Does selling beer and wine at Kenan mean more than more money?

I guess using six home football games to experiment with selling beer and wine at UNC athletic events is a good place to start, and Bubba Cunningham made it clear that this is, for now, a football-only move. And please, no more wine and cheese jokes.

It may bring more money into the fold, but selling beer and wine could always cut into the sale of soft drinks and water. After all, especially on hot days, everyone will be drinking something to stay hydrated. But will it change pre-game habits for the better?

The way Kenan is nestled into the pines, fans don’t surround the stadium with their rowdy tailgates and clearly there is less of a tribal atmosphere before games in Chapel Hill than other places in wide open spaces. In my many years of walking in, I can’t remember seeing anything that resembled binge drinking.

So if someone is going to chug one more brew before heading for Kenan, maybe he or she will wait until they get inside to buy another beer or two. Or maybe they will do both and wind up drinking a little more than usual over the course of the day.

Ending beer and wine sales at the start of the third quarter is a curious move. Especially with the one purchase per person rule.

Will it create more urgency at halftime, getting that one more cup of beer and wine before the concessionaires cut it off? What about those waiting in line during halftime, and when they get to the counter they are out of luck because the game is back on?

The end of the third quarter might be better, and that may eventually become the cutoff time, which mirrors more closely what they do in pro stadiums. I would hate to be anxiously waiting in line, only to get cut off and then hear the roar of the crowd because the Tar Heels have just returned the kickoff to the house and I missed it.

Double bummer.

And you know how Mack Browns hates it when every seat doesn’t have a fanny in it. If his players stampede out of the locker room ready to build on their lead or mount a second-half comeback, Mack won’t like it if even more fans than usual don’t get back in time to see his guys start the third period.

Especially if it’s because someone up in the stands can’t start the third period without one more pop.

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