Hey, Swami:
I was planning on going to Wrigleyville for the playoff games even though I don't have tickets, but now I see they want the bars to cut off alcohol sales in the 7th inning! Please say it won't be so. I'd hate to have to get drunk at home.
Bingeing Bandwagon Jumper
Fear not, BBJ:
If nothing else, Cubs fans are known for their loyalty to their team and their love of alcohol.
So it goes without saying that Cub fans have a loyalty to alcohol as well. And they'll find plenty of ways to skirt around the proposed rules for Wrigleyville bars.
The Swami sees this going one of two ways, and neither of them equal fans being any less drunk or unruly ...
A) Last call will lead to fans stockpiling their drinks for consumption during the last three innings of a game.
B) Fans will simply leave the bar and hang out near Clark and Addison, where alcohol brought from homes will flow like water.
What the city is trying to do is admirable, but controlling the alcohol consumption of tens of thousands of fans will be difficult. And cutting off alcohol sales for an hour during the game won't solve too many problems. Let's assume a playoff game ends at 11 p.m. Once that final out is made, bars are free to serve alcohol again. With many bars in the vicinity open until 2 a.m., fans will still have three more solid hours of drinking.
And drink they will - especially after big Cubs win. The type of fans that are most likely to cause problems for the Chicago Police Department are not the type of fans that are likely to pack it up and leave as soon as the game ends. They'll stick around. They'll drink. They'll likely act like jerks.
Of course, all of this is moot if the Cubs don't have any "clinching games" this October ...
Jinx.
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