This Monday I went to my first pro (American) football game in a couple of decades. Bears got stomped by Favre and the Pack.
I was quite surprised at the amount of drunkenness exhibited by the fans. A substantial percentage of the fans were extremely drunk and belligerent before the game started at 8 p.m. There were huge lines at the beer concessions and washrooms until they stopped selling in the 3d quarter. And to my eye, a good number of fans exhibited the unhealthy appearance of someone who has drunk too much for too long.
Heck, I’m no tee-totaller - our group had a couple of pitchers with our pre-game pizza. But there’s a big difference between folk who are pleasantly buzzed and those who are shit-faced. Fights in the stands and the huge police presence did not exactly add to my enjoyment of the game.
Has it always been this way at football games? Is it like this at other sports, or at European and Australian contests?
I certainly would not want to take my kids to see such a display of adults behaving badly. In your opinion, is there anything that could/should be done to change this?
It should be noted that the Bears game was in Champaign while Soldier Field is being renovated, and many of the fans downstate don’t usually get to enjoy pro football game locally. Perhaps this has something to do with your observations.
When I watch(ed) games in Chicago I think fans are in general very well behaved.
From my experiences as a spectator, the fans at NFL games overall seem more orderly compared to fans at college football games. I speculate that it’s the result of many more young, naive, crazy college students attending the college games compared to the NFL.
Of all the college football venues I’ve attended (only 6 by my count), the one that is by far the worst as far as having drunken rowdiness is Mountaineer Field, home of West Virginia University in Morgantown, WV. There was even a game in which a whiskey bottle was launched onto the playing field from the student section. The incident is mentioned in this article in the WVU student newspaper.
While there are drunks at every NFL game, the city you’re in does play a part. Cleveland is the worst, with Philly and NY Jets games close behind. Here in B-more it’s really not bad at all.
At Michigan State University, drunken Spartan fans frequently engage in such wholesome activities as burning couches and trashing fast food outlets near the campus.
football games are usually not the drunken brawl that you describe. i would agree with those that suggest that geography (where the game is being played) probably plays a part in the behavior of the fans. as a dallas fan, i’ve developed an emotional aversion to both the philadelphia eagles and their fans (philly is the only stadium in the country with a courtroom in the stadium for processing the numerous arrests that are made every game – i say, lock 'em all up). something else that i think probably plays a factor is that the bears-packers game is a huge rivalry, which brings out the worst fans, and the worst in fans.
Yep, we love hosting Dallas in Philly…hehehe. Things are definately better at our games since they implemented the on-site court. If you were down for a Dallas/Eagles game that’s a completely different story as we reserve a very special welcome for Dallas (and recently Giants) fans.
Yep. I’m fairly sure the rule stands, although there might be “blind spots”. Maybe it’s the case that you can’t sell alcohol to football fans within sight of the ground that is inconsistently enforced.
I’m sorry, but Death Valley (Baton Rouge, LA… home of the Tigers) wins! LSU campus is a dry campus, which means no alcohol is even allowed on campus - except on game days. People start tailgating at 6AM for 7PM games.
In the student section, there are usually at least half a dozen people who are so drunk they can’t stand up within view. During the game, the paramedics typically have to put 1-2 people on a stretcher and take them down cause they passed out.
Oh yeah, and even though there’s no alcohol allowed in the stadium (yes, that includes non-student seating… everyone except the luxury boxes), kids always manage to sneak it in. So everytime we score, everyone throws their cups and you end up covered in soda and liquor.
Yeah, there’s nothing like the post-game shower!!! God, I love football!
The pub isn’t owned by or part of B&HA’s property though right? The ruling concerns alcohol sold inside the stadium, not that sold on other premises where you can peep through a gap between the stands from outside.
BTW I’m bookmarking this thread to quote the next time someone claims that soccer = violence; US sports = all-round-decency-and-sportsmanship.
