Penn State recently announced that tailgaters who are tailgating on the grass are no longer allowed to drink beer in bottles. In fact, tailgaters are no longer allowed to bring any bottles whatsoever onto any fields where they are tailgating. They are only allowed to bring cans. According to the story in Philly.com, "Officials say it's a safety issue for children, students and animals that use the field the rest of the year."
However, tailgaters who are tailgating on concrete are still allowed to drink from bottles. That makes a lot of sense ... about as much sense as Brett Favre's retirement/unretirement flip flops. I mean, wouldn't it be more dangerous to drop a bottle on concrete than it would be to drop a bottle on grass? Plus, do you think a drunk tailgater would be less likely to discard a can on the field over a bottle?
These Penn Sate policymakers are well on their way to lucrative government positions.
3 comments:
Here's a few conspiracy theories: (since we've managed to do OK with glass bottles for the past 40 years that Penn State has been a football powerhouse)
1. Penn State did not want to ruffle the feathers of people using the more expenisve concrete parking (directly around the stadium and usually reserved for the well-to-do/well-connected), so that's why they exempted concrete parking in the ban.
2. Penn State is in bed with Bud/Miller (since most of their beer is sold in cans) in a battle against the craft brewing industry (who's beers mostly come in glass bottles).
3. Penn State is using this to make more money, (by fining the folks who have glass bottles or making a glass-bottle parking area that charges more for people to park there).
4. Injuries to people/cows stepping on glass in the grass has been silently happening for a long time now, but somebody important finally got hurt.
5. Penn State is further pushing their 'dry' stance (see the tailgating keg ban from a few years back).
#5 is the closest to the truth -- Graham Spanier has always been an anti-alcohol crusader.
Since when did PSU alcohol policy make sense? I remember when the downtown apt keg ban was enacted. Hallways and staircases formerly littered with dangerous plastic cups became covered with broken glass.
Penn State is a public school, and have you seen administrator salaries? Those policymakers already have lucrative government jobs.
HAHA I laughed so hard at the Brett Farve reference. Awesome.
While I agree with the can thing, I don't get the continuation of bottles on concrete at all. Sometimes things just do not make any logical sense as we know it.
--snow
Post a Comment