CFG Rules

CFG rules n. The prohibition against the saving of seats at fan gatherings, as practiced for decades by the Cincinnati Fantasy Group, a fan club. CFG rules state that any vacant chair is fair game, even if the previous occupant got up only to get another drink. Taking the chair under such circumstances, a new possessor may triumphantly announce, “CFG rules!” The custom applies at many gatherings far beyond Cincinnati and often when no member of the CFG is actually present.

(Probably post-1950s. No present-day CFG member can date the custom definitively, but it seems to go back to the 1960s.) — Leah Zeldes Smith