Minnesota Vikings linebacker Chad Greenway raised eyebrows earlier this week when he said he hoped his fans would show up to Sunday's game against the Chicago Bears "super-duper drunk" by drinking liquor, not beer.
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The game starts at noon locally, which presents some logistical problems.
"Yeah, I would say morning drinking," Greenway suggested to The Star Tribune. "Why not? You could pull an all-nighter. Then you'd have the drunk, tired guys who will really be obnoxious."
Comments like these were made routinely 30 years ago. They would get a laugh and be forgotten immediately. This is 2012, so Greenway's comments drew criticism.
"Obviously, I could have used some more responsible words," Greenway told WMVP-AM Chicago on Thursday, via ESPNChicago.com. "I think the people that know me, the beat writers included, know that I said that sort of tongue-in-cheek.
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"I played football at the University of Iowa, and all I knew was that they started drinking at about 5 o'clock at those games for tailgating, so I thought it would be OK to say it," Greenway said. "Obviously I just went a little far."
Greenway's words were poorly chosen. Crucifying him for them is going a little too far as well.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
