Party on Dick. Party on Charlie: The Rockies have a booze problem and they don’t care.
“The #PartyDeck became a running joke this offseason, because it seemed the Monforts cared more about packing the stadium with drunks than packing the bullpen with quality arms. The owners’ near maniacal need to sell tickets rather than improve the team was put on display and everyone nodded sadly. “
The Monforts want you to drink. They may not come out and say it, but actions speak loud at Coors Field and the shout heard from the dugout to the #PartyDeck is DRINK DRINK DRINK. Dick and Charlie do a great job with their stadium – it’s the only thing they do well – but the focus on alcohol that is the prevailing theme at Coors Field has become disturbing and irresponsible.
I may be going out on a limb here, but chances are you’ve had an alcoholic beverage at a sporting event. Alcohol and sports go together like a hand in a well worn mitt. Sporting events are festive, electric environments that beg to have the wheels of those good times lubed by a few drinks. We know alcohol is a part of the fan experience, and it seems unnecessary to play it up further. You can’t go one commercial break during an NFL game without being beaten over the head with either a Coors Light or Bud Light ad. It’s so deeply imprinted on our sports going experience, we don’t even notice it anymore. Baseball and drinking are particularly a time honored tradition, but the Monforts have gone above and beyond the usual promotion and have made it their primary focus.
Most leagues and teams try to downplay the role of alcohol at their stadiums, even though we know the people inside are getting hammered as they cheer on their team. So while most organizations try to at least counteract the booze brainwashing with some sort of responsibility charade, the Colorado Rockies is one team that has hit the gas on promoting alcohol.
You’d think for a team with a top executive with a known alcohol problem, the Rockies would put the brakes on overtly allying themselves with this much liquor. The irony that the stadium is named Coors Field is not wasted on anyone observing this, but the Rockies have done nothing but promote alcohol as a way to enjoy the ball park experience. The Monforts even removed seats in right field to put in a #PartyDeck so the good times could keep rolling long after they’ve deserted the play on the field.
The #PartyDeck became a running joke this offseason, because it seemed the Monforts cared more about packing the stadium with drunks than packing the bullpen with quality arms. The owners’ near maniacal need to sell tickets rather than improve the team was put on display and everyone nodded sadly. Baseball teams want to get people in the park so it’s understood why they would come up with different ways to appeal to the broadest reaches of the fanbase. But the incessant need to promote alcohol seems odd.
When the team issues a press release advertising that Coors Field will now feature a well known, and particularly strong kind of margarita, you have to wonder what the motivation is. No one should have to go without booze just because Charlie Monfort has a drinking problem, but to pound that liquor nail again and again seems a tad bit irresponsible and betrays the fact that the Monforts know they need get people liquored up to enjoy the product on the field. Or at least not care when Wilton Lopez burns the place down in the sixth inning.
And what if you were a recovering alcoholic or had another reason to be opposed to alcohol? How would this environment make you feel? Not welcome I’m sure. But that’s ok, Dick and Charlie just hope you’ll make up for it in Dippin’ Dot and soda sales.
The Monforts have worked very hard to attain the family friendly vibe at Coors Field. And even though we know people will be drinking, it’s still a place you can take your family without having to wade through a post-apocalyptic Jersey Shore bar scene. So why deviate from that plan? Why the constant need to turn Coors Field into a place that your daughter is going to get thrown up on during the seventh inning stretch? They know deep down that they don’t have much in the way of tangible baseball knowledge and it reflects on the field. And the Monforts want to make Coors Field the number one destination for getting drunk, so that nothing else will matter in their dysfunctional organization. Make it a big party, pump the fans full of booze and never look back.
A recent tweet from the newly hatched twitter account for the #PartyDeck, or Rooftop (@RoxRoofTop) as they are calling it, sums it up perfectly:
“Best way to access #TheRooftop will be Gate A Escalator & Ramp. Get here 2 hrs prior to scheduled first pitch for specials! #RooftopFAQ”
Two hours prior to first pitch? I don’t know anyone who gets to the ball park that early and anyone doing so to take advantage of “specials” will not be in any shape to drive by the time the 5th inning rolls around. Alcohol will always be closely linked to attending sporting events, but for the Rockies and the Monforts, the need for us to drink more seems dangerously unnecessary.
