Drinking on the job

[RedCanuck]

I don't think it's such a huge deal, unless you're noticeably drunk and you know it is going to affect your coverage. I can be sitting around watching a game - particularly something like curling, where drinking is part of the culture of the sport - and having a pint, that doesn't bother my judgment any.

On the preps thing, I've had drinks with coaches on road trips too while athletes were present (in restaurants with dinner, not snuck into a field or on a bus) and quite possibly before deadline ... and I don't those athletes thought any less of us. You can have a drink or two and still be a responsible adult.

 

[moonlight]

And I just don't get where covering a bad girls' basketball game is such an unbearable thing. It's not spending eight hours with a shovel.

I recently covered a game where the teams combined for 56 turnovers. I remember wishing with everything I had that I was shirtfaced.

As for the topic: If you were to stop and have a pint before a game, you'd be guaranteed to lose your job if you were involved in an accident on the way to the school and you got a DWI. If you're in a company car, kiss your ass goodbye. Stick to drinking at home over the laptop.

 

[Fenian_Bastard]

Within my professional lifetime, every press box at every event had pre, during, and postgame beer.
That disappeared when the DUI laws expanded to include where you were before you got stopped.

 

[Lugnuts]

Question for you, Bob: Why not wait until after you're done writing to have the beer? Did you feel you had to have it right then? (Just ask and answer yourself, no need to post.)

If the answer is yes, maybe it's a bad idea.

If the answer is, "Because I was thirsty, and there was nothing else to drink in the house except tap water," then I don't see a problem..........

 

[shotglass]

I recently covered a game where the teams combined for 56 turnovers. I remember wishing with everything I had that I was shirtfaced.

Sorry, just not going to get it. A turnover in a girls' basketball game should not be an assault upon your sensibilities.

Actually, I have a lot fewer qualms about the drinking end of it. The only thing I think about that is this: If you've ever seen a tipsy sportswriter in the press room after the game, I'm willing to bet he didn't go in there with the intention of getting that way. Not everybody knows their limits the way they believe they do.

 

[Montezuma's Revenge]

Question for you, Bob: Why not wait until after you're done writing to have the beer? Did you feel you had to have it right then? (Just ask and answer yourself, no need to post.)

If the answer is yes, maybe it's a bad idea.

If the answer is, "Because I was thirsty, and there was nothing else to drink in the house except tap water," then I don't see a problem..........

How about if the answer is: "Because I was thirsty, and beer is the only thing that can ever quench my thirst or make the world seem like a tolerable place to be?"

 

[shotglass]

Then you might ... just might ... have a problem.

 

[Lugnuts]

;D Agreed-- then you've got problems.

Bob, forgot to say: If you really want to fork yourself, screw up your life, your family's life and the lives of complete strangers, drink and drive. Do the words "vehicular homicide" mean anything to you?

 

[Brain of J]

Nobody seems to have answered this one yet...
What about college or professional press boxes that open up the tap or set out a few six-packs while everyone is writing their stories? Whether or not it is smart to do so, is it alright to drink then?

Why risk it? If word gets out that you were drinking in the press box routinely, your credibility takes a huge hit. sure the team and coaches might not care, but readers would undoubtedly take issue with it. We might be at sporting, social events but it doesn't mean it's not a working environment for writers.

 

[zeke12]

All of which is why I just retire to the press box men's room and do a few lines of blow.

 

[Captain_Kirk]

As an aside, my predecessor at my current gig used to finish designing pages on deadline day, then spend the rest of the afternoon throwing back cold ones at the local watering hole while he waited for games to start. He was roundly criticized by the rest of the staff but never fired. His behavior has always made me a little wary around this subject, but the fact that he wasn't shirt-canned is part of the reason I started this thread.

It's pretty obvious from the responses so far where most people draw the line on this issue. It has always struck me as funny that Fortune 500 execs can go out for a three-martini lunch and think nothing of it. When I go out to lunch with colleagues, I always order water. But enjoying a good beer with lunch shouldn't make me a bad person or a bad sports writer.

About the only place you'll see the 3 martini lunch these days is in a Hollywood movie or perhaps a Bewitched re-run. There may be exceptions, but for the most part, those days are long, long gone. Doing that today is pretty much a career suicide move, perhaps akin to boning the CEO's wife on the conference room table while the annual board meeting is going on.

 

[Gomer]

I've been offered more free booze while on the clock than I care to tabulate, but I'm always very conscious of the impression it gives, if only to myself. "Oh, it's no big deal," the people offering always say, but my opinion is that it's unprofessional.

I did once accept a half rum-half coke from the fridge of a hockey coach once, however, after a post-game interview. Not so much of a good call considering I had a half-hour drive on snowy roads ahead of me that night.