Sporting Events and Alcohol Consumption

There's nothing like attending a live sports event. Food, fun and liquor. Ah, that last one can be a bit troublesome.

No, I'm not preaching to anyone about alcohol consumption. We've all heard the phrase "don't drink and drive" thousands of times. What follows may perk your a ears a bit.

According to a study conducted by the University of Minnesota's Medical Center, about 8 percent of those that attend NFL and MLB games are legally drink. The study was performed on 382 adults that had been in attendance. Oh, there is more, but I'll get to some of the other highlights from the study in a bit.

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While 8 percent does not sound like a substantial number, if this is an "across the board" type of figure, that would mean approximately 5,250 fans out of 65,535 (if at full capacity) that leave Paul Brown Stadium are inebriated. For Great American Ball Park, the number is about 3,365 of 42,059 at full capacity. I use those two stadiums only because they are the closest to where I reside. No other reason.

It demands a pause. To further your pause will be this following fact uncovered by the study. Roughly one in four in attendance that tailgated consumed five or more alcoholic beverages while tailgating, and those in the highest BAC range had consumed an average of 6.6 drinks

Add this. If you're 35 years of age or younger, you are eight times more likely to be intoxicated than those over 35.

Now there will be those that write off this study. The sample size is too small they might say. Don't be one of those. Call that sample too small, but the fact that 1 in 11 people that leave a sporting event, hurriedly jumps in their vehicle in order to "beat the traffic" (which is usually a pain) is not intelligent. (There's my little speech.)

But just take it from me. Take it from Stephen Ross. He's the assistant professor at the New York University School of Medicine and clinical director of the NYU-Langone Center of Excellence in Addiction.

"It's well-known the amount of drinking that goes on at ball games," Ross said. "It's part of the culture of the games. Culture determines substance use almost more than any other factor. It's clearly a public safety hazard."

But here's something that may even make you shake your head a little more. CNBC's Darren Rovell published just today that "Anheuser-Busch, for example, spent $235 million in Super Bowl advertising alone over the last 10 years, according to Kanter Media." You know, the Clydesdales, the dalmatian, the frogs?

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That's just for Super Bowl ads, an average of $23.5 million a year over a decade? Crazy. Imagine what A-B doles out outside of that. Gets a little sketchy for all sports league, major league or minor league. A lot of bucks to turn away if it ever reached that point. I say that because tobacco ads (I know, different deal to some) are no longer at the parks.

It would be easy to say this is a never ending battle. Call me an optimist, but it doesn't have to be. Stadiums already have policies in place to help curtail consumption. No more than two drinks per sale. Sales are cut off after a certain point.

Here's a thought that makes me shudder. What would the numbers be for college sporting events?

With this study now out there, a change in the culture concerning tailgating and overall alcohol consumption at sporting events could be in the future.