All pro sports should say no to sale of beer

“Policies, such as raising the drinking age to 21 or tighter regulation on alcohol sales, helps to engender a norm that alcohol is not the same as soda pop, that it can be a risky substance and that it is not without hazards.”

Those are the words of Alexander Wagenaar of the University of Minnesota. He is the author of a new study that appeared Tuesday in the American Journal of Public Health. The study of 5,000 high school seniors from 30 states compared the results with a similar study in the late 1970s. Since then, new laws upping the drinking age and lowering the blood alcohol level that is considered under the influence have gone into effect.

The study showed that the changes had reduced by one-fifth the number of teenagers drinking and driving. More important, there’s evidence the entire perception of drinking is being restructured among teenagers.

The latter shift in thinking is the difference between giving a hungry man a fish to eat and teaching him how to catch one. One provides momentary relief, the other a lifetime of food.

There is still such a thing as peer and societal pressure. When it comes to drinking and smoking, that pressure is a two-edged sword. Few teens have been able to avoid the pressure to “just try it” when it comes to alcohol and tobacco. Over the last decade that societal pressure has somewhat been reversed.

Outlawing smoking in most public buildings is a societal statement that smoking is dangerous and nasty. You can kill yourself, but not for the rest of us. It went from being cool to smoke to being just ugly.

Which brings us to the world of sports. Forever, alcohol (particularly beer) and sports have been synonymous. The breweries and teams make big bucks off the $4 beer sold at sporting events that costs two cents to produce.

With societal pressure turning on the drinking issue, brewers and teams have added small print to their promotions about “drinking responsibly.” They are trying to walk the thin line of appearing concerned about not promoting drunkenness while at the same time wanting to sell all the suds they can while generating that “let’s go to the game and get a buzz on” atmosphere.

The XFL crossed the line and paid the price. While I was renting a car in Los Angeles this week, a bubbly, smiling, 40-something female football fanatic said, “You’re the guy from ESPN.” She then started to me how she and her boyfriend had season tickets to the XFL and how much they loved football.

“We went to one game,” she said. “Guys were drunk and standing up during the game with signs saying ‘Take your top off.’ Some woman did and these guys are yelling and screaming. You couldn’t see the game if you wanted to.”

She said the crowd was scary.

“We left in the third quarter and didn’t go back,” she said. “I wanted to go take my kids to a game. No way.”

Sports at every level had best heed her words. It would be nice to think that sports would be a societal leader in saying clearly that drinking is a responsibility. It would be nice to see sports help engender that norm.

Greed precludes much hope of that occurring, so it’s up to us to bring the pressure on the teams and the alcohol industry. Being a fan is not about drinking. Drunkenness in the stands is unacceptable. Throw the idiots out or be left with only the idiots.

As the rental-car lady said, “Those fools will soon grow tired of drinking at the stadium and looking [at women taking their shirts off.] Then they’ll move on to the next strip joint and nobody will be left.”

The XFL found out that she was right.

Old Town native Gary Thorne is an ESPN and NBC sportscaster.