News Tue Sep 23 2008
Where Not to Drink During the Playoffs
As previously mentioned in Merge, bars in Wrigleyville and US Cellularburg (US Cellstonia?) are being asked to voluntarily stop serving alcohol after the 7th inning of home playoff games wherein the Cubs or Sox could clinch a series. This is some hilarious quasi-fast pitch (pun intended) being called by Hizzoner and what should bars really do? Games get out at what? 11pm, CST? So, yeah, stop serving three hours early for the sake of what, families? children? Excuse me, but last time I checked, former frat boys, duuuuuuudes, and vapid women lived in Wrigleyville. Meanwhile, on the Southside, I'm pretty sure they have vastly more important things to worry about than curbing the amount of consumption and need to be vastly more aware of the clientele and actually exacting some sort of responsibility on the employees and customers of said speakeasy.
Back to the lecture at hand, what Daley is proposing is ludicrous and would amount to a much less safe and far less controlled environment wherein people would be, indeed, "gettin' their drank on!" The only comparable notion I can I think of is the current straits that many universities find themselves flummoxed by when confronted with the problem with under-agers drinking far too much in uncontrolled circumstances at off-campus house parties.
However, instead of realizing that people like to get drunk, down, fete, dirty, krunked, what-have-you, Daley, is of the belief that people are having too much in bars -- which, in many cases, I am sure they are. Yet, attempting to curb drinking through a 7th inning cut-off would merely exacerbate the drunken throngs by tempting them to raid their own pre-purchased stockades of liquor and beer that they (the drunken crowds) already are fantasizing about while drinking until the end of the games, bar time, whatever. Within the realms of a bar at least there exists the implied notion of control, versus the unchecked beer-swilling of a person in their own (or a friend's) home.
- Brian Lauvray
Ken Green Tue Sep 23 2008, 5:10PM +
AGREED! And it will keep them in Wrigleyville and away from my bars in Andersonville!
whet Tue Sep 23 2008, 5:38PM +
I'm excited about it, since I think this will represent Daley pushing his nanny-state mayor tendencies a step too far.
On its face, it's clearly insane, however.
CiPi Tue Sep 23 2008, 8:45PM +
Thank goodness someone wants to get those maniacs under control. They kick and yell at homeless people sleeping on the train for "taking up space" but then they go around peeing and puking on everything. Please somebody stop the wrath of the cubs fans.
EJ Wed Sep 24 2008, 9:30AM +
I'm a Wrigleyville denizen and a Cubs fan, although I haven't met my quota of homeless-person-kicking today. Sorry. Daley's idea is just another log on the Blue Law fire - didn't I read that we're already the most oppressed city in the nation? With cameras installed on every corner, the ominous black-on-black crowd control trucks - and let's not forget the million-dollar night-vision equiped anti-terrorism lighthouse the city purchased - I'm sure the crowds will be well under thumb.
Brass tacks... baseball's not a timed sport like basketball and football. Depending on the game action, Stopping beer sales after the seventh inning could mean 15 minutes or three hours. There's no way the city can accurately state what the benefit and penalites would be.