bring ur own alcohol and stop crying

More importantly, what happened to the 5 min pizza vending machine!!!!!!!!

As an Italian, I'm greatly offended that my beer pizza pregame routine has been stripped from me.

For shame!

Does Boti post on this forum??

freakball - we did that on Saturday and we were asked to leave by the management.

stop crying?? ha ha ha

Interesting - maybe Life Be In It have taken over our competition, and not the stadium as a whole. Even more frustrating if that's the case.

maybe the doctor should worry about his hook shot and not beer.

I agree with thedoctor (we being members of the same club).

I want to back up his point - having a couple of beers for us is an important part of our basketball day. We are a successful club and it is in part due to the fact that we have created a close tight-knit group of players - that that bar helped create.

We are a purely social/amatuer club - part of the joy of playing for the club is the atmosphere that we have created. We have had a hard time retaining players in the past and through the sharing of a couple of drinks on a Saturday we have built friendships that keep people tied to the club when many of the guys could easily go off and play district ball.

There is nothing more enjoyable for us to sit around - watch decent basketball - have a few beers and chat with your team-mates and more importantly your friends.

I want to say, we don't need beers to have a good time but it is a nice social activity to help lubricate the wheels of life.

We have chosen Life - and we have chosen to "Be In It" but those of Life Be In It don't agree with our own choices - so in the words of the Soup Nazi "No beer for you".

Joey Knuckles - if you have seen my hook shot you would know there's nothing to worry about.

its nice, but its only half the story. that sweet lil baseline play with that sexy big guy was the only time you could get it off.

I agree doc - nothing to worry about (for those defending your hook shot that is)

Back to the issue at hand - can anyone suggest a reasonable explanation as to why a bar would be closed in the afternoon, then re-opened for the ABA games? Apparently Life Be In It do manage the stadium, and is employing the most farcical double-standard policy see in some time.

I haven't been this angry with a loveable fat guy (Norm) since Paul Rees announced his retirement.

FYI  no alcohol at ABL games from now on either. I was there on Satdee and they advised us that this was the last night they were selling alcohol at the bar. Same situation, a few disgruntled customers.

Norwood have no control over this as they have VERY LITTLE control whatsoever over Mars.

Life Be In It, BASA & President of Norwood BC will be having a meeting this week to discuss what is happening etc.

Even the Norwood BC were thrown by this announcement on the weekend.

We will also be attempting to talk with Life Be In It about it sometime this week.

Life. Be in it do not know how to run a basketball stadium... Mars had a good thing going on with there staff and the bar side of thing and majority of people were happy.

They came in and changed everything and staff not just customers are unhappy..

some even lost jobs for no real reason.

If people were getting drunk at games and causing trouble then i would understand them taking the bar away but a few social drinks with mates? whats wrong with that...

I think they should seriously look at what they are doing..

This really is quite ridiculous. Imagine if you played footy or cricket and couldn't have a few post game drinks with your teammates after the game at the ground. There'd be a riot!

I think it's great for encouraging team bonding and spirit and am interested to hear how talks go with Life Be In It.

K-Rudd's cronies at LBII need to get onto this quick. What kind of message are they sending out having this still up on their webiste.

http://linky.com.au/6072j

"Relax and enjoy a cold water after your game, or watch a court-one game in style from the glassed-off viewing area."

How about this one: check under Wirrina Resort Activities, parent activities include winery tours promoted by Life Be In It on their own web site!

http://linky.com.au/vla76

They better not do the same for social ball or I'll be pulling my team out quick smart.

TSI - they will mate - it is for all leagues at Mars - it is now a dry stadium.

the adelaide alco's have spoken

Is it known as "The Mars Bar" ?

Same for mixed netball / basketball last night. Hopefully the weekly prices don't go up again - $51 for a basketball team, if you only have five players thats a bit ridiculous.

its not always about the alcohol. U guys are prob all crap and use the alcohol as an excuse for ur constant crap bball performances.

Ironic that same time MARS has shut it bar, Southern had an excellent idea by roping off a section and having a courtside bar.

Clearly MARS (Life Be In It) can't see past their nose. They obviously don't need the money from a financial POV, so why not take the booze money and use it to subsidize physical activities for our overweight kids???

Think smarter!

two things - freakball, you are an idiot.

this is not a criticism of mars. not sure what anon is referring to about losing an umpire. it's a thread acknowledging the tradition of a beer after the game with mates. taking away the choice is not the solution and will hurt the league.

Don't these Life Be In It people realise that a Mars bar helps you work, rest and play?

freakball - you are correct ... it is not "always" about the alcohol - it is about sharing time with friends - talking about basketball and having a laugh.

Sharing a "quiet" beer with mates (ie 1 or 2) is an Aussie Tradition ... don't they let you drink beer at the Paradise Community Church?

Freakball,

I think you're missing the point. It's SOCIAL basketball- it's not just about being good or crap.

Plenty of people who play at MARS do so for the social aspect of it. It's good to play a game with your mates then sit down and have a beer and a chat for an hour- for some people it might be the only chance they really get to do this each week.

I'm not saying people should get blind drunk after every game (although some teams there certainly seem to), but it seems very short-sighted to remove such an easy source of revenue from the stadium. Why not use that money constructively and invest it back into the basketball community? It's not really the same asking your team if they want to hang around for a Powerade after the game...

Exactly, #193154. The standard of social bball refereeing at Mars went through the floor many moons ago, and at over $50 per team just to have the privilege of playing there, the whole thing is a wash. I couldn't face going back there after last season - felt like I may as well wash $10 down the toilet every Monday night instead.

Thanks anon - you are a huge help. FYI, our club has made contact with the stadium and league to formally communicate our disappointment in writing. I understand Norwood has done the same and other clubs are considering.

Not as simple as 'playing elsewhere'. The league we are in currently rents courts from Mars (and Hillcrest in 'E' grade) so unless we want to shift 5 teams into new leagues at locations less convenient for many of our players it's not really an option.

As far as the 'complaining on here won't get you anywhere' line, neither will typing 'I hope Julius Hodge plays here next year.' People still do it, because it's of interest to them, and this is a forum. That's what they are for.

Anon 154 - You misconstrued discussion as complaining and defending our position from people who take the position of "why do you need to have alcohol to have a good time" as complaining.

It was opened up here to see if there were other like minded people who are annoyed that Life Be In It have taken away postgame beers - it is an actual issue that affect actual basketballers wh opost on here - far beyond the usual speculative blather that goes on here.

It was posted here so we (people who play at Mars, run basketball clubs and like a beer) can go to Life Be In It and say "hey were are not the lone ranger here - we have canvassed a few people and they too would like the choice to have beer after a game at Mars". If everyone on here thought it was a good idea that Mars stopped beer then obviously we are in the minority and we will let the issue lie and go to a pub after the game instead.

Why do you feel it necessary to basically tell us to go away? We play at Mars - we can't go anywhere else - that is where our competition is - that is where we play on Saturday. If you can tell me where else my club can play then we will go there.

The point is the club won't stop socialising together, we will just do so at another venue. Already we are exploring sponsorship options with local pubs and will have after-game functions there is Mars' policy does not change.

Just change stadiums guys, there would have to be another option wouldn't there?

We used to play at MARS, but pulled the pin when the standard of reffing went down a few years ago, but the game fees went up.
I used to enjoy sitting around with a few beers after the game as I live out North, and a couple of the boys live Woodcroft way etc, so obviously we wouldn't catch up too often apart from 'ball.

This was the way the majority of people acted in the bar after the game as well, in fact I don't recall seeing anyone drunk in that bar ever in 4 - 5 seasons of playing/socialising there.

Seems a shame that they want to do it their way and no other, would be nice to put the profits back into basketball, or any other sport for that matter.

People forget the bar......
LBII have been very proactive with growth and taking on more and more venues.
THe facts are that District Basketball and Norwood have lost a venue, there will be no space for court hire when their competitions grow into the time slots.
This is becoming a major problem for the Clubs, companies like LBII who do a great job of marketing sport competitions are slowly but shorly taking all the courts.
Where does this leave the Clubs, who are basicly community non profit organisations, who cannot compete with profit making organisations with reources to market and tender for all the available venues

#193217: MARS was a commercial organisation. LBII is a community non-profit organisation which is partly government funded. Clubs are community non-profit organisations funded (mostly) by parents of junior players. LBII wins as it uses the government funding to promote itself and its programmes.

is this serious?...so let me understand this, you cannot socialize without alcohol?

Time to seriously question your needs.

slight off-topic, but what was the issue with the SOuthern bar??? I've heard nothing about it.

me - sure we will sit around for no reason and talk. What are we women?

(#193305) If you dont feel the urge or the inclanation to have a social drink after a game it is your right. Please dont accuse people that do want to indulge in a social past time which is legal, as having some sort of problem.

Some years ago I played for a footy club that did not have club rooms. The club urged the players to gather at a local hotel that was a major sponsor at the time.

This lasted until round 4 or 5 before most players just gave up on it. When people have to get in their cars and travel to another venue they are more likely to just go home.

Norwood was one of the few clubs that had a bar overlooking court 1. To loose this to a group that is promoting "life, be in it" just seems mad.

"Life, lets take all of the fun out of it" seems a more appropriate slogan.

All you people supporting LBII and their stance that its a healthy lifestyle choice by them .. ITS A CROCK!

I've challenged the manager at MARS as to why they are no longer serving alcohol and he gave me a condescending snooty "We are into promoting an active healthy lifestyle which alcohol is not part of" to which I replied "Well when do you intend to get rid of the sweets, chocolates, crisps and sugary drinks as well?" ... you could hear the crickets chirping in the background for the silence.

Bullsh!te on the LBIT doing this for health point of view