Straight vodka seems to do the least damage to me, combined with a lot of water and on a full stomach (fat and protein). Beer seems to be the worst. A glass of good red wine with a meal a once a week shouldn’t do too much harm.
Of course the amount is what determines the damage…
I like to get wasted about once every 2-3 months, I feel it gives me and my friends some funny memories (or lack of) to reflect on. Used to never touch the stuff but when you hit college, beer, girls and parties are just a friggin incredible combo:).
Few thoughts:
1: Kind of disturbing that this poll is so popular.
2: Ever notice how Ads on TV show that guys swilling the appropriate brand of beer are suddenly surrounded by babes??
Reality, however, dictates that the drunks get the dregs- be that women, jobs, you name it.
3:There’s an old Irish expression: “Drink em pretty”
Translated, that means those babes in the commercial that look like Terry Hatcher at night actually look like Margaret Thatcher in the morning.
Whenever someone is telling the story of their life and they throw in “and then I got to drinking,” it’s not usually a sign that things are about to take a turn for the better.
Drinking is bad news for training and life in general, however drinking 4-5 times a year can’t hurt much unless it leads to more frequent drinking.
I never drink alcohol.
I didn’t drink until University - and during 1st & 2nd year I drank at least 4 nights a week. Since then - basically never.
Rugby’s battle with the booze
When Hurricanes hooker Dane Coles was arrested recently for disorderly behaviour, “heavily intoxicated” and “aggressive”, according to police, it was hard not to roll your eyes.
The 22-year-old is hardly alone. A week earlier it had been Highlanders wing Fetu’u Vainikolo in trouble with the law after an alcohol fuelled incident.
Last year there was a string of All Blacks arrested, with halfback Jimmy Cowan in the headlines for all the wrong reasons as he battled with booze before his very public rehabilitation, and Jerome Kaino arrested for drink-driving.
High-profile rugby players are easy targets, but their seemingly regular and often alcohol-induced scrapes with the law raise several questions. Firstl are they any different to the general populace?
Police didn’t want to be quoted, but an officer in Wellington’s police watchhouse said prominent rugby players didn’t get into any more trouble than other members of the public.
“They’re like everyone else. It depends on age and lifestyle but they are subject to the same stumbles and mistakes that everyone else makes,” he said. "What’s the common theme here? Alcohol.
“All Blacks or other high profile players may break the law, but there are a lot more other people out there doing it.”
That may be the case, but professional rugby players are role models whether they like it or not.
So what are their bosses doing to help them handle their booze?
New Zealand Rugby Union professional rugby manager Neil Sorensen doesn’t shy away from an issue he says is a work in progress.
“We believe we are doing a lot, but we need to keep asking questions about the things we have in place: Are they working? Are we doing enough? Are we doing the right things?” he said.
"We are happy to put our hands up and say we don’t have all the answers. But we have to keep working hard on it.
“It’s a continual frustration and disappointment that players let themselves, their families, their team-mates down.”
Though the recent record is patchy, Sorensen believes the NZRU, the provinces and the franchises are on the right track.
"We have a big role to play in association with the Players Association in educating our players in the responsibility for all sorts of things whether it’s alcohol, relationships, or finances.
“We want these guys to be successful in life, not just on the field.”
The NZRU poured “close to a million” dollars into the area of player education and development annually and employed five professional development officers and nine part-time in the provinces, he said.
The answer is to educate players to be responsible and to make good decisions. Banning alcohol consumption was a simplistic and unrealistic option, he said.
“It doesn’t work in other sectors of society, so why would it work here.”
It’s a view shared by Hurricanes coach Colin Cooper.
“We need to keep working with all the young men in our team. I’m quite sure on that one. These guys can vote, go to war, so to ban them from drinking is a little bit over the top I think.”
Hurricanes chief executive Greg Peters said the players were no different to other young men in New Zealand.
"We want to support the growth and development of young men and one of the huge parts of that is helping them make the right decisions at the right time in a whole lot of different situations.
“I think it’s false [to just ban drinking] when you look at other walks of life.”
Peters balks at the suggestion that banning alcohol would upset Wellington rugby’s key sponsors.
"Yes, we have very strong supporters in Tui and DB and value their support, but we don’t actively promote excess alcohol consumption and they don’t either.
“They want to promote social responsibility in society as we do with our young players.”
Like Sorensen he believes education is the key.
“We have a developing, but reasonably long-established professional development programme for young players,” Peters said.
The programme covered a wide range of topics from financial advice, lifestyle choices, leadership, staying safe, and working with youth, he said.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/2030910/Rugbys-battle-with-the-booze