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PHALON'S FILE - 08/20/2008
(by Joe Phalon - OpEd Columnist - August 20, 2008)
Dropping the tailgate
Some people are just never happy. There were people griping in the papers this morning that the fun has been taken out of attending a football game at Giants Stadium.
The reason? The hours people can tailgate have been cut from seven to five.
Now I have to ask, How much drinking can you do in seven hours that you can’t do in five?
First, let me say, nobody enjoys a cold beer at a football or baseball game more than I do, so I am hardly a neo-prohibitionist. But the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority was right to take action in the wake of unruly
behavior by more than a few fans.
All you need to do is take four or five otherwise nondescript people, add beer and baseball caps along with the anonymity of a larger crowd, and you get a bunch of people behaving in ways they never would at home.
And it was over the top, particularly at Jets games. No offense to Jets fans. When an event gets to the point that you have wonder if your kids will be safe there, something is wrong.
Beer sales will now be cut off after the end of halftime along with the shorter time allowed for tailgating.
True, some people have elevated tailgating to high art. Thousands of people set up their tailgate parties and never actually go inside the stadium to see the game, opting, instead, to watch it on their RV-powered 60-inch TV in the parking lot.
And getting inside is not cheap. So I have to wonder about somebody who would spend three or even four digits on tickets and then get so blind drunk that they don’t even see the game. Save some money and throw up at home.
Although tailgating has been around in some form for centuries – I believe it was a Roman named Thurstus who first dropped the gate on his chariot outside the Coliseum and tapped a cask of wine – Giants fans brought it to the major leagues. When the stadium opened in 1976, North Jersey ground to a halt because of the traffic as fans were allowed in only a couple hours before the game and were expected to leave immediately afterward.
Then the management of the stadium realized that if people could arrive and depart over an extended period, it would lessen the impact on traffic. So instead of fighting tailgating, they embraced it.
But again, I have to ask, is five instead of seven hours really that much of a hardship?
Some critics do make a point when they say cutting off beer sales too early will result in more people arriving at the game drunk. But then there is a segment that is going to abuse alcohol on an incredible level no matter what.
So far it seems to be working, and the responsible beer drinkers are winning the day.
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