The term ‘common sense’ is one that has rather lost its meaning in recent years. Often hijacked by politicians and cranks on social media, more often than not these days it simply means that something is in line with your own personal position.
So, I cautiously use it here, because I am certain that while I think the SPFL and South Ayrshire Council allowing Ayr United to take part in a pilot scheme selling booze within Somerset Park absolutely is common sense, there will be plenty of people out there who would argue that keeping the demon drink as far away from football grounds as possible is, in fact, the definition of the term.
Better then to look at the evidence before lauding the scheme or condemning it, and it won’t be until we have had the ‘wet’ run during Ayr’s Premier Sports Cup matches against Arbroath and Forfar this month that we will know for sure whether a few pints of overpriced Moretti have the potential to turn previously Honest Men into marauding hooligans.
If nothing else, the relentless debate about it ever since, and in particular, why rugby fans were still allowed to get minging at Murrayfield while football fans were denied a half or two at Hampden was enough to drive you to drink alone, even if there is merit in decrying the classism at the heart of that particular double standard.
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John Swinney is not ‘sympathetic’ to the lifting of the booze ban at football, and said back in March that ‘the evidence’ supported his stance. Since then, no such evidence has been produced, so we are left to surmise that it wasn’t so much strong proof (if you will) driving this conclusion at all, but what I’m sure the First Minister might refer to as, well, common sense.
Because the evidence doesn’t in fact support a position of maintaining an alcohol ban in Scottish stadiums, with the introduction of pints in the concourses of English grounds having been such a success that there have now been pilot schemes carried out down south to allow fans to have a drink at their seats too.
I argued in a column on the week of his comments on the subject that this was all about freedom of choice. That football fans shouldn’t be denied the same right to a few drinks if they should so fancy it than people attending any other entertainment venue.
Finally, that choice will be offered to them, and I have a feeling that those taking part in the pilot won’t let the side down.
For the sum of £35, a maximum of 66 fans can buy a ticket that gives them access to a bar, where they can have up to four pints before the game as well as one at half time. Hopefully, this is a first step towards an enhanced matchday experience for supporters, as well as a welcome boost to the coffers of our clubs.
I have attended matches in England and in Germany where booze was freely available, and the whole thing was just a lot more civilized than the current situation here, where fans are necking bevvy before they are allowed into the ground.
While covering Celtic’s Champions League tie against RB Leipzig a few years back, I saw hundreds - if not thousands - of fans milling in the concourses two or three hours before kick-off, steadily pouring a few pints down their neck, yes, but also pouring a steady stream of cash into the Leipzig coffers.
There won’t be a chairman in the land who doesn’t want to see similar scenes here.
So, while I recognise that there will be people out there who are worried about what the introduction of bevvy to our stadiums once more might unleash, this isn’t 1980. The football-going experience has changed beyond all recognition. This has been shown to work elsewhere, and now, on a very short leash, Scottish football fans have a chance to show that it can work here too.
As it stands, the arguments against amount to little more than the dredging up of a riot that occurred when carry oots were commonplace on the terraces, Dexy’s Midnight Runners were top of the charts with ‘Geno’ and Pacman was a couple of weeks away from being released. Oh, and let’s not forget, of course, a sneaking suspicion that fitba fans can’t be trusted.
Slowly, slowly, catchy monkey. It would be great to see this experiment gradually expand – initially, to other so-called low-risk fixtures - and then, let’s see where that takes us.
Hopefully, in a few years, we’ll be wondering why it took so long to get here, and what all the fuss was about. Or, dare I say it, we'll see that common sense has prevailed.
