Winnipeg police are warning Bomber fans in advance of this weekend’s Banjo Bowl that tailgating activities are illegal and that they’ll be clamping down on anyone consuming alcohol outside of the stadium.
I guess I can’t fault the police for enforcing the law, although the notion this will significantly cut down on the number of unruly drunks in the stadium seems a bit naive. People can still drink at home, stumble over from Hooters or Earls, or get plastered at the stadium itself. There were numerous drunks at the recent AC/DC concert, and I don’t think there was any tailgating in advance of that.
A better idea might be for the police, the team and the MLCC to embrace the tailgate. Create a festive, safe atmosphere where people can start their game-watching experience a few hours before kickoff, and where police can roam around and keep an eye out for excessive celebration. Heck, MLCC could even use it as an opportunity to promote their “Be Undrunk” campaign. The team could make a few bucks by selling tailgating permits or charging to enter a designated tailgating zone. They could also set up outdoor booths selling Bomber clothing and branded bbq gear and bagtoss games.
Complement that with a beefed up security presence in the stadium itself, and a service where fans can discreetly send a text message to security to report any rowdy behaviour. (Does that already exist here? It does in several NFL stadiums.)
Look, I hate drunken tools who ruin football games/concerts/etc. as much as anyone. But there has to be a more creative way to address the problem while actually enhancing the fan experience. And given the way the team has been run this year, anyone who’s willing to pay for tickets certainly deserves a few more drinks.
100% agree. I even know a group of 10 guys who’d had season tickets for 7 years running who were told last season that they could not tailgate. Not one of them has gone to a Bomber game since. And these guys are the kinds of fans that the Bombers need more of. There are a lot of things they could do to remedy whatever problems they’re having, without having to try to ban fun all together.
This is Winnipeg. Things will never change.
And I find it funny PolicyFrog states “given the way the team has been run this year, anyone who’s willing to pay for tickets certainly deserves a few more drinks”
THIS year? How ’bout the last 20 years? The Blue Bombers are one of the worst-run pro sports franchises in the world. Terrible venue (Why Canad Inns Stadium wasn’t demolished 20 years ago is beyond me… it’s such a dump!), terrible ownership, and terrible team.
I realize there’s very little to be passionate about in Winnipeg, but being passionate about the Blue Bombers is a total waste of time in my opinion.
That’s so tragic Jack… Yours must be such a sad world. I wonder if you’ve considered professional help. It might help…
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The Winnipeg police should NOT be worrying about tail gate parties. My God, who will write the speeding tickets.
Priorities. Priorities!
Send in the marines.
Ask any American football attendee about what the best part of going to games happens to be, and I bet a good many of them will mention tailgating. That’s what turns a 3-hour football game into a day (or evening) long event, and keeps the fans coming back for more. There is really nothing like the sight of a full-scale NFL tailgate party.
With that being the case, you’d think that the Bombers would be pushing full bore to get the law changed to allow this perfectly normal activity to take place with a beer in hand. Instead, for some reason, we continue to act as if it were 1909 and everyone is afraid of the heavy hand of the Temperance Society.
People in other countries are able to drink alcohol much more openly, and they don’t have the end of the world scenarios that the teetotalers complaining about tailgating foresee.
We have some of the dumbest liquor laws in the modern world.
Maybe if they aren’t allowed booze at the games, they’ll soon realize what a waste of money and time the Bombers are and we can put that money to more valuable areas of our community.
Excellent article. Tailgating should definitely be allowed. Our liquor laws in this province/country are ridiculous. They punish the majority of people who would just have a few beers and behave; for the sake of the few idiots who’d get out of control. What should happen is if people act like drunken fools, then should be fined heavily, barred from the stadium and taken to the drunk tank. That way the rest of us could enjoy the pregame festivities with a drink if we choose. I’ve been to a few NFL games and the tailgate parties were incredible and really added to the whole experience. Changing this won’t increase the number of fans showing up drunk and stupid, because they’re getting loaded at home or at the near by restaurants right now. Like seriously, do people think all hell is going to break lose if this happens? Come on. I’ve been to Vegas a number of times and there are thousands of people and no shortage of people walking around with open liquor, but amazingly enough everyone is having a good time. Again, for the few that get out of line, the police deal with them right away.
yes. definitely. make more room for the public consumption of hard drugs. while others get arrested by swat teams for selling weed to friends. alcohol kills, marijuana doesn’t. shit. did i miss something?