Beer at Gopher Games (best, rain, washer)

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by Kebinminn

Yeah, we took our son to a Vikings game once, big mistake. He walked out of there smelling like beer from the drunks behind us.

Parents like go to games with their kids and they should be able to without worrying their kids will get a beer bath. I don't care if there's alcohol at the games but I like when they have a section that's beer free.

That might be a good idea. A family section which is safer for the little ones.

[southernsmoke]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

Do people really take kids to college football games? Is that a really popular thing to do? Somehow I thought baseball and high school sports were more family-oriented. Frankly, with all the quasi-pro athletes in college sports, it makes me wonder why anyone would want kids making them into heroes. My father did his entire college at the U of M and never tried to brainwash us into thinking Gophers were anything special.

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

And I do understand wanting to bring kids to a certain extent, at least older kids ... in my early teens I went to a few Gophers hockey and basketball games myself, but that was in my early teens. I knew what beer was at that point.

For gradeschoolers, or kids even younger, I'm not so sure a football game would be appropriate or even appreciated by them.

Really? Is it really that uncommon to go to college games (football, basketball, hockey) as a kid in Minneapolis? Or is this an unrepresentative sample? It is absolutely normal where I come from...

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by southernsmoke

Really? Is it really that uncommon to go to college games (football, basketball, hockey) as a kid in Minneapolis? Or is this an unrepresentative sample? It is absolutely normal where I come from...

Keep in mind that I grew up in Minnetonka, so I wasn't a Minneapolis kid. When I was really little the only games I remember going to were Twins and Kicks games. Part of that might've been the fact that my parents had four kids within 10 years and most of us were active in sports and such, so free time for attending events was probably hard to find. Money, too.

[phlinak]

Originally Posted by Glenfield

Hopefully the games will find some middle ground between the child oriented atmosphere of a Chuck E Cheese and the drunken spectacle of a Vikings game. While I'd agree that some parts of the world are not intended for young kids, I don't think college athletic events are among those places.

This is the point that I was attempting to make.

Originally Posted by Kebinminn

Yeah, we took our son to a Vikings game once, big mistake. He walked out of there smelling like beer from the drunks behind us.

Parents like go to games with their kids and they should be able to without worrying their kids will get a beer bath. I don't care if there's alcohol at the games but I like when they have a section that's beer free.

I am not opposed to alcohol but there should at least be sections that are alcohol-free, family-friendly or whatever you want to call it for those who don't want a "beer bath" or worse:

Police: Phillies Fan Assaults, Vomits on Cop and Family | NBC 10 Philadelphia

Originally Posted by Glenfield

A friend of mine takes his boys to one Gopher football game a year. They play little kid football, so it's a neat experience for them to see all the pageantry of a Big 10 game, with the bands, cheerleaders, and thousands of people. Plus, he's a U grad and he gets to show his boys where he went to school. It has nothing to do with making heroes of the athletes or brainwashing the kids. We both agree that it's nice to have to Gopher games where he can do this as neither of us would ever dream of attending a Vikings game, much less taking our children there.

I totally relate this poster's message. My boys and I watch every available Gophers game as well as every Penn State Nittany Lions game. Up until recently, the Penn State program had a very storied history and the late coach Joe Paterno had an impeccable reputation and I regularly exposed my boys to his positive message of scholarship before athletics.

Besides, what's wrong with taking your kids to see a football game, whether it's played by professionals, collegians, or high schoolers?

[Ecto1]

I didn't think selling beer makes a place not family friendly, I went to a lot of sporting events with my family when I was younger and never had anything too crazy happen. Once we saw someone who was way too drunk and my dad just simple said look how foolish that guy looks, and turned it into a lesson about how to not act like a ass.

[Oildog]

I don't think alcohol is a bg deal. There are always a few who dont handle it well. But often they are sneaking it in anyways.

I'm one who would sneak it in if it was banned. I'd risk a $8 flask to buy a $5 coke at the game.

[Beenhere4ever]

A lot of people who need drunkenness to enjoy themselves act really immature. Unless you think you'd want to take your kid to a bar where that happens, I can't see the logic of taking them to an athletic event where that happens. I don't go to Vikings games, so I have no idea if that rules them out, but no kidding, kids who have barely become legal for drinking are unlikely to show maturity when they do it. They will be disproportionately represented at Gopher games, ESPECIALLY given the unlikelihood of the Gophers winning a football game (South Dakota? Really? Come on!)

[ocsid]

Lots of people here who don't seem to know much about attending sporting events or NCAA alcohol policies.

The NCAA has no say in whether a school or conference serves booze at events. They DO however have a say for playoff events. For example, there was no beer sales in general seating in the Superdome for the Final Four, per NCAA policy. (Apparently, said policy does not apply to the suites in the stadium for the event, because those are privately purchased by Saints season ticket holders for all events.)

That said, most schools do NOT serve beer at collegiate events. A few sell in general seating, and more sell only in suites/club seating, but many don't sell at all. I think one reason such a fuss was put up about this, was that beer was sold for 25 years at Gopher games at the Dome, because the MSFC that runs the Dome chose to sell it - the U had no say. (this is the same reason beer is sold at North Dakota hockey games - the school does not own the arena). When you take something away that was previously allowed, people don't tend to like that.

As for kids at sporting events, there are lots of kids and families at Gopher football games. I started going to games when I was in grade school in the 1980's. Every Gopher game I go to now has lots of kids. In fact, it's primarily young families and elderly people.

Vikings games are another matter. Since about 1998 or so, the fanbase changed from an older fanbase (think Gopher football and hoops) to a younger, heavy drinking rowdy crowd. These people spend big money for season tickets and more or less plan their entire weekend around the party that is a Vikings home game, including getting wasted and rowdy. I don't have a problem with that, but it's largely become a place where you wouldn't want to take young kids, and if you do, it's your own fault.

And to be fair, this is the atmosphere at a majority of NFL stadiums these days. The NFL markets to 25-45 year olds with discretionary income and markets a party atmosphere.

[Glenfield]

ocsid, You did a great job of summarizing the differences between a Gopher football game and a Vikings game. I think some of us fear that with beer sales, the former will become more like the latter.

[Mark_22]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

My father did his entire college at the U of M and never tried to brainwash us into thinking Gophers were anything special.

It would take a master brain washer to make anyone who has watched the Gophers the last 40 years think they were something special.