On Monday, the Eugene City Council looked into tinkering with an American tradition: tailgating. At the request of the police department, the council may take steps to force Duck fans to wash down jalapeño poppers and Bratwursts with Sierra Mist instead Coors Light. (See “City, EPD may regulate gameday drinking” on page one.)
Alcohol is the yang to athletics’ yin. For fans, drinking alcohol hightens the football-watching experience, making them feel as if they are part of the team. In places like Autzen Stadium, fan participation can disrupt the away team and give the Ducks an advantage. Getting rowdy for a sporting event can be accomplished without pregame consumption of alcohol in the parking lot, but it’s easier and more enjoyable with a few drinks.
The council’s discussion is similar to many nationwide discussions, with the goal being the prohibition of excessive drinking at collegiate events and the reduction of fights and other problems blamed on Devil Water. Of course, the first course of action by authorities is to ban alcohol. I believe, I hope, that at some point these people will realize that forcing alcohol out of the public sphere is not an answer to binge drinking or other drinking problems. America’s staunch restrictions and taboo nature of alcohol are to blame for the backlash of many alcohol-related problems.
City Councilor George Poling, who represents the Autzen area, is in favor of expanding the area for legal alcohol consumption, from the University-owned parking lot to surrounding private lots. Enter Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
“Allowing this expansion sends the wrong message for public safety,” said Lois Harvick of MADD. (Quick note on MADD: Once an advocate of motor vehicle safety, MADD has become a lying neo-prohibitionist group whose opinions can be bought.) The organization refuses to speak against speeding – a factor in 31 percent of fatal crashes each year – because of monetary donations from DaimlerChrysler, General Motors and Nissan, which advocate speeding in slick car commercials. Furthermore, MADD “supports the use of wireless telephones … as an additional tool … in the war against drunk driving,” even though research reports that approximately 2,600 fatalities and 330,000 injuries are from cell phone use. I wonder how much they receive from cell phone companies? Who’s sending the wrong messages?
City officials are asking for the University’s opinion on the issue, since it allows alcohol on its Autzen property on gameday. It is a tough position to be in because the University doesn’t want to seem like it encourages binge drinking in public, but it must know that siding with advocates who want to restrict alcohol will upset alumni that pay good money for annual parking passes. Instead of siding for or against alcohol, however, the University should support the tailgater.
According to tailgating.com, the first tailgater was at the “first college football game between Rutgers and Princeton in 1869, when fans traveled to the game by carriage, grilling sausages and burgers at the ‘tail end’ of the horse.” The Web site hits the right note on its front page: “It’s the last great American neighborhood – the tailgating neighborhood. Where no one locks their doors, everyone is happy to see you … It’s families. It’s fans. It’s a community social.” You cannot blame excessive drinking on tailgating; you can only accuse it of promoting a good time.
I don’t advocate binge drinking, just as I don’t advocate douchebaggery or stupidity. It’s the combination of the two that creates fights and other problems, not the presence of alcohol. Enforcing an alcohol ban at tailgaters near campus won’t solve anything. It would be another Band-Aid solution by officials who don’t know what the real underlying societal problem is, and who don’t care enough to find out.
[email protected]