Major Mansfield Tailgaiting issues

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Comments

  • BagODonuts
    BagODonuts Posts: 8
    It made what used to be a fun place to see a show pretty much suck. As a 32 year old man, I really am past the era of hiding and sneaking sips of a beer. It was pretty embarrassing. The words of the OSU coach sum it up well (cue to the 2:20 mark):

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QN52ibaFmw8

    All that being said, having tailgated before and leaving the Garden after Game 6, I have no problem with the police profiling the hell out of the drunken douchebags out to cause problems and make themselves YouTube Superstars. Hell, if they're under 24 with no shirt on and plaid shorts, profile the hell out them. Chinstrap Color Me Bad beard, profile 'em. Flat and/or tilted brim ball cap, profile 'em. But leave me alone. I'M A MAN! I'M 32! I'm kidding ... well, sort of.

    By the way, if you are on private property, you're not violating the open container law. It's only a local Mansfield ordinance. Which the cops admitted to inconsistently enforcing, telling some older gentleman near us that they would not be as active when Jimmy Buffett comes Labor Day weekend.
  • In2Deep
    In2Deep Posts: 496
    I found getting out of that venue ridiculous. Was there only one entrance into that place? Or did I just not see it. I don't get how my parking lot didn't move for over 30 mins when the main road was? I was alone, so I had no one to hang with, so I just wanted to get out of there.
  • Drop the Leash
    Drop the Leash Posts: 220
    I don't get why me and my gf who drove 5 hrs from nj, were dead sober got there early and just wanted to get a bite to eat and grab 1 beer and we couldnt because we are not 25?? being 23 is not of legal drinking age anymore??
    4/28/03, 7/5/03, 7/8/03, 7/14/03, 9/28/04, 9/29/04, 10/1/04, 9/15/05, 9/16/05, 9/30/05, 10/1/05, 10/3/05, 5/4/06, 5/12/06, 5/27/06, 5/28/06, 5/30/06, 6/3/06, 6/23/06, 6/19/08, 6/20/08, 6/24/08, 6/25/08, 6/30/08, 10/27/09, 10/28/09, 10/30/09, 10/31/09, 5/18/10
  • KimberleeMichele
    KimberleeMichele Posts: 67
    Drop the Leash wrote:
    I don't get why me and my gf who drove 5 hrs from nj, were dead sober got there early and just wanted to get a bite to eat and grab 1 beer and we couldnt because we are not 25?? being 23 is not of legal drinking age anymore??


    I have seen your postings a few times...I can imagine this would be frustrating, but if I recall correctly, it's like this in all MA venues (Pavillion, Garden, Comcast Ctr, etc...). I would assume the reasoning behind it is to try and prevent the use of fake IDs, but I can't say how effective/ineffective that is.
  • Drop the Leash
    Drop the Leash Posts: 220
    KimberleeMichele wrote:
    I have seen your postings a few times...I can imagine this would be frustrating, but if I recall correctly, it's like this in all MA venues (Pavillion, Garden, Comcast Ctr, etc...). I would assume the reasoning behind it is to try and prevent the use of fake IDs, but I can't say how effective/ineffective that is.

    yeah i think i remember that at garden or whatever its called now but oh well i don't really care now but i just thought it was annoying and kind of unfair
    4/28/03, 7/5/03, 7/8/03, 7/14/03, 9/28/04, 9/29/04, 10/1/04, 9/15/05, 9/16/05, 9/30/05, 10/1/05, 10/3/05, 5/4/06, 5/12/06, 5/27/06, 5/28/06, 5/30/06, 6/3/06, 6/23/06, 6/19/08, 6/20/08, 6/24/08, 6/25/08, 6/30/08, 10/27/09, 10/28/09, 10/30/09, 10/31/09, 5/18/10
  • owenz
    owenz Posts: 8
    I would be more accepting of the super-aggressive, super-attentive, super-authoritative approach to monitoring the parking lot before the show if Comcast didn't slash the staff to 1/10th the pre-show level - and let everyone fend for themselves - when the show ends. The parking lot after the show is an absolute mess, with zero supervision except for a bunch of pimply faced kids. I can only imagine how much a small amount of organization would have helped the process of people leaving.

    As for those who would attack the Comcast Center for the anti-alcohol policies while excusing the local police, all I will say is this: in the paid lot across the street on Saturday, the owner of the lot was giving us tips on how to avoid detection from the police while enjoying our beers. The clear implication was that he - the private land owner - was being forced to provide access to the police so they could inspect the cups of his patrons.
  • mookieblalock
    mookieblalock Posts: 3,588
    owenz wrote:

    As for those who would attack the Comcast Center for the anti-alcohol policies while excusing the local police, all I will say is this: in the paid lot across the street on Saturday, the owner of the lot was giving us tips on how to avoid detection from the police while enjoying our beers. The clear implication was that he - the private land owner - was being forced to provide access to the police so they could inspect the cups of his patrons.

    Thank you for sharing and helping with my point. Either its a private lot or a public lot... can't have it both ways (Comcast/Mansfield Police). In a private lot, if the owner allows drinking. He can. Its no different than drinking in his backyard.
  • shadesgodown
    shadesgodown Posts: 9
    I grew up in Foxboro, so yeah, i remember the golden years where a solo cup was all you needed to get away with drinking. the cops enforced the rule when people were rowdy, and that wasn't really a problem. fights happen, but it's pretty rare that anybody gets beat up without playing a part in provoking the fight.

    i think the cops should be plenty wary of the people who are makin' a ruckus, but leave everyone else alone. there really is a tiny percentage of PJ fans who are actually going to cause trouble, and prior security practices were sufficient to pick these people out. what changed? some people at a different show caused some trouble, and now they crack down on everybody. that philisophy has never gone over well in this country. FYI, i asked one of the cops personally why everything changed, and he cited the Tom Petty show incident as the impetus for the crackdown.

    now i'm not going to throw the word "right" around like a bunch of you. sure, we don't have the "right" to drink if the owners of the property don't allow it. i'm admitting that up front, see? there is, however, a tradition among americans that spans not just concerts, but sporting events as well. this tradition involves cooking on grills and enjoying some recreational beverages while waiting for the show to start. this serves several purposes:

    1. people who are traveling and who will be in a large venue for several hours can eat immediately beforhand, so that we're not hungry during the show, and we can watch the show in it's entirety.

    2. people like to drink to celebrate. nobody would be having this discussion if popular opinion were not in line with that statement. most people do it responsibly.

    3. beers cost 8 bucks in the venue.

    4. there are no bars within walking distance of the venue, and people shouldn't drive drunk. drinking in the parking lot makes sense.

    5. if nobody tailgated, then 20,000 people would be showing up between 5:00 and 6:30. that'd be a disaster, and traffic would be backed up 140, 495, 95, 123, 106... instead, the allure of tailgating spreads out the traffic flow for a solid 4 hours. this is very important!

    for years and years these reasons were enough that the local constabulary would turn a blind eye to drinking in the parking lot as long as there was reasonable doubt that the tailgaters were drinking, hence the unwritten "solo cup" rule, and the "don't act like a drunk-ass fuckhead" rule.

    what i think everyone get upset about is that this tradition is being trampled on by a small minority who have abused the privelege, and by the authorities who have overreacted to the situation. if you want to talk about rights, and the 4th amendment, i think the instances of cops taking their frustrations out on tailgaters without even a warning.

    so remember not to confuse the case you are trying to make by complaining about the wrong thing. when you complain about rights being violated, and you're talking about priveleges, it tends to weaken the influence of your argument...which is a shame when you clearly had a good point to make.

    one other thing i'd like to throw into this rant, is don't rag on the people in the trailor park. remember, the town of mansfield and the owner of the park decided to put it there because you can't do much else as a town to make money off of land so close to a concert venue, and there is a need for very low income housing. i used to know someone who lived there, and he was a nice guy who voluneered for some charities, etc, so c'mon PJ fans, don't be so judgemental of people less fortunate than yourselves.

    oh, and if you like to tailgate, and you don't like sitting in your car for 1.5 hours on your way out, do what we do, and fire up your grill after the show! it's fun watching people getting all pissed off as they sit still in their cars. relax, sober up, drink some enegry drinks if you're driving, or drink some more beer if you're not....after all, there are no cops at all after the show...after dave matthews, we passed out in our car, and woke up 2 hrs later.... drove home perfectly sober!!!!!!!

    Peace!

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