Selling alcohol at college football games has been an issue for many years now. Many stadiums are selling alcohol in specific areas but those same stadiums have alcohol free zones where it’s not allowed, and that brings us to what WSU is doing at Rogers Field. 

Alcohol free zones. 

Washington State University has decided to continue selling beer and wine at football games this year and will decide to either extend or discontinue the program after the season. 

According to spokesmanreview.com,
‘Under the agreement, the alcohol-free zone inside Gesa Field will be expanded from the student section to encompass the entire north grandstand and adjacent concourse of the stadium. Joe Radermacher, a licensing compliance specialist with the state Liquor and Cannabis Board, said Tuesday that WSU will modify alcohol service pregame at Rogers Field, though details of these changes were not discussed Tuesday.’ 

Joe Radermacher, a licensing compliance specialist with the state Liquor and Cannabis Board said, “issues also arose with fans bringing in alcohol from outside of the stadium and underage drinking and overall athletic event culture as it relates to responsible alcohol consumption,” 

Fireball Joe. 

Apparently one of these specific issues was that the college needed to curb students from bringing in alcohol from outside the stadium. More specifically, throwing miniature bottles of Fireball onto the field.  

The genesis of the tradition reportedly started back in 2012 When a WSU fan was caught on camera during a nationally televised game taking a huge swig from a bottle of Fireball. The fan got the nickname of Fireball Joe. 

Over the next several years it’s said that Fireball Joe Gave out over 40,000 free shots to fellow fans at tailgate events. By 2019 Fireball Jioe retired from the tradition, but it continued with students smuggling in small bottles of fireball and then throwing them on to the field. 

WSU and The Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board have decided this tradition needs to end and say that “Violators are to be removed from the stadium, with repeat offenders banned from attending games for the rest of the season.” 

So, is it inappropriate to throw miniature bottles of alcohol on the football field at a college game? Of course it is. Is it going to stop? Probably not.