- After celebrating New Year's Eve, Marshall visits his father's graveside to carry on their tradition of tailgating. Meanwhile, Barney and Ted open a bar called "Puzzles," and Robin is forced to fill in for an inebriated news anchor.
- On January 1, 2012, Marshall heads back to St. Cloud, Minnesota to spend the day alone with his father to keep on with a tradition between the two: hold a tailgate party while watching the Vikings/Bears game. Marshall resists any change to what he sees as that tradition, which may not be easy due to the activity happening around him. Regardless, Marshall has come to tell his father of the exploits of his and Lily's and their friends' New Year's Eve celebrations. Marshall and Lily discussed whether or not they should tell Lily's father about her pregnancy. Lily had up to this point resisted the idea of telling him if only not wanting to be disappointed by him yet again. Kevin tried to convince Robin that she should try and get a job working in front of the camera once again. Their New Year's Eve celebration alone together took an unexpected turn when Robin got a telephone call from an inebriated on-air Sandy Rivers, who needed her help with his New Year's Eve live national broadcast. Robin's help extended a little further than she expected. And Ted and Barney had troubles trying to get into crowded MacLaren's due to bouncer Doug's strict entrance policy. As such, Ted and Barney, with help from a then dateless for the evening Kevin, decided to open Puzzles, their own bar in Ted and Robin's apartment.—Huggo
- After celebrating New Year's Eve, Marshall visits his father's grave-site to carry on their tradition of tailgating at the Viking-Bears game. Marvin Sr would invent stories like how the Government covered up the Roswell incident by slicing up the alien carcass and selling it as spam in cans. SPAM = Sliced Processed Alien Meat. However, his attempts to have a private moment with his father are derailed when his brothers arrive with the same idea in mind, and nearby mourners at another funeral gradually drift over and join Marshall's tailgating party. Nevertheless, Marshall narrates the story to his father's grave of how he, Lily, Ted, Barney and Robin spent New Year's Eve.
Lily and Marshall are decorating the baby's bedroom in East Meadow when Marshall learns that Lily has not yet told her dad that she is pregnant. Marshall convinces her to call her father, who is in Chicago at a board-game convention, but Lily is disappointed with her father's nonchalant reaction and that he immediately hung up afterwards. When Marshall decides to narrate the "Enigmas of the Mystical"-his favorite childhood book-Lily admits she can't believe any of the stories. Stories of Bigfoot, Ghosts, Aliens abducting people from their beds and probing them. Marshall wants to read these stories to their son. Marshall says that mysteries are more about faith than about proof and he wants their son to be a believer. Realizing that Lily is upset, Marshall apologizes and explains he acted that way because his dad made him believe in the magical. Lily reveals that her dad taught her not to believe in anything but herself.
In the meantime, Ted and Barney turn Ted's apartment into an impromptu bar, calling it "Puzzles", after becoming frustrated with how difficult it is to get to MacLaren's during the New Year's Eve crush (with a cover charge of $100 per person and a party hat for $15 additional each). They recruit Kevin to man the bar, and Doug (Will Sasso) (the MacLaren's bouncer) to act as their bouncer. They initially plan on providing drinks at reasonable prices but are eventually forced to gradually increase the price (from $2 to $3, to $8, to $10, to $15, all the way to $50) when they have trouble managing the rowdy patrons, who eventually all leave.
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, and he eventually disappears entirely. Robin tracks Sandy down to Tina (Chasty Ballesteros), the producer's house. Robin struggles to get Sandy back on air, but close to midnight he disappears again. She calls Kevin in despair, and he convinces her to take Sandy's place, even though he later finds a comatose Sandy in Ted's bathtub. Robin takes his advice and Kevin, Ted, and Barney watch Robin as she anchors the New Year's Eve broadcast. Future Ted reveals that this became the turning point in Robin's career.
On New Year's Day, many people have gathered where Marshall is tailgating on his father's grave, when someone accidentally calls him Marvin (his father's name), saying Marshall is just like his dad. Marshall 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. In New York, Lily opens the door to her house and unexpectedly finds her father with a giant teddy bear. He reveals that right after he heard her news, he drove all night from Chicago to see her and tells her how excited he is for her. A tear-struck Lily thanks her father and hugs him.
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