So what a better way to spend the weekend than at the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party? That’s right, Florida plays Georgia in a yearly battle of the rivals. This neutral field has finally become a weekend of frivolity and partying that reaches epic proportions. This year, Florida turned up the heat on Georgia (literally, it was as hot as it’s ever been for the game), and put the Dawgs back on the bus to Athens with their tail between their legs. Go Gators!
In between strong drinks, cornhole games, and wiping the sweat off my brow, one of the funny things about being a doctor at the game is that all of your friends start asking you medical questions related to their game day decisions. That, or they start apologizing to me for what they are currently doing (smoking, funnels of beer, etc.).
These interruptions from my own ridiculous antics got me wondering about health and perspective on a day like game day. Tailgating is ridiculous, and usually involves excesses so absurd even the most hedonistic fan has to sometimes shake their head.
One theme emerges from all the questions and apologies: the sense that “I destroying my health by doing this.” In question form, is there some way of making up for the behavior?
The short answer is “yes,” but as usual, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Actually, not complicated. It’s just that the answer isn’t a specific change so much as a change in attitude.
Look at the fundamentals. There is no activity that we do that isn’t a balance of good and bad. Even “healthy” things like exercising have risks and rewards. If I fall or get hit by a car jogging down the block, then I’m definitely setting back my health–even if I was doing something healthy. Conversely, all of my friends are questioning their decision to drink or smoke, but they are socializing, seeing old friends, and enjoying an emotional and joyful day. Well, if you’re a Gator, that is.
Now obviously, drinking yourself into oblivion is more likely to set you back physically than a run, but like my last post, that’s only seeing one tree in the forest!
If everything has good and bad to it, then each experience is a combination of those things. Florida-Georgia, football games or tailgating in general, provides the chance to celebrate, enjoy psychologically and emotionally healthy social interaction, but also punishes your system with excess food, beverage, weather exposure, and risky behavior.
What’s the moral of the story? The Gators are awesome. The other moral, though, is that we have to balance out our choices to get the most out of our experiences. Want to enjoy your run? Don’t jump out in front of that truck that’s cruising by, or go around the pothole. The more you think about it, though, if you get some sleep the night before, don’t eat a pack of hotdogs right before your run, warm up properly, stretch before and after, and wear appropriate gear you’ll also get more of the good stuff from your run. In a sense, this is what we get with experience: the ability to manage more and more of the subtleties that maximize the good and minimize the bad.
So how do you do this with a tailgate? It’s a personal choice, of course, as some people consider the ability to just let it go and do the gluttony of the day as the prime goal. Those usually aren’t the people asking me the guilty questions, though. Even more, sometimes the obvious road of just rocking it out isn’t as satisfying as a little planning—after all you have to plan the tailgate itself, so why not this? For me, it starts with a few less drinks the night before. I also worked out—a short run—in the morning, and cooked a good healthy breakfast. The other decision I made was what to enjoy. I chose not to pig out on grub, but relish the bacchanalian offerings instead. I also stuck to a couple of drink types, instead of drinking whatever was handed to me. I made all of my drinks with diet or zero calorie drinks. Had I actually remembered the fruit I packed, that would have been another way to enjoy the day, but take the edge off of the unhealthy potentials of the day. I put on sunscreen. Finally, I also took a drinking break during the game itself a.k.a. pacing myself.
The end result? I had a blast, let loose and partied, and don’t feel so horrible today that I won’t be able to function. I also kept pace with my long term goals (exercising) and not being so far gone helped me interact more effectively socially (interpret this as you will, of course)…and I’m don’t look like an over-boiled lobster. What was the cost? Well, I probably missed a couple of opportunities, and maybe didn’t titillate my brain to euphoric levels as often. But maybe I did more because I could keep going when other people couldn’t?
For the record, it’s not perfect…my chest is congested and I didn’t feel well most of this week. But my roommate was out of work, while I still managed to work and exercise!
I don’t have the answers to every question, but I love epic weekends, and this has been yet another one with people that makes my world great. Hopefully, the approach I’m taking will keep my weekends epic for a long time to come…
You know you love them 
