Justin Thomas to the rescue!
Appalled at beer prices as high as some of his approach shots for the PGA Championship, he teed off against it for the sake of the fans.
“$18(!!!!!!) for a beer … uhhhh what. Gotta treat the fans better than that!️,” Thomas posted on his Twitter account, @JustinThomas34, before play began on Thursday. Then he went out and won the tournament.
The whopping 18 bucks was for a 12-ounce bottle of Michelob Ultra, official beer of the PGA Tour. A Kona Big Wave and Stella Artois was even more expensive. Cocktails and “signature cocktails” were more than $20.
“I just saw it and I was blown away. It’s just a bummer. You want people to come to the tournament,” the one-time PGA Championship winner told the New York Post.
“If I’m on the fence and I’m looking at the concession stand, that’s not the greatest thing. But at the same time, people aren’t coming to a tournament like, oh, I’m going to go buy a Michelob Ultra, you know what I’m saying.
“I was just blown away because I’ve never seen a beer $US18 or $US19 in my life. Guys have been talking about it, so I, you know, had to stand up for the fans. Felt like it was right.”
Hoorah for Thomas. #Beerlovers all over America should be rooting for him to win this weekend.
It is obvious, tho, that Thomas – like just pretty much every other pro athlete – has not spent a lot of time as a spectator at a sporting event. There is something the fans have long called “stadium prices” to describe how much it cost for concessions.
This is also true at concerts and festivals. The fact of the matter is that it’s damned expensive to go to events these days.
Thomas does go to football games at his alma mater, the University of Alabama. However, he does so in style, in Bama Jerry’s box suite. That’s fine place to be for Bama games (I know, I’ve been there myself) as it’s the most social box at Bryant-Denny Stadium. It’s so much fun that the game becomes secondary to the action happening in front of you.
At the lesser games, of course.
But thanks, JT, for standing up for the fans. Someone needed to do this other than a fan, because their voices are lost among the large companies that run the events. We all appreciate it and hopefully it will result in at least loosening up the prices at sports and other events.
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