Maybe the NFL isn’t ready for Mike Vick quite yet … but they are ready for binge drinking - beer pong style!  In a twist we never thought that Roger Goodell would make, he rallied his cash cow behind the beer pong industry with their newest product the “Tailgaiting Pong Table.”

Now, you might be saying to yourself - that there table has nothing to do with beer pong.  But we disagree and have the facts to prove that they are trying to capitalize on the parking lot boozing that they have publicly spoken out against in the past.  But first we want to set this up and show why this is so astounding.

The History of the NFL’s Binge Drinking Stance

Last year HBO ran a special on NFL binge drinking, and the problems that have arose from it.  The NFL took a very strict stance on the issue (that it looks like they have recently changed their minds on!).  Here is a quick sample of what they have previously said about the topic of binge drinking:

This is an excerpt from Real Sports on HBO (in case the video is pulled) - Mitch Alerich is employed and speaking on the behalf of the NFL:

Milt Ahlerich: We have some stadiums that are putting in teams that do nothing but alcohol enforcement.  They are roving the stands, standing  outside the gates trying to see who is visibility inebriated on the way coming into the stadiums and catch them, exclude them, before they come in.  I think that is pretty innovative.

Bryant Gumbel: “There’s a lot of possibilities here when we talk about the responsibilities of this ..  How much of the responsibility does, or should, the league take?”

Milt Ahlerich: We have a strong strong interest in promoting responsible behavior in our stadiums

The Proof That The NFL is Marketing This As A Drinking Game

Now to the good part … how we will undeniably show you that the NFL is trying to make bank off of beer pong, and like many controversies today … Twitter helped to play a role in uncovering this.

1. They Tweeted About the Product Calling it a “Ping (Beer) Pong Table”

   Now when most people see the table, they understand why it exists, but in case you didn’t … they helped you realize it in a (now removed) tweet:
   
   Since the tweet, it has been removed, and replaced (as they might not want to have their real motives exposed).  For the moment, you may still be able to find in Twitter Search here.

2. They are Indirectly Marketing it as a Beer Pong Table

   This is undeniable proof of the market that they are trying to tap - and how they think they could get away with it.  Fist we will need a very quick primer on how search engine advertising works.  Sellers buy a keyword and their ads appear on corresponding search queries.  If they do not buy that keyword, they don’t show.  Here is how we know the NFL is targeting this product towards beer pong:

• For the Term “NFL beer” they are not buying ads
  
  This means that they are not looking for the term “beer” to help sell any products .. even if beer mugs, beer steins ..etc
• For the Term “NFL pong” they are not buying ads
  
  This means that they are not trying to market any ‘pong’ related products.
• For the Term “NFL beer pong” they ARE buying ads
  
  This means, that the combination of two keywords that they are not buying on their own show ads directly related to the tables.

So they are not buying “NFL+beer” they are not “NFL+pong”  .. but they are trying to move merch by marketing to those looking for “NFL+beer&pong”.  Clearly they know what they are doing - and how they think they can get away with it.

Conclusion

It is pretty clear that while the NFL always seems like they are taking the moral high ground, they really want to make some extra scratch … and will do just about anything to get it, including jump into the beer pong market.  No mater what they say their  intent was, we have uncovered the truth behind Goodell’s beer pong ploys. We have seen a marketing disaster like this in the past with the infamous “Bud Pong” and have a feeling that these are going to be yanked from the store rather quickly after people find out what the NFL is actually trying to do.

So while the NFL security will be stopping those too drunk to come into the game, the NFL higher-ups will be finding ways to get you drunker quicker … and we aplaud.