Drinking on the job

When I was an SID, we didn't have cold beer for the media at the arena, though I guess they could have bought it themselves at the concession stand. (However, after one game, as I went with our coach to do his radio interview, our play-by-play guy had a nearly-empty beer cup beside him.)

Also however, on the drive back to my office (we played in an off-campus arena), a few times I would stop and buy a cold beer and drink it as I was compiling stats and boxes for our next opponent for the coaches. I was the only one in the building, and even my AD had been around, it wouldn't have been a big deal.

 

damn, i'm surprised at the direction this thread has taken. i think we all agree that drinking before a game is bad form because it's unprofessional, especially when covering kids, but it's also bad form to show up in a college or pro press box smelling of alcohol.

but who gets drunk on one beer? i see not a single thing wrong with cracking open a beer while doing the work at home. nothing. millions of people who work in offices take some work home with them at night. and you can be damn sure that many of them do the work during or after having a beer or glass of wine or drink. i see nothing wrong with this at all.

obviously, if you're an alcoholic that's another story. if you can't write without a buzz, you have problems, but that's not what the guy posted.

 

was just about to post the exact same thing.
I'm not sure what's more saddening: The holier-than-thou attitudes about having ONE beer while writing a story AT HOME, or the fact the poor guy felt he needed to ask.
If you can't have one beer without it impairing your judgment, I'm not sure I want you operating ANY heavy machinery at ANY time anywhere near me.
Lighten up people.
You know, many of the sports journalists and writers you purport to worship often had more than one beer while covering an event of writing.
And God did not strike them down.

 

Are you on that ice, bra?

 

Yes, I'm stuck in a dark and lonely place.

Not unlike the area between your wife's tits.

 

Lighten up yourself, Francis.

I don't recall anyone saying a single beer at home while typing on the laptop is doing anybody any harm.

Going out in the field with alcohol on your breath, or thinking you need to do it to "make it through" a sporting event that isn't up to your standards? Uh ... that's something else.

 

Eh, I'll respond anyway, just to keep this thread going.

The reason I had the beer was because I like beer. Some people like soda, others like Red Bull, others like coffee or mocha or cappuccino. I like the way a good beer tastes, and usually have one after a long day at the office to wind down. If it's a REALLY long day, I might have a finger of bourbon.

Does this make me an alcoholic or a shitty sportswriter? I don't know. I certainly don't think so. One beer (or one drink) sure as hell isn't enough to get me drunk, and it's not even enough to give me a good buzz. I guess that's why I didn't see a problem with having a beverage while cranking out a 12-inch gamer for the company web site at 11 p.m.

 

Phew. Finally some posts that don't make me feel like a total schmuck. Thanks, guys.

 

Bob ... there's no judgment on your worthiness as a sportswriter. None of us on here have the right to do that. You just made that connection.

Simply a question asked ... and a question answered.

 

^^^ Fair enough. Sorry for reading too much into the responses. I do find it interesting to see everyone's stance, though.

 

From now on, I'm taking a shot every time someone is sanctimonius on this thread.

 

I worked with a guy who'd go out to his truck every few hours for a nip. He was one of those guys who could be totally shitfaced and manage to keep it under wraps, unless you got too close. Stunk like a distillery, those fumes could flatten a man. He read copy.