You know, it figures that this would be the year that I give up my Bengals season tickets. I suffered through three years of horrid football and decided that I was not going to renew my tickets for financial reasons or as a protest against the team's (mis)management in the past 19 years.
That said, one reason that did not attribute to my giving up the tickets was the NFL's new tailgating rules. In an article Darren Rovell put on Twitter this morning (featured in USAToday), a New York Jets fan says that the tailgating rules (that limit tailgating to 3.5 hours before kickoff) may be the "final nail" that forces him to give up his season tickets. The new tailgating rules are supposed to help "crack down on drunken and disruptive fans" by limiting the time fans can tailgate.
Many people are going to say that these rules are ridiculous and they are going to limit the amount of fun that they can have at a game. Even the Jets fan says that is going to impact the "loyalty of the fans." Really? This comes from the Jets fan that has two beer taps in the camper that he and his friends bring to the home games. So basically, this guy is mad that he and his buddies can't squeeze the last drops of beer out of the second keg. I would tailgate at the Bengals games, and my friends and I can put down some beer -- and I am 99.9% sure that every one of them would tell you that a second keg is overkill. If you are taking two kegs to a football game, what are your intentions? I don't think that you are going to really watch the football game once you get in to the stadium, no matter how high your tolerance.
I went to the football games to watch the team, cheer for the team, and maybe have a beer. I didn't go to get belligerent drunk and yell at the fans of other teams, and perhaps start a fight or two. I'm not saying that is what this particular Jets fan does in the Meadowlands, but it is what many fans do on a weekly basis. Tell me why beer sales are now limited to two beers a customer at some stadiums and why other stadiums have stepped up security and now allow fans to report drunken behavior.
I don't go to the game to sit there and listen to drunken idiots cussing and trash-talking other team's fans. I go to watch football and root for my team. If league officials are concerned about "boozed-up, unruly fans ... scaring away the family audience" at NFL games, you know the setting at games is getting bad. Remember, this is the league that allows Hank Williams Jr. to croon about his rowdy fans on ESPN before every Monday night game. Folks, when the Philadelphia Eagles have an in-stadium jail, all 32 teams allow text messages about unruly fans, the NFL has adopted a Fan Code of Conduct, and some stadiums (including the Houston Texans and the famously rowdy Oakland Raiders) have adopted the NFL's 20-ounce beer limit, it is time to admit that there is a problem with fan behavior at games.
Why do I want to go to a game and worry about the drunken idiots behind me starting a fight with the drunken idiots in front of me? It is not fun to go to games anymore. Some will point out the hypocrisy of the league, as it accepts millions of dollars in sponsorships from breweries but is limiting the size of beers. When is the last time you watched a NASCAR race? There are plenty of alcohol-related sponsors out there, but I don't feel a need to drink and drive every time I see the Budweiser or Miller Lite car, and I don't think that these corporations are promoting drinking and driving.
Here is the point: I want to go to a game and enjoy the game. I don't know how you can go to enjoy a football game if you are passed out in the parking lot before game time. I don't know how you can enjoy the game if you are busy trying to get into a fight with the other team's fans sitting a couple of rows away. I don't understand how you can enjoy a game if you are always in the bathroom jettisoning your beer. If someone can explain that to me, please do in the comment section. I have been there folks, and it just isn't fun.
What's more, what kind of fan are you if you are going to give up your tickets because of the NFL's tailgating and drink-serving policies? I would think that "real" fans would enjoy going to the game to cheer for the team, not to get drunk out of their minds. The NFL has it right on this one folks, stop looking to blame someone else for feeling the need to be blitzed to watch a football game.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
11-20-2009 @ 11:42AM
ARCADE said...
You really think the time limit was imposed to stop drunks? Please - this is a purely a money deal. The less the fans drink outside of the stadium, the more they will drink in the stadium.
I have never seen the 20 ounce rule put into affect unless the person buying was way over the line. Most of the vendors at the stadium volunteer their time so that the teams pay a charity or organization for their time. These people could care less how much anyone drinks at a game and they probably encourage the sales.
While I agree with you that belligerent drunks stop other fans from enjoying the game. This will not curb a degenerate to drink less - it will encourage them to drink faster and probably move to harder drinks. You may think the NFL is doing this for the families or for the good of the fans but it's all about money...just like everything else they do. I'm surprised they don't have beer vendors located in the parking lots - I'm sure the only reason they don't do that is because of MADD and SADD.
11-20-2009 @ 4:02PM
Ole1kanobe said...
The end of your article seems to imply that the game can only be enjoyed via your own standards, what if some people do enjoy going into the stadium half in the bag? It doesn't mean that each and every person that drinks before the game is going into the stadium to pick a fight or be an *ss. Some people are/do, but not everyone. You have valid points, but expecting everyone to want or need to enjoy the game exactly like you do borders on egotism.
Besides, why drink $5 - $10 beers in the stadium when you can drink $2 beers pre-game?
11-20-2009 @ 8:06PM
Tim F. said...
Mark,
I understand your point about unruly fans and being an Oakland Raider season ticket holder, I've been there, done that. However, I do disagree with your stance. If tailgates were limited to 3.5 hours that would not be enough time for us and here's why. Once the gates open at 9:30, it can take upwards of 45 minutes to an hour to get through the gate, parked and setup. We have a rather large group with 3 large tents, 5 tables, 2 BBQ's, 2 propane stoves, satellite TVs and over two dozen chairs. Our tailgate can have 50 people during a popular game. So now it's already 10:30.
Our claim to tailgating fame in D Lot is a 55 gallon drum that we use to cook our tri-tips, whole chickens, pork loins, ribs, just about anything. People are amazed at it and it's a definite conversation piece. We hang the meat inside the barrel that has coals at the very bottom and it takes approx 2 hours 15 min to cook/smoke the meats. Since that would make it 12:45 already, we will have to do away with that tradition. So let's go to regular, everyday, boring BBQ.
Most tri-tips will take about 60 - 90 minutes on a regular BBQ. That makes it approx 11:45 or noon by now and the meat is inferior to being cooked in the barrel. Since game time is at 1:05 we will now have to shove it down our throats in less than 30 minutes so we can still have enough time to break down and get to our seats by kickoff. This is completely unacceptable.
So our tailgating tradition will be severely effected by this. It is cutting it back by 30%. 30% that we spend preparing our meal. Since the Raiders aren't exactly burning up the AFC West these days, the time spent socializing at the tailgate is a HUGE part of the game day experience. Take that away and I honestly can no longer justify spending $1500 on season tickets after 10 years. Also, as Arcade said, this will also just encourage the idiots that this policy is supposedly trying to control to drink faster.
Bye-bye season tickets and it has absolutely nothing to do with curbing my alcohol consumption. 3.5 hours simply is not enough time to get in and tailgate properly like a pro and you'd never catch me BBQ'ng just burgers and dogs!!