Drinking alcohol is common while watching sports, but you have to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand.
SAN ANTONIO — It’s another big night for the San Antonio Spurs as they take on the Thunder, and with fans celebrating the game with alcohol, things can sometimes get a little out of hand.
Drinking while watching any kind of sport can easily escalate to dangerous levels, because of the prolonged amount of time you are viewing the game – add in gambling and a possible celebration after, and your fun can quickly become a fiasco.
“Really excited. I know we’re going to go all the way. Yes. I’m glad they’re there,” said Priscilla and Belinda who are big Spurs fans. They know how quickly celebrations can spiral out of control after a Spurs win, especially near Belinda’s home off Southwest Military Drive, where the honking can last for hours.
“The only thing I want to say is all you spurs fans down Military Drive, let’s be safe and watch our drinking and our safety measures,” Belinda added.
Julian Braithwaite, the CEO of the International Alliance for Responsible Drinking added, “It’s about staying in control. It’s about alcohol and enjoying alcohol, being part of their lifestyle and part of the occasion, rather than defining it.”
The International Alliance for Responsible Drinking says 52% of Americans who drink pace themselves by drinking slowly. About the same amount – 49% say they eat before or during drinking to avoid drinking too much. For the first time, moderation has surpassed taste as the top priority when drinking, with about 35% of people saying it matters most to them.
“Peer pressure is much less of a factor than it used to be. And people are now thinking and wanting to make up their own mind about how they choose to drink. And that is perhaps a bit of a shift,” Braithwaite said.
Experts say to moderate your drinking with something called zebra striping, where you drink an alcoholic beverage, then switch to a non-alcoholic drinking like a mocktail or sparkling water, before going back to alcohol.
“So, you stay hydrated, you drink water, or now you can drink these non or low alcohol products,” Braithwaite said.