will the MN House ever come to its senses regarding TCF Stadium and alcohol control?

[Go4Broke]

Um, I'm more concerned about the $176 million. But one of these two problems should be much easier to solve. And it's not the $176 million dollar question.

The Legislature's budgets cuts for the U would not have been as easy for them to do if GopherHoler's and the rest of the U's "Community" had voiced as much concern for the academic reputation of the U as they do for the success of the major sports at the U.

 

[Fuzzy Rumpton]

If I drive up to Itasca State Park, I can camp in a tent, or I can stay in Douglas Lodge. Taxes pay for the part of the parks, but we don't blink at getting two tiers based on how much we pay for our lodging when we visit our state parks.

Some seats are bleachers, some are chairbacks. Where is the grumbling about that? If you hold the "beer for all or beer for none" position than you should oppose cabins at our state parks for those willing to pay for it. Cabins for all, or everyone has to use a tent! Chairbacks for all, or everone sits on bleachers!

Great comparison

 

[Go4Broke]

If I drive up to Itasca State Park, I can camp in a tent, or I can stay in Douglas Lodge. Taxes pay for the part of the parks, but we don't blink at getting two tiers based on how much we pay for our lodging when we visit our state parks.

Some seats are bleachers, some are chairbacks. Where is the grumbling about that? If you hold the "beer for all or beer for none" position than you should oppose cabins at our state parks for those willing to pay for it. Cabins for all, or everyone has to use a tent! Chairbacks for all, or everone sits on bleachers!

You must have a brain made out of concrete. This issue has been explained to you numerous times in the last couple of years and you still don't get it. Everyone can afford to camp in Itasca State Park as long as they can figure out a way to get there. They don't need a tent, a cabin, or a room in Douglas Lodge. They can sleep under the stars, drink the same water, take a sh*t just like everyone else in the park. And they can go fishing in the lake, go on ranger hikes, and attend the ranger camp fires just like everyone else. The Gophers Football Stadium is a publicly funded stadium which every taxpayer in Minnesota contributed to. Your example works if the U chooses to sell Summit EPA in the suites and Miller Lite in the cheap seats. What the U doesn't get to do in a publicly funded stadium is sell beer to some people but not others. The only way they get to do that is to reimburse the taxpayers for their contribution to stadium. End of fu*cking story.

 

[station19]

If I drive up to Itasca State Park, I can camp in a tent, or I can stay in Douglas Lodge. Taxes pay for the part of the parks, but we don't blink at getting two tiers based on how much we pay for our lodging when we visit our state parks.

Some seats are bleachers, some are chairbacks. Where is the grumbling about that? If you hold the "beer for all or beer for none" position than you should oppose cabins at our state parks for those willing to pay for it. Cabins for all, or everyone has to use a tent! Chairbacks for all, or everone sits on bleachers!

Some idiots think beer is an inalienable right guaranteed by the U S Constitution.

 

[supadupafly]

You must have a brain made out of concrete. This issue has been explained to you numerous times in the last couple of years and you still don't get it. Everyone can afford to camp in Itasca State Park as long as they can figure out a way to get there. They don't need a tent, a cabin, or a room in Douglas Lodge. They can sleep under the stars, drink the same water, take a sh*t just like everyone else in the park. And they can go fishing in the lake, go on ranger hikes, and attend the ranger camp fires just like everyone else. The Gophers Football Stadium is a publicly funded stadium which every taxpayer in Minnesota contributed to. Your example works if the U chooses to sell Summit EPA in the suites and Miller Lite in the cheap seats. What the U doesn't get to do in a publicly funded stadium is sell beer to some people but not others. The only way they get to do that is to reimburse the taxpayers for their contribution to stadium. End of fu*cking story.

well, since you said so then it must be. thanks for playing.

p.s. minnesota and other u.s. taxpayers pay taxes and provide public funding to help subsidize airlines and airports. yet rightfully so, i can't just demand to sit in a first class seat whenever i want or hang out and drink in a world perks/admiral's club lounge because of that. i have to understandably pay for that priviledge and/or level of service.

your access to beer in a college stadium is not a constitutional right. your premise and argument are completely incorrect and misguided.

now that is the end of the f*cking story brah.

 

[GoAUpher]

The Legislature's budgets cuts for the U would not have been as easy for them to do if GopherHoler's and the rest of the U's "Community" had voiced as much concern for the academic reputation of the U as they do for the success of the major sports at the U.

I disagree, but getting into it would surely bring us into political territory better left for the OT board. Needless to say I think you're overestimating the power of a select group of dedicated football posters.

 

[GoAUpher]

You must have a brain made out of concrete. This issue has been explained to you numerous times in the last couple of years and you still don't get it. Everyone can afford to camp in Itasca State Park as long as they can figure out a way to get there. They don't need a tent, a cabin, or a room in Douglas Lodge. They can sleep under the stars, drink the same water, take a sh*t just like everyone else in the park. And they can go fishing in the lake, go on ranger hikes, and attend the ranger camp fires just like everyone else. The Gophers Football Stadium is a publicly funded stadium which every taxpayer in Minnesota contributed to. Your example works if the U chooses to sell Summit EPA in the suites and Miller Lite in the cheap seats. What the U doesn't get to do in a publicly funded stadium is sell beer to some people but not others. The only way they get to do that is to reimburse the taxpayers for their contribution to stadium. End of fu*cking story.

Fine. Let's stick to the seats example. You can get better seats when you pay more. You can get better/wider drink selections when you pay more. Are you going to demand the U provide all STH's with cushy padded seating?

Booze is an amenity and a perk. Not a right.

 

[Breakin' The Plane]

I hate it when people get what they pay for. If you want beer, pony up for "premium" seating. It works just fine at many universities around the country. Right now, there's very little about the premium seating that would make me want to entertain potential clients at a U football game. There's money just sitting on the table for the U, but they won't touch it because they might upset a bunch of babies who are going to stick out their lips and pout while stomping their feet and screaming, "It's not fair." Life's not fair. Companies can take clients to Target Field and wine and dine their clients with an endless variety of food and drink. All they can offer at the Bank is a cool Coke Zero and a Dilly Bar.

 

[GopherVotary]

The suites get TV's. Where's my TV, dammit?

 

[RodentRampage]

No, I just have a brain. Your point rests on the idea that if we pay taxes, then the exact same things must be available for all, without allowing some people to get more by paying more. You pay more at Itasca, you get more. It's really that simple. If you want a roof over your head, you pay more for it. If you want a chairback at the game, you pay more for it. Cabins for all! Chairbacks for all! Beer for all! It's all the exact same thing.

Of course, the whole idea of "I paid taxes, therefore I should get to have beer" is nonsense.

 

[station19]

Hi, my name is Go4Broke. I'll be your village idiot today.

Let me, with my brain more dense than concrete, explain things to you.

1. Since I paid for the stadium I get whatever I want.
2. I have no interest in what is good for the University of Minnestoa Athletic Dept.
3. I know more than all the other universitys in the coutry.
4. Beer is the most important thing in the world.
5 No one should be expected to watch a football game without a beer in hand.
6. IT'S ALL ABOUT ME. IT'S ALL ABOUT ME. IT'S ALL ABOUT ME.

Now that I have explained this no one should say anything.

 

[Go4Broke]

I disagree, but getting into it would surely bring us into political territory better left for the OT board. Needless to say I think you're overestimating the power of a select group of dedicated football posters.

You misinterpreted what I said. If every member of the University of Minnesota "community" (not just GopherHole posters) had made their feelings known to their state legislators (including the Governor) the state budget cuts would not have been as drastic as they were for the U. It is just one more example of how sports have superseded academics in importance in America.

 

[GoAUpher]

You misinterpreted what I said. If every member of the University of Minnesota "community" (not just GopherHole posters) had made their feelings known to their state legislators (including the Governor) the state budget cuts would not have been as drastic as they were for the U. It is just one more example of how sports have superseded academics in importance in America.

Fair enough. I still disagree, but don't see the need to get into why I think so since it goes into my personal political beliefs/how I view the current political climate and I try really hard to keep that part of my life away from sports.

 

[FireDaveLee]

You misinterpreted what I said. If every member of the University of Minnesota "community" (not just GopherHole posters) had made their feelings known to their state legislators (including the Governor) the state budget cuts would not have been as drastic as they were for the U. It is just one more example of how sports have superseded academics in importance in America.

Or, perhaps, some did make their feelings known to their state legislators, and that some of those feelings included the thought that "some of the U's budget could stand to be cut?"

 

[Go4Broke]

Fair enough. I still disagree, but don't see the need to get into why I think so since it goes into my personal political beliefs/how I view the current political climate and I try really hard to keep that part of my life away from sports.

It doesn't have to be a political issue. Every resident of Minnesota should want the U to be one of the top research universities in America if not in the world. Where is the support for that goal? I don't see it. If just a fraction of the interest and energy expended by Minnesotans toward the football, basketball and hockey teams was directed toward increasing the academic standing of the U we would start to see positive results.

There is a pride that can be readily seen in other states toward the reputation and academic accomplishments of their public universities that just doesn't exist in Minnesota. It seems that we have always wanted the U to be accessible to the lowest common denominator. The U is the primary economic engine in the state. The dollars generated through research and spin-off industries has been one of the primary reasons for the success of Minnesota in so many ways. The iron mining and medical device industries which are so important to Minnesota's economy would not have happened but for the academic research done at the U.

 

[GoAUpher]

It doesn't have to be a political issue.

Here in 2011 it is. That's as far as I'm taking it.

 

[Go4Broke]

Here in 2011 it is. That's as far as I'm taking it.

Then you are part of the problem. Two guys who earned their PHD's at the U were just awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics. When is that going to happen again? It is far more likely it will happen at Wisconsin or Illinois before the U. There is absolutely no reason for that to be. It all boils down to the support and expectations that citizens have for their public universities.

 

[GoAUpher]

Then you are part of the problem. Two guys who earned their PHD's at the U were just awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics. When is that going to happen again? It is far more likely it will happen at Wisconsin or Illinois before the U. There is absolutely no reason for that to be. It all boils down to the support and expectations that citizens have for their public universities.

For the love of...it's as far as I'm taking it ON THE BOARD. Sheesh. I'm active politically but that isn't a topic for the FB board. You want to grass roots organize on a political topic then take it to the OT board where it belongs. Cripes!

 

[supadupafly]

For the love of...it's as far as I'm taking it ON THE BOARD. Sheesh. I'm active politically but that isn't a topic for the FB board. You want to grass roots organize on a political topic then take it to the OT board where it belongs. Cripes!

 

[howeda7]

You must have a brain made out of concrete. This issue has been explained to you numerous times in the last couple of years and you still don't get it. Everyone can afford to camp in Itasca State Park as long as they can figure out a way to get there. They don't need a tent, a cabin, or a room in Douglas Lodge. They can sleep under the stars, drink the same water, take a sh*t just like everyone else in the park. And they can go fishing in the lake, go on ranger hikes, and attend the ranger camp fires just like everyone else. The Gophers Football Stadium is a publicly funded stadium which every taxpayer in Minnesota contributed to. Your example works if the U chooses to sell Summit EPA in the suites and Miller Lite in the cheap seats. What the U doesn't get to do in a publicly funded stadium is sell beer to some people but not others. The only way they get to do that is to reimburse the taxpayers for their contribution to stadium. End of fu*cking story.

'Every taxpayer' didn't fund the Stadium. The MN State Legislature did. If they wanted the funds provided to come with the giant string of 'you must serve booze to everyone' they certainly had the right to do so. In 2006. When they passed the funding. Maybe the U would have refused the funding. Maybe they would have swallowed hard and agreed. We don't know because they didn't include a 'Beer Fairness for all Hardworking Minnesotans' amendment. Rep. Rukavina could easily have offered it and protected his precious beer. He screwed up. End of story.

 

[gopheraschells]

You didn't prove your point, only reiterated it. Walk around campus - house parties, tailgate lots, etc. Beer is the drink of choice. You are assuming all kids going to the game want to get no only drunk, but only leave themselves maybe 25 minutes to do so. Simply not true. Most people don't enjoy chugging hard liquor straight and I'd find it very hard to believe that they'd consume much more alcohol per minute by drinking mixed drinks than beer if given time. Also, prove to me that they wouldn't drink exactly the same amount (the goal being to be smashed at kickoff) as if there WERE alcohol in the stadium?

Does TCF Bank stadium have a problem right now of turning away overly drunk students? Are there a lot of arrests in the stadium due to people being over-drunk to compensate for 3 hours without booze? Can you compare against Kinnick, Camp Randall, Michigan Stadium, etc to show that we are worse? Or compare against past numbers at the Dome or places like Syracuse who sell alcohol? I think this mindset of "all the kids are in more health danger because they can't buy booze at TCF" is total BS because no matter where it is, KIDS WILL DRINK, but not having alcohol at the stadium isn't increasing their chance of binge drinking. I've seen the "one for the road" or the "walk with a mixed drink in plastic bottle to share" but I guarantee this would happen even with $7 beer at TCF.

What students drink off campus doesn't matter, students get drunk before the games and keep drinking during the games. Since they cannot sneak in a 12 pack, they sneak in hard liquor and buy a coke to make a mixer. In regards to your point about students being exactly as drunk if they would allow alcohol, I totally agree. I was at the Dome two years in college (graduated last year) and I saw maybe two people underage who bought beer, everyone snuck in their own because it was cheaper. Point being, Student consumption is as big of a deal as it is made out to be.

I think their could be a system developed to allow general admission to drink but bar students at the same time. Must show i.d and ticket to purchase maybe?

 

[HouseOfHagen]

What students drink off campus doesn't matter, students get drunk before the games and keep drinking during the games. Since they cannot sneak in a 12 pack, they sneak in hard liquor and buy a coke to make a mixer. In regards to your point about students being exactly as drunk if they would allow alcohol, I totally agree. I was at the Dome two years in college (graduated last year) and I saw maybe two people underage who bought beer, everyone snuck in their own because it was cheaper. Point being, Student consumption is as big of a deal as it is made out to be.

I think their could be a system developed to allow general admission to drink but bar students at the same time. Must show i.d and ticket to purchase maybe?

Don't be so sure they cannot sneak in a 12 pack. I've personally seen several occasions of a fan sneaking in a full sixer on strings, setting it in front of them on the concrete, and finishing that sixer by the end of the game. It's fans like these that I envy. A 12 pack would be difficult, but not impossible.

I once sneaked in a beer bong to the metrodome (infamous MN vs. Michigan meltdown) and it was used many times throughout the game by many people. It never did get taken away until filling it with a fish bowl at Preston's. True story.