BEER IN THE STADIUM

[EastStang]

I'd vote against it. Yes, I don't drink alcohol. What bothers me is the alcoholics and drunks at the game. At the Texas State game a few years ago someone threw a full Gatorade bottle and some other stuff. It caused a stir but the woman cop did not eject anyone. I would have kicked them all out.
I remember a drunk girl behind the band at a game who could not stand up straight. She could only sway and was yelling crap to the visiting team telling the QBs how inaccurate they were passing the ball on the sideline. The drunk dumb dog doesn't know when those passing the ball to each other are WRs and not QBs. She was one of many I've seen through the years that should not have even been there. She needed to be ticketed etc. She was getting too close to where I was and I would have knocked her out if she got close to any of my friends and family. The security doesn't get rid of these people to the point that I can tell. And these girls shouldn't wonder why they often become victims of other crimes when they can't function properly.
I've also seen plenty of people sitting with heads bowed because they are too sick from drink. They should have never even entered the stadium in that condition.
And I've seen too much vomit, some of which has gotten on other fans. It can take an entire hour for the vomit to be cleaned up because no one wants to do it. People pay for their seats and someone else vomits on it. Ridiculous.
There is also a problem when I buy many seats and some large person tries to take it. I had to tell a couple last year to move out of my seats. They were 2 but they needed to buy 4 seats for the space they needed. They only were there for the 2nd and 3rd Qs anyway. Some more of those come late and leave early alums.
I got years of stories.
But if y'all want beer go for it. See what happens from it.

Could we have the Readers Digest version? This is a bunch of crap. (or at least the first 2 sentences were)

She lost me at vomit.

[PonyKai]

Waste of an opportunity...be Dallas' team...bring in the exploding Dallas/Texas craft brew scene...7 local beers on tap, throw in Shiner & MillerCoors...get involved in the community w/ small business...a damn SMU alum runs Lakewood. Just another example of having our heads up our asses. Campuses all over the country do it, some ever brew their own, and their cities haven't gone up in flames...if HP/UP complains, tell them to sod off and then ask for a thank you note for 90+ years of increasing property values...

[well travelled pony]

Waste of an opportunity...be Dallas' team...bring in the exploding Dallas/Texas craft brew scene...7 local beers on tap, throw in Shiner & MillerCoors...get involved in the community w/ small business...a damn SMU alum runs Lakewood. Just another example of having our heads up our asses. Campuses all over the country do it, some ever brew their own, and their cities haven't gone up in flames...if HP/UP complains, tell them to sod off and then ask for a thank you note for 90+ years of increasing property values...

+1

Go Ponies!

[Mustangsabu]

Waste of an opportunity...be Dallas' team...bring in the exploding Dallas/Texas craft brew scene...7 local beers on tap, throw in Shiner & MillerCoors...get involved in the community w/ small business...a damn SMU alum runs Lakewood. Just another example of having our heads up our asses. Campuses all over the country do it, some ever brew their own, and their cities haven't gone up in flames...if HP/UP complains, tell them to sod off and then ask for a thank you note for 90+ years of increasing property values...

I have no idea if campuses all over the country sell beer on campus or not, but only 22 of the 120 D1 schools sell beer in their stadia to the general public and ten of those are teams that play in municipal stadia (like Tulane). I'm not saying that SMU could not, or should not, choose to be on the cutting edge of bringing alcohol into football games, but it is not widespread and SMU cannot be seen to be behind the times in this respect any more than the other 90-odd D1 schools.

I think that one thing that is important to realize is that bringing beer to GA at Ford is not going to impact the attendance much at all. Our attendance problems are not due to the lack of beer in the stadium, or to people staying on the Boulevard during games. If you have ever gone out to the Boulevard during a game the number of people hanging out there would number in the low hundreds at most. Indeed the Boulevard itself is not capable of entertaining the kinds of numbers we all wish to see attend football games. If one considers how many tailgating spots there are (maybe 300?) and the fact that most do not entertain more than 30 people (and that is being very generous), our games are already attended by as many people who do not hang out on the boulevard as those that do.

The problem is simple. Dallas does not care about SMU. The casual fan does not consider going to an SMU game, and many of the alumni did not make football part of their college experience and are not likely to now. The City of Dallas is far more cosmopolitan than, for example, Fort Worth and that is one reason why TCU has been able to engage the community. Fort Worth hates Dallas and they enjoy having a monopoly on college football success. Dallas follows the state schools for the most part, and has huge migrant populations with their own affinities. Trinity Hall, a mere stone's throw from campus sees more Stanford and Notre Dame fans than SMU, by a long shot. It is going to take two things to boost attendance as a general rule. Winning, and advertising. It would help if we had another Heisman candidate, or some such attraction, but long term, the students need to make football part of their experience and then keep that going later in life, and Dallas must be made a Pro-SMU town. Right now, it is SMU-ambivalent at the most.

[Stallion]

Drive up to the Stadium about 15 minutes before gametime there are hundreds of people streaming in the opposite direction of Ford Stadium. I have little doubt the numbers of people going to the Boulevard but not attending games is several thousand every week

[couch 'em]

Waste of an opportunity...be Dallas' team...bring in the exploding Dallas/Texas craft brew scene...7 local beers on tap, throw in Shiner & MillerCoors...get involved in the community w/ small business...a damn SMU alum runs Lakewood. Just another example of having our heads up our asses. Campuses all over the country do it, some ever brew their own, and their cities haven't gone up in flames...if HP/UP complains, tell them to sod off and then ask for a thank you note for 90+ years of increasing property values...

Excellent post. Go to any of the packed brewery tours around town. What do you see? Males in 20s and 30s. THE sports demographic.

Can you imagine sucking down a Franconia Dunkle during a chilly fall game? Ahhhhhh

[LHS81]

So, how would you feel about a Section 420 at The Ford ?

I'm down with the 4:20 section

[Mustangsabu]

Drive up to the Stadium about 15 minutes before gametime there are hundreds of people streaming in the opposite direction of Ford Stadium. I have little doubt the numbers of people going to the Boulevard but not attending games is several thousand every week

They are not staying on the boulevard though. People may come to the boulevard and then leave but they're not the solution to the attendance issue. The Boulevard is an activity distinct from the game itself. And beer in the stadium is not getting these emigrating 'thousands' to watch SMU football.

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk 2

[ponyscott]

if we put a 'Owls Nest'( better named Mustang Manger or Corral) at the south end and make it a party continued..it will be a great replacement for the Blvd.

[PonyKai]

I'm not saying people will magically appear because there is beer. I'm saying this is a missed opportunity to:

1.) Be ahead of the curve w/ the micro/local/craft beer movement.
2.) Support at least 1 alum, entrepreneur
3.) Improve the Gameday experience for those who choose to attend.
4.) Connect with a not-insignificant Dallas-based business community
5.) Be one of the 23 (at least) schools that choose to serve alcohol in accordance w/ state and local regulations (Top 25 in all we do!)
6.) At least marginally increase some revenue generated from homes game
7.) New partners for advertising
8.) Strengthen the notion that we're Dallas' team by connecting w/ local Dallas businesses
9.) Think outside of the box to try and gin up some sort of edge, or excitement, or whatever w/ the uphill climb we're facing
10.) Show the fans, the city, the alumni that HEY AT LEAST WE'RE TRYING A LITTLE BIT.

It's short-sighted to overlook this. You don't think that if Lakewood's had taps in Ford Stadium they wouldn't brew a seasonal or limited edition Peruna beer? I'm thinking a nice Black Rye IPA would make an excellent Peruna.

This isn't about funneling booze to people in the stadium. it's about embracing and taking advantage of something unique, something outside of the box, something somewhat edgy, and showing the community and the fans that WE'RE AT LEAST TRYING SOMETHING. You think we roll out new nachos and people give a damn? No. The world isn't going to end, and churches won't suddenly com-bust if they sell beer to people who show IDs. I'm sure there are hurdles to jump over. Fine. Jump over them. It's a worthy endeavor.

[lwjr]

Is UP still dry? If it still is, what would SMU have to do to sell alcohol? Memberships?

[couch 'em]

PerunAle

[lwjr]

Gelding Gold

[ponyscott]

Is UP still dry? If it still is, what would SMU have to do to sell alcohol? Memberships?

who cares? it would be a private club anyway.

[lwjr]

Is UP still dry? If it still is, what would SMU have to do to sell alcohol? Memberships?

who cares? it would be a private club anyway.

That's why I'm asking