About 8 percent of fans leaving pro baseball and football games were legally drunk. That's one of several interesting -- and occasionally intuitive -- findings from a new University of Minnesota study:
The study, published today in "Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research," includes these conclusions, taken from a U press release:
- Nearly half of sports fans consumed alcohol during the event.
- Fans under 35 years of age have nine times greater odds of having blood alcohol content (BAC) levels above the limit of .08.
- Those who drink at tailgating parties have 14 times greater odds of being legally drunk, compared to fans who had not tailgated.
- Nearly one in four attendees who tailgated reported consuming five or more alcoholic beverages while tailgating.
- Those who were in the highest BAC category reported consuming, on average, 6.6 drinks while tailgating compared with 3.7 drinks and 2.8 drinks for those in the mid-range BAC category and the zero BAC category, respectively.
- Night game attendees had higher odds of having a mid-range BAC (not above the legal limit), but they were not significantly more likely to have a BAC above the legal limit.
So, what do you say?