Sep
23
Written by:
Norman Rumack
9/23/2009 8:33 PM
Here is something for your reading pleasure that will completely p.o. the vast majority of readers, and at the same time, probably one in ten will say that this is a great idea ! Are your seat belts fastened ? Time to taker a deep breath.Make sure your blood pressure is alright or take your medication right now. Ok, here we go. I would love to see all beverages with alcohol banned from all sporting events. No doubt , you are asking why. I obviously can't say I've been to every stadium or even most stadiums in North America. But I am certain that any time I've heard or read about behavior problems involving rowdy fans spoiling an outing for the vast majority of well behaved spectators, it almost always seems to involve people who are drunk, and can't ,or more specifically don't want to control their consumption of booze. I know very well that a lot of people reading this will be saying to themselves immediately that they have the "right" to drink at events like this, and because they feel that they are well behaved that this is proof enough that alcohol should not be banned from sporting venues.I agree 100 percent that the vast majority of those in attendance are compliant with the rules and regulations of the code of conduct most of us understand and abide by. The vast majority of people driving cars are also law abiding citizens in terms of respecting the laws that have been instituted throughout North America. However the laws that have been passed are in effect because there are a small group who do not control their consumption, and therefore create great danger for everyone else. Thus the laws now make it very difficult for drinkers to drive at all, which I think is great ! What I have never understood is why folks feel they can't enjoy a sporting event without alcohol. I can't relate to that at all. For the most part, most of us who attend pro sports events started going when we were too young to drink. I enjoyed being in attendance and didn't need anything else to make it special. Why do people need to have their senses dulled and inhibitions reduced to have a good time? It is incredibly sad that only alcohol can make people happy or inspire them to go out with friends or family, or on their own.Why did the National Football League institute a code of fan conduct at all their stadiums last year? It's obviously done because there are significant enough numbers of incidents at their games that tougher laws and higher standards had to be set. I was standing and cheering when local governments throughout North America began banning smoking everywhere and anywhere other than outside of buildings. I also remember hearing nightclub owners and managers fearing they would go out of business without the "cancer sticks" being allowed. Well here's an update for you. One of my favorite restaurants in Toronto is "Grazie", located near Yonge and Eglinton. It was always lined up when smoking was allowed, and they've never lost a customer because of the smoking ban. A strong restaurant or bar will always have it's customers. The ones that use the smoking laws as an excuse for bad bottom lines were never very good to begin with.Blaming the smoking ban for reduced revenue is a cop-out for other more serious short-comings that owners or managers don't recognize. If Grazie restaurant can keep all their customers without Tobacco, then so can sporting events withstand the loss of booze sales. If individuals can't control their drinking urges, then let them stay home and drink all they want in front of the TV set, where they can't bother anybody else or kill someone behind the wheel of a car. Don't get me wrong, I also like drinking beer or wine and other beverages with alcohol too. But P L EEEEEEEEASE......let's get real. I'm not going to say no to a pair of tickets for a game I want to see merely because I can't drink ! What's the big deal? Ban the booze, and say goodbye to bad behavior.
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2 comment(s) so far...
Re: BAN THE BOOZE
Norm,
Booze won't get banned because the sponsorship deals with the venues and the sports franchises are huge revenue generators for the clubs and the venues if the venues are not owned by the teams.
Great idea, I agree with you but financial statements I have seen have suggested it is a redidculous amount of money at the ACC, that would not include any kind of sponsorship deal from Molson and Bacardi.
Let's face it it just comes back to the almighty dollar, if the MLSE upper crust were interested in doing something to spend some money I sure hope it would be getting creative and putting a winning team on the ice for the first time in 42 years. They aren't even interested in winning because they don't have to the fans go and watch bad hockey year after year while they sit on their wallets.
Booze will always be there cause in Major League sports it's all about the drakma.
Hey buddy I heard that they are talking about only putting Leaf games on Leaf tv and forcing fans to buy the packages. Is this true?
By All Fired Up!! on
9/25/2009 1:43 PM
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Re: BAN THE BOOZE
Your are on the mark, don't get me wrong I like to enjoy a cold as much as the next person, but when you get the power drinker who's intention is going to the games to get hammered and ruin it for everyone else in ears shot "sucks". I can't count how many Jays games we've taken the kids to, only to have them ruined by obnoxious drunks spewing profanity and spilling drinks. My suggestion.....put all the drunks in one section of every stadium, give em their own entrance and let em go nuts!!!
By Habsfan on
9/30/2009 10:56 AM
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