. Do people not understand this?