No Beer at DKR: What Does This Really Mean?
Beer is the staple of every tailgate across the nation. Fans flock to the stadium – sometimes in the wee hours of the morning – to set up shop and enjoy the pregame festivities with good food and cold beer.
Tailgating at Texas Longhorns games is legendary. Some tailgates have sponsors. A few even attract celebrities. But, for the average fan, tailgating means enjoying a cold one with friends while debating the day’s gridiron match ups or who needs to have a good game for Texas.
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Once inside DKR stadium, however, the drinking stops. Alcohol is not sold in the stadium. This has led to a tradition not very popular with the players – a mass exodus late in the second quarter. Where are the fans going? Back to their tailgates to resume drinking before the second half starts. Few actually make it back for the start of the third quarter.
Texas athletic director Steve Patterson looked to address the problem earlier this year by announcing beer and wine will be sold at most UT sporting events. The concept was tested at basketball and baseball games. There were no drunk fans storming the court after a Texas win, or a random streaker racing across UFCU Disch-Falk field.
Recently, UT Chancellor Francisco Cigarroa suggested that beer and wine sales at football was a little premature, and that more research needed to be done before vendors made $8 beers available to the masses.
More research? In 2011, West Virginia Mountaineers athletic director Oliver Luck allowed beer sales at all Mountaineer football games. The result? Fewer alcohol-related arrests were made. It actually became a safer environment than when fans were forced to chug beers prior to kickoff. University policy states that if you leave the stadium, you don’t get to come back in. That’s a pretty good incentive to stay in your seat for the halftime show (I’m sure the Mountaineer band appreciates this).
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So what is the real reason for the sudden about face on the issue of alcohol at DKR? The average fan need only to look up for the likely answer. Luxury suites, club seating and an array of clubs and rooms cater to the fans who prefer to watch the games in style. It’s not cheap to buy one of these suites or enjoy the game from club level. So what is your reward for shelling out a few extra thousand dollars? Beer and wine for your enjoyment. While the rest of the schmucks below you have a choice of soda or water, you get to enjoy a nice, cold adult beverage from the comfort of your suite. Some fans find this a worthwhile tradeoff – paying more for a ticket in order to drink a beer.
What would happen if the guy who paid a fraction of what you did for a ticket gets to enjoy the same beer you do? My guess is the school would lose some of its premium sales to groups who think twice about paying $1,500 and up for privileged seating. And that’s a risk UT isn’t willing to take.
The reality is UT officials aren’t worried about what the players think when they come back onto the field to see a stadium two-thirds full. It’s about keeping the people with deep pockets happy. That’s sad.
I need a beer.