[1] On New Year's Day 2012 , Marshall visits his father's gravesite to carry on their tradition of tailgating, listening to the Chicago Bears vs. Minnesota Vikings NFL football game on the radio.
However, his attempts to have a private moment with his father are derailed when his brothers arrive with the same idea and then mourners at another funeral nearby gradually drift over and join Marshall's tailgating party.
Nevertheless, Marshall tells the story at his father's grave of how he, Lily, Ted, Barney and Robin spent New Year's Eve.
Robin is called into work on New Year's Eve because Sandy Rivers, the TV anchor, begins drinking on air when the female producer for World Wide News breaks up with him.
Marshall then recalls how his father always welcomed people at all their previous tailgate parties, and asks his brothers to join him, deciding that private moments are overrated.