Local Youth Leaders Envision an Alcohol-Free NFL
The Super Bowl may still be heavily underwritten by Big Alcohol, but last Sunday, NextGen Youth Advocates™ showed that money will not let Budweiser take away the joy of the game. On February 9, Alcohol Justice joined with local San Rafael youth for the second annual Free Our Sports Super Bowl watch party.
The NFL’s flagship game is notorious for its association with drinking. This takes place both at home and in the boardroom, with the industry spending over $40 million on direct advertising alone—not including sponsorships. With over 50 million households tuning it, this creates a reliable, insidious channel for the alcohol industry to reach underage fans.
But it does not have to be that way. NextGen Youth Advocates™, a San Rafael based community group dedicated to empowering local youth, brought together young residents from across Marin 
County to watch the Eagles take on the Chiefs at the Alcohol Justice offices. The event featured food, music, prizes, games, and, of course, football. Equally importantly, however, the kids took time to discuss the role alcohol plays within sports.
This delivered two significant benefits to young residents in the area. First, it provided an alcohol-free, youth-centered space in which to join in the national obsession with football. Second, by confronting the glamorization and normalization of alcohol through sponsorships, celebrity endorsements, and product placement, it helped attendees build the internal defenses necessary to push back against the cataract of industry messaging.
So long as Big Alcohol continues to use sporting events to make kids interested in drinking, the call to Free Our Sports® continues. But for one Sunday in San Rafael, the game turned into a chance to celebrate and develop youth resilience. In time, Alcohol Justice and NGYA™ anticipate that that celebratory spirit will push out corporate greed entirely.
READ MORE about the campaign to Free Our Sports®