by Brian Evans | Emerge Recovery & Trade Initiative
Although alcohol consumption and watching professional football games are usually synonymous — a growing number of NFL fans in recovery are seeking safe ways to enjoy games without the pressure of being around alcohol.
With Super Bowl 57 just around the corner, we at Renew encourage fans in recovery to enjoy the big game in a clean and sober environment.
Whether you’re watching this year’s Super Bowl with friends in front of a flatscreen, at a tailgate party, or you are among the lucky few who have tickets to this year’s event — being prepared for this big day in advance can make all the difference between having a clean and fun, sober evening, or having a relapse that leaves you with a hangover and a world of regret.
To help you prepare for this year’s Super Bowl, we put together the following Tip List, to encourage people in recovery to remain vigilant and put their sobriety first.
Top 5 Super Bowl 57 Sobriety Tips
If you grew up in the U.S., you already know that professional football and alcohol go together like macaroni and cheese. The Super Bowl is no exception. In fact, the Super Bowl is one of the biggest drinking days of the year!
Experts estimate Americans will drink more than 325 million gallons of beer on Super Bowl Sunday. That’s enough booze to fill an Olympic swimming pool nearly 2,000 times!
For people early in sobriety and even people who’ve been in recovery for many years, this can be a huge trigger. Overall, the culture of drinking at the Super Bowl and at Super Bowl parties in general can make game day very challenging. Why risk it?
Even if you believe you are going to be fine on game day, this can be a major trigger, especially if you are emotionally invested in the game’s outcome, or you have money on the line (which we don’t recommend).
Our Top Five Sobriety Tips for surviving the Super Bowl without compromising your sobriety, include the following:
1. A well-prepared plan for attending parties
If you plan to go to a Super Bowl party where you know there will be drinking, make sure you have a well-thought-out exit strategy. Planning is everything. If abstaining from alcohol becomes a challenge due to triggers you weren’t expecting, you will know what to do. It’s also a great idea to bring a non-drinking friend for sober support. You should also have a list of people you can call anytime for help if alcohol cravings kick up and weaken your resolve. Keep their numbers saved in your phone. Also, plan to take plenty of non-alcoholic drinks to the party. You will have something safe in hand to sip on.
2. Prepare yourself emotionally in advance
One of the best strategies to prevent a relapse is to identify your triggers and be prepared for high-risk situations. If the event becomes a high-risk situation, decide how you’re going to handle peer pressure and feeling uncomfortable. Plan for how to best respond if someone offers you a drink or makes fun of you for drinking soda pop. Imagine yourself in the situation and walk-through scenarios. Prepare how you’re going to handle each one. Write it down if that will help commit everything to memory.
3. Throw your own party for the Super Bowl
Throwing your own Super Bowl party with non-drinking sober friends is a great way to take the alcohol out of the equation completely. You can also use the time to bond and deepen your relationship with your sober peers and the people in your support group. Having a sober Super Bowl party could also be helpful for others in recovery to have a sober option to watch the game.
4. Consider the benefits of staying sober during the Super Bowl
Create a list of all the many benefits of staying sober on Super Bowl Sunday. Keep that list with you in case you need a little extra push to abstain from taking that first drink. For one, you will remember the game well enough to talk about it later. The next day, you get to wake up without any hangover or major regrets for slipping. This builds psychological confidence to remain sober on one of the biggest drinking days of the year. Plus, you will get home safely — and get someone else home safely, too!
5. Start game day off on the right foot
This one is bigger than it might seem. Whether you plan to go to a Super Bowl party or decide to watch the big game at home, starting your day off on the right foot means attending a meeting for a healthy reminder of where you could end up if you slip. Meetings are your medicine. Remember, the saying that “meeting makers make it” is more than a cliché; it’s a fact! Meetings also provide a healthy dose of motivation and resolve. You can share any game-day concerns you have with peers in recovery and get more healthy advice heading into the day and the game. Also remember to keep up on other healthy habits heading into potentially trying times, such as exercise and a healthy diet. You want to feel physically, mentally, and emotionally strong. This will make it easier to avoid that first drink.
NFL strives to be more inclusive of fans in sobriety
Heading into next year, we at Renew applaud the NFL for being more progressive and accommodating people in recovery.
NFL now offers alcohol-free sections for people in recovery
Provided you play it safe and remain sober for this year’s Super Bowl (which we hope everyone does without any issues), we also have some additional good news for fans in recovery next year as the NFL is making strides to be inclusive of people in recovery.
To accommodate the growing number of fans looking to maintain sobriety at games, more and more NFL stadiums throughout the league are normalizing sobriety and beginning to cater to people in attendance who don’t drink and seek to stay sober.
One of the solutions being offered is something they’re calling “Section Yellow.”
Originally, “Section Yellow” started at Green Bay’s Lambeau Field with just a single table. That first table served as a station for solidarity for those seeking a reprieve from drinking.
Today, however, the idea has grown into an entire section of the stadium, which serves as a sober oasis for fans in recovery and those accompanying them to show support.
“Section Yellow is providing a great service to fans in recovery,” said Tim Schlittner, director of communications of the NFL. “As a league, we strive to create the most welcoming atmosphere possible at all NFL games, including the Super Bowl.”
Although there are no announcements regarding a “Section Yellow” at Super Bowl 57 in Arizona, Schlittner said they are always looking for best practices and will consider additional sober support initiatives in the future.
Officials at the Indianapolis Colts echoed these sentiments heading into the Big Game. The Colts offer perks and programs for people in recovery to ensure safety at their games.
These concepts and others brewing throughout the league create comfortable spaces inside the stadium where fans who don’t drink can still have fun. They also ensure the safety of fans who do decide to drink and don’t want to have to drive home.
Although the Colts currently do not have an alcohol-free zone at Lucas Oil Stadium, the team is supportive of people in recovery and the owner, James Irsay, is in long-term recovery himself.
As a recovering alcoholic, Irsay has stated publicly he hasn’t touched a drink in nearly two decades.
“In some ways, (going through rehab) is my greatest moment,” Irsay told reporters in 2014. “It takes courage to try and overcome the difficulties you have.”
Because of this, the Colts continue to look for ways to accommodate fans in recovery and they discuss new policies with other teams every year.
“We have a program for designated drivers at each home game in which they get a voucher for a water or soft drink, and they are also entered into a Colts’ ticket contests,” said Steve Campbell, vice president of communications for the Colts. “Overall, all NFL teams regularly share ideas with each other, so we’re always open to discussing new concepts that enhance the gameday experience for all.”
In other parts of the country, sober stadium sections allow football enthusiasts to have an enjoyable experience at a game without alcohol being involved.
The Section Yellow program, and other similar concepts that are conducive to sobriety, have already spread to many other NFL stadiums within the past year. Campbell said it is not something he would rule out as coming to Lucas Oil Stadium soon.
Sober sections are reported to make a huge difference for fans in attendance at stadiums across the country. One fan said these sections help create communities at games and strengthen networks to provide a safe place for a large percentage of fans who don’t drink. Additionally, they also help people avoid alcohol so they don’t feel isolated or uncomfortable at games where drinking can become a temptation or a nuisance.
Officials at the National Football League say they hope Section Yellow will eventually be replicated across the board, and possibly even at a larger scale to eventually include the Super Bowl.
In a recent interview on NBC’s Today Show, an NFL spokesperson said the league aims to be more inclusive and supportive of all its fans, and this includes fans in the growing recovery community.
The 14 NFL teams that have either established alcohol-free sections in the stadium or offer a designated support station include Seattle, Arizona, Tampa Bay, Kansas City, New England, Jacksonville, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Buffalo, Green Bay, Philadelphia, Miami, and Pittsburgh.
Brian Evans is a writer for Emerge Recovery & Trade Initiative. Emerge is an ecosystem of healing in Ohio that trains people in recovery and youth aging out of foster care into skilled trade jobs and other careers. Emerge also advocates for people in recovery to “end the stigma.” For more about Emerge, click here.
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