How Important Is Alcohol To The College Football Experience?

Can you enjoy college football without at least the option of having an ice cold beer?

OutKick readers aren't strangers to enjoying a cold adult beverage from time to time. Our readers also aren't strangers to spending all day watching college football on fall Saturdays.

Alcohol and college football have a relationship that is best described as inseparable. More and more stadiums across the country are starting to offer beer, wine and cocktails during games. It's honestly shocking alcohol being sold isn't the standard across the entire country.

It might be at some point down the road, but right now, there are plenty of schools that still don't allow alcohol sales during games. You can get hammered in the parking lot with your boys, but don't drink a beer in the stadium!

That won't be tolerated at many schools!

Is alcohol a must for the college football experience?

A Reddit thread wondering how important alcohol is for college football has taken off like fire, and is going mega-viral.

Naturally, it seemed like the perfect OutKick topic. Beer combined with college football is what this site is all about.

So, how important is alcohol to the fan experience? It's a shockingly simple answer. It's pretty damn important.

Now, let me say it's absolutely possible to enjoy college football without drinking a beer. Plenty of fans do it, and nobody should feel pressured to drink, especially if they have issues or simply don't want to. Don't confuse this with me saying you can't enjoy college football without alcohol.

Not at all. However, for many of us, drinking an iced down beer is just as important as the sport itself. College football isn't just about what happens on the field. It's in large part about what happens among friends during the season.

Is alcohol important to the fan experience? (Photo by Chris Coduto/Getty Images)

College football fans love beer and camaraderie

Everyone remembers the classic games, but we all also remember the tailgates, the trips to the bars or just chilling on the couch having a few with the boys hoping like hell the two minute drill has improved.

In college, we used to wake up prior to 6:00 am (I still wake up way before that every day nearly a decade later), grab a shower beer, start playing some game day music and set the tone before the sun was even up.

Those are memories that will stick with everyone involved forever. Could you do all that without a beer? I suppose you could, but there's simply nothing better than when the first beer of the season hits your taste buds.

It feels like a fighter jet about to deliver some freedom to ISIS. It's explosive. It's riveting. You feel invigorated.

Below is a photo of my first beer of the 2022 season while enjoying some time at Dirty Water in Washington D.C..

This was the first beer of the 2022 season. (Credit: David Hookstead)

This was the first beer of the 2021 season. Are we starting to see a trend? When football is on, the beer is flowing.

Nothing beats a cold drink during football season.

It's simply hard to describe the feeling you get when you head to tailgate while there's still a little morning dew on the ground, you have a hoodie on because it's still a shade chilly and you hear the cooler pop open and see dozens of iced down beers.

You know it's about to be an epic experience before kick-off even happens. Whether it's the Grove at Ole Miss or the bars in Madison, it's an experience that brings people together.

Is beer important for college football fans? (Photo by Robert Alexander/Getty Images)

Now, if your team starts getting blown out and it's time to forget, alcohol is going to become important for different reasons but we'll leave that for another time. In the meantime, drink some beer if you want, don't if it's not your thing but those of us who enjoy a cold brew during college football season definitely won't be apologizing for anything.