College Kids Like To Drink. The Horror!

You may not know this, but both Ryan and I matriculated at Indiana University. I know, I know — we’re those cliche Big Ten kids living in Chicago after graduation. Whatever. Sue us.

I remember my days at IU fondly. Walks through the arboretum. Thought-provoking political science seminars. Basketball games that nurtured my love of the sport. Attending football games and … haha. Just kidding! We didn’t do that. At Indiana, nobody really goes to the games, especially when you’re old enough to tailgate without worrying about the police. That’s just how it works. A bad football team and an exalted drinking culture will do that to a sports fan. Again, whatever. Sue us.

Or write a newspaper article about it! The news hook here: Kids at Indiana like drinking more than bad football!

A few minutes before the noon kickoff of Indiana University’s football game Saturday, amid the vast tailgate festival south of Memorial Stadium, another game was already under way: Flip Cup. It’s a beer drinking relay race between two teams, and the participants had no intention of leaving to watch the event that ostensibly brought everyone together on homecoming weekend.

They made T-shirts for homecoming that celebrate IU, the house where they live (dubbed Gyrator) and alcohol. “I’M DRUNK!” they say on the back. But with possibly one exception, nobody in the group seemed out of control.

Miller, the prosecutor, said the biggest change isn’t the number of students drinking but the amount of alcohol being consumed. Football games, he said, are often a warm-up for heavier drinking at night.

“A (blood-alcohol content) of 0.3 used to be relatively rare,” Miller said, “and now we’re seeing it every weekend.”

First of all, if you blow a 0.3, I’m sorry: You deserve to be congratulated. Also jailed. That’s only fair.

Second, I promise this is not newsworthy. There is no new development here, no strange change in the way Indiana football games are being treated. It’s the same everywhere in the Big Ten — lots of people drink, and some of them don’t go to the game. That latter percentage is slightly higher at IU, but when it’s 15,000 people drinking vs. 25,000, does it really make a difference?

Oh, and if people want students to start attending football games, the team should probably provide some incentive to go into a beer-less stadium. Otherwise, I’m staying in the fields and letting this buzz ride, bro. PARTY. WOO DAYTIME ALCOHOLISM.

Posted at 1:45 pm
on October 27th, 2008
Tags: College, Indiana Hoosiers, NCAA Football