oldschooler Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 It was “College Night” at the Brewers game and season ticket holder Aaron Gross knew what that meant. Cheap tickets for sale. Cheap beer at the tailgate parties. Plenty of booze-fueled trash talk inside the stadium. And, eventually, some alcohol-induced insults leading to suds-soaked fisticuffs. “I have no problem with heckling people, that's part of the game. But they were crossing lines,” said Gross, who found himself – along with his wife – caught near a brawl on a night when college students got in for half price. “It got unpleasant to the point where we left the game. The whole section was completely drunk and obnoxious. We left in the fourth inning, just said, 'That's enough.'” At eight stadiums across the country – Miller Park in Milwaukee, Coors Field in Denver, Busch Stadium in St. Louis among them – fans told The Associated Press similar stories in recent weeks, reinforcing a fact of life at American stadiums: Alcohol is as big a part of going to a baseball game as peanuts and Cracker Jacks. At the University of Minnesota, researchers became interested in the topic of drunkenness at games after seeing a steady stream of small news items involving assaults, car accidents and rowdy behavior by drunken fans. Among the findings from the school's studies since 2005: – Alcohol laws and guidelines at stadiums are poorly enforced: Researchers said 74 percent of people pretending to be drunk were served and they were three times more likely to buy it from a vendor working the stands than a concession booth. – Thousands of fans leaving games and getting into their cars are drunk: Researchers took breathalyzer tests of 362 fans at 13 baseball and three NFL games and found 8 percent of them – 1 in 12 – were legally drunk, while 40 percent of them had at least something to drink. That 8 percent, when multiplied by the thosands of people attending games nationwide, leads to a staggering number. “I hear from people who'd been going to games their entire life, they say, 'I don't go to games anymore,'” said Darin Erickson, who worked on the University of Minnesota studies. “They tell stories about people swearing blatantly, throwing things and fights. It's not always actual assaults, but some of the people I talk to just aren't comfortable with the environment. And it seems that they're often saying it's attributable to general drunkenness.” Coors Field usher Travis Wilson saw a lot of that sort of behavior play out last season from his perch above centerfield, looking up into the rowdy Rockpile, where the tickets cost only $4 and there's plenty of extra cash for fans to spend on the ballpark's namesake beer. “Pretty common,” said Wilson, who works the Colorado Rockies games in Denver, when asked how often fights broke out in the cheap seats. “Sometimes, it depends on the rivalry in town, if it's a team we have a history with. It doesn't always have to do with alcohol, but a lot of times, it's a contributing factor.” Wilson said he never kept count of how many people got dragged off by police, some of them to the holding cells at the stadium. But, he said, it was hardly a rare event. AP reporters asked eight teams, including Colorado, for arrest statistics at their ballparks and none of the teams provided answers. All, however, said they were working aggressively to curb alcohol-related problems in the stands. At Busch Stadium, the Cardinals led all Major League teams in fan participation in the Budweiser Good Sport designated-driver program, with about 600 fans per game volunteering to be a designated driver, according to a team spokesman. Like ushers at most ballparks, Wilson had a clear set of rules and protocols for how to handle rowdy behavior. Among the tools at his disposal: A notecard-sized cheat sheet called “House Rules for Guests” that is provided to fans who look like they're reaching their limits. Almost all stadiums have a number fans can text if they see problems. In most cases, fans reported that security was good about responding to the texts within minutes. “The biggest thing is training the staff to be proactive,” Rockies senior director of guest services Steve Burke said. “To do something about (an incident) before it's an issue. We react to any complaint or concern.” Rob Manfred, Major League Baseball's executive vice president of labor relations, said baseball won't release the arrest numbers from the stadiums but it monitors the situation on “an ongoing basis.” “We do give advice in that area,” Manfred said. “It is a club-by-club” decision on how to handle alcohol policies. All 30 teams are listed as coalition members of a group called Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management, a nonprofit that provides guidelines for serving alcohol at sporting venues. Despite participation in that program, along with MLB's constant monitoring, plenty of people slip through the cracks. Another study by researchers at the University of Minnesota found that 80 percent of the 49 local law-enforcement agencies that participated in a survey received either occasional or frequent complaints about fights either inside or outside stadiums and arenas they policed (for hockey, football, basketball and baseball). (Click the link for the entire article) [url="http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20110524/SPT04/305240085/"]http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20110524/SPT04/305240085/[/url] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gatorclaws Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 Not trying to make light of the study at all, but it doesn't really matter about the number leaving the game drunk. It matters how many are leaving the game drunk and planning to drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rumble In the Jungle Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 in my case last yr it was one sober and 12 drunken! on a serious note though, last yr I told myself I will no longer go to games and get wasted! nothing good came out of any of them. need to start acting my age which I really don't wanna do lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tigris Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 When we talk about heading to games, that's always one negative we talk about; the obnoxious fan. There's nothing wrong with drinking, but when you're drunk and stupid, it turns a lot of people off. I wonder how many people would go if there was an "alcohol free" day at the stadium. I'd imagine there would be plenty of drunks showing up looking for handouts at first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whodey9to85tdtd Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 [quote name='Tigris' timestamp='1306686768' post='995239'] When we talk about heading to games, that's always one negative we talk about; the obnoxious fan. There's nothing wrong with drinking, but when you're drunk and stupid, it turns a lot of people off. I wonder how many people would go if there was an "alcohol free" day at the stadium. I'd imagine there would be plenty of drunks showing up looking for handouts at first. [/quote] Pretty obvious when a beer is $7.75 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 Which is exactly why allowing firearms in stadiums is a bad bad idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluhartz Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 [quote name='Jamie_B' timestamp='1306690538' post='995244'] Which is exactly why allowing firearms in stadiums is a bad bad idea. [/quote] allowing firearms is laughable..... so freaking dumb.... as for drinking at the game.. I am all for it.... eases the pain....lol Embassy Suites is always my spot.... people that drink and drive are just not that smart... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cricket Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 I do know that after many Bengals' games I [b]wish[/b] I was drunk.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamie_B Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 [quote name='fluhartz' timestamp='1306692314' post='995245'] allowing firearms is laughable..... so freaking dumb.... as for drinking at the game.. I am all for it.... eases the pain....lol Embassy Suites is always my spot.... people that drink and drive are just not that smart... [/quote] very dumb, but its happening http://www.cleveland.com/open/index.ssf/2011/05/ohio_poised_to_approve_far-rea.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sois Posted May 29, 2011 Report Share Posted May 29, 2011 Beer should be illegal like pot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MULLY Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 The alcohol isn't the problem. People have been drinking at sports events for as long as sports events have been around. Nope, the problems are the assholes that the alcohol is inside of. Which is basically reflecting on society in general. People have no fucking manners anymore. Like the old t-shirt says, "instant asshole, just add alcohol" and the majority of people today are assholes. No respect for their fellow man. MULLY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Numbers| Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 There are so many things wrong with this research. 362 people does not qualify as a substantial amount for basing research labeling 8 percent of sports fans. The number might become higher if you wait around when the real drunks start filtering out. Imagine someone (other than law enforcement) trying to shove a breathalyzer in your face after a game and especially one you just lost. I would guess that 8 percent of all people coming out of that game would gladly shove the device up ... What is legally drunk ? (intoxocation varies with state) How many of those were driving ? How many were underage ? How many times did Whodey24K blow into the breathalyzer ? There are alcohol free family zones in the stadium. Alcohol free stadiums would not work IMHO. Loss of tickets and/or season ticket rights would prevent some of the abuse from reoccuring. Might make a person think twice before auctioning off their tickets to a person they do not know. Too many times it is the same repeat offender and/or the same ticket area (auction, ebay, stubhub, etc...) that the offenders come from. If the security was even remotely decent, then the problems could be nipped before they escalate. In some cases, security manages to create the problem by becoming overbearing. Usually happens because security is tired of the abuse received at the hands of drunk fans. Even the police outside the stadium have been heavy handed at times and laughing about how many drunks they harass (outside the parking garages). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ickeyshuffler Posted May 30, 2011 Report Share Posted May 30, 2011 [quote name='Numbers' timestamp='1306761980' post='995288'] How many times did Whodey24K blow into the breathalyzer ? [/quote] They didn't even make me use the breathalyzer when I got beat up by the police horse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 That number is probably much higher in Florida and Wisconsin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bengalsfan850 Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 [quote name='Jason' timestamp='1306800902' post='995376'] That number is probably much higher in Florida and Wisconsin. [/quote] .08 in the sunshine state Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jason Posted May 31, 2011 Report Share Posted May 31, 2011 [quote name='bengalsfan850' timestamp='1306811162' post='995392'] .08 in the sunshine state [/quote] The number leaving drunk, not the BAC. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fredtoast Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 Uh, isn't drinking legal. In fact aren't there a lot of places called "bars" that are built specifically for people to drink? And aren't more than 1 in 12 people leaving bars legally drunk? So if these people are really so ready to shit in their pants over people getting drunk shouldn't they be concentrating on bars instead of ballgames? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBeaverHunter Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 I've met some of the most beautiful women I've ever been with while I was intoxicated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
|Numbers| Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 [quote name='whodey24k' timestamp='1306787132' post='995361'] They didn't even make me use the breathalyzer when I got beat up by the police horse. [/quote] I am pretty sure they felt sorry for you after that one Probably 'cause they gave the Steelers fans (?) involved a free pass for sexual assault. That's what you get when you come to the rescue of someone else. You get beat down and the suspects get off free ... This was in no way a condemnation of you but of the uneven handling of incidents in and out of the stadium. More people will take matters into their own hands because they can not depend on equitable treatment from those that are responsible for maintaining law and order... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esjbh2 Posted June 1, 2011 Report Share Posted June 1, 2011 [quote name='fredtoast' timestamp='1306894238' post='995508'] Uh, isn't drinking legal. In fact aren't there a lot of places called "bars" that are built specifically for people to drink? And aren't more than 1 in 12 people leaving bars legally drunk? So if these people are really so ready to shit in their pants over people getting drunk shouldn't they be concentrating on bars instead of ballgames? [/quote] Ummmmm, it's a matter of context and expectation. If I go to a bar, I'm planning on drinking. That's what a bar is for, and my expectation is that there will be drinking and drunk people. I would never take a child to a bar. If I take a little kid to a Reds game to see his favorite baseball players, my expectations are MUCH different than a bar. I don't expect that some drunk will throw up on my kid, or some inconsiderate drunk ruining our family experience by being obnoxious and out of control. Sadly, for me anyway, my expectation is that Bengals game are more like a bar than a Reds game, which is why I never took my kids to Bengals games when they were younger. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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