When did drinking replace baseball as the great American pastime?

The age old question of “do you need to drink to have fun?” has been debated time and time again, with the “yes” side normally claiming victory. Companies even started to make shirts with slogans such as; “Beer, helping white boys dance since 1842” and “Love is a thing called beer.” I wish I was joking, sadly, I am not.

This truly is yeast-inspired propaganda.

The year 1842 was boring and should be fact checked to see if this was when beer actually got white boys moving. And to say that “love is a thing called beer” is quite possibly the biggest fallacy-ridden generalization that one could make about beer or love for that matter. For one, love is not a “thing”; it is a feeling. And two, if love was an alcoholic beverage, it would not be a beer. It would be vodka.

With all these confusing slogans making you think beer is fun, it might be difficult to stay sober while trying to have a good time. But I assure you, there are plenty of things that are fun without the need for alcohol.

For instance, the Color Me Rad 5k run happened recently and sober people from all around Fresno and Clovis participated. The desire to get dizzy apparently goes away when you are running, having colored powder thrown at you and witnessing it happen to your best friends.

Another gem in the “no alcohol needed” event  list is offered by Fresno City College’s own astronomy instructor Garrett Wimer. He hosts extra credit outings to stargaze in Northfork throughout the semester and the drive alone is enough to make you cling to your soda and leave the beer in the trunk. As soon as you get to the turnoff called Vista Point, you know you’re about to be in for a sober treat. On a clear night, the stars are bright and alcohol would only ruin the experience; blurred vision would be a shame.

There is a misconception in our society that in order to have fun, alcohol and or drugs are needed. This seems to stem from years and years of high school kids throwing what they would believe to be amazing parties – much like the ones you see in 1990s teen movies – and constant social pressures to meet this pre-Carson Daily MTV stereotype.

However, many would disagree on the grounds that alcohol would make most situations better. When I hear this, I imagine the crappy cover band slowly starting to sound amazing. The lame party suddenly becomes a P-Diddy event, and you and your three friends will talk about it for the next two weeks.

If the event is fun, then alcohol is a distraction and in many cases, something that ruins a good time. If the event is boring or lackluster in some way, then you would most likely need a drink to spice things up.

So, when planning out your outing, make it a fun and enjoyable event. And remember, those after-school TV commercials from when you were a young child  informing you that “you don’t need to drink to have fun” are still accurate.

Fun was happening before people learned how to ferment yeast.