I already know that this will be my lowest rated article on Atomic Sports Media. It may even be the lowest rated article in the history of the Web site.

I don’t give a damn.

We need to talk about one of the biggest problems in sports. Bigger than corrupt NBA officials. Bigger than steroids in Major League Baseball. And it’s even bigger than the dog fighting accusations against Michael Vick.

We need to start focusing on alcohol and the constant problems it causes at ballparks, stadiums and arenas across this great country of ours.

If my future wife, Ann Coulter, is talking about terrorism, I’m sure she’d say something like, “not all Muslims are terrorists, but all the terrorists are Muslim.” Well, if we’re talking about fan behavior at sporting events, not all of the spectators are drunk, but almost all troublesome fans are.

It’s so hard to fight the establishment on this one for several reasons. For one, teams and leagues are all in bed with the alcohol companies, as they represent some of their most prominent, high profile clientele. Two, why punish thousands for the actions of a select few? Three, boozing it up is so ingrained in American society that it’s an impossible battle to win, even in Mormon Country.

People traveling to the Great Salt Lake for the 2002 Olympic Winter Games were concerned about where they’d be able to find a good beer. After all, the 24/7 party at the Holland House didn’t exactly mesh with the values of the LDS Church. But religious values and the toughest alcohol standards in the U.S. didn’t stop a riot from breaking out at “Bud World,” an Olympic-sized theme park specifically set up so Anheuser-Busch could promote and serve its products as an official Olympic sponsor. On the morning of Feb. 25, nearly 300 federal and local police officers had to disperse an unruly crowd in riot gear, arresting 21 in the process.

As Mitt Romney, a devout Mormon and leader of the local organizing committee put it, “There were 200 to 300 people who had a few too many and needed to be sent home.” Other local officials, including those from Anheuser-Busch remained silent on the subject, with other Olympic officials distancing themselves from the crowd. The Salt Lake Chief of Police said he also believed the riots stemmed from the excessive use of alcohol.

This was no isolated incident involving a mix of booze and sports. The Pistons-Pacers brawl grew ugly after Ron Artest was pelted with a cup of beer. In 2001, Cleveland Browns fans pelted officials with beer bottles after a bad call, sending both teams and the officiating crew back to the dressing rooms until the league demanded they finish the game. And on 10-cent beer night, an estimated 60,000 cups of beer were consumed before an unruly mob stormed the field at Cleveland Stadium, attacking fans and umpires.

Throw in championship celebrations in Detroit, Denver and Chicago and the mob that nearly set the STAPLES Center ablaze in 2000. And let’s not forget every idiot that runs onto the field or falls off the upper deck onto the backstop netting behind home plate. Simply put, if Eric and Jordan Staal get arrested for drunken horseplay makes the ESPN ticker and Jenna Bush using a fake ID makes front-page news, what about the tens of thousands of idiots that ruin sporting events from “Sea to Shining Sea?” And we aren’t even talking about the famed British Soccer Hooligans, who definitely aren’t sober.

I have friends who would like me committed for suggesting the thought of banning alcohol at sporting events, even on a limited basis. And you think it wouldn’t be a big deal, since most of the stuff that’s sold is watered down, overpriced crap that makes a 30 rack of Keystone Light look appealing. But I ask, what good does alcohol do at the game? It doesn’t make you a better fan. It doesn’t help you pay attention to what’s going on. And it doesn’t benefit those around you, especially when everybody else in the row is getting up every five minutes so you can grab another two drinks or take a leak.

That’s the simple argument: Where annoyance takes precedence over the safety and well being of fans and players alike. Unfortunately, the dark side has shown itself one too many times recently. In 2004, Victoria Snelgrove, a journalism student at Emerson College, was shot and killed by police officers trying to contain an unruly celebration outside of Fenway Park after the American League Championship Series.

When the dust finally settled months later, the victim was found innocent of any wrongdoing and the Boston Police Department took most of the blame for what took place. The non-lethal pellets shot by officers in riot gear had proven themselves tragically fatal. But the startling reality of the situation was that everybody saw this tragedy coming. I’ll never forget phoning my friend at Northeastern University from Yankee Stadium, telling him rather bluntly, “Whatever you do, don’t get yourself killed tonight.”

In the days that followed, a vicious debate emerged in one of my media classes involving photos the Boston Herald used on its front page. The most shocking of which was a bloodied body lying on the ground amongst the celebration. While 49 of the 50 students in the classroom thought the tabloid was offensive and insensitive in publishing the photos, I bravely took the other side of the debate, fending off student after student that disagreed with the news value of the photographs.

“Why should those pictures be there,” I said in frustration. “Because on Wednesday or Thursday night, maybe some of you will think before taking your drunken selves to the street in celebration. That’s why they should be there!”

Snelgrove’s image should live on as an example of what can and will go wrong when crowds are mixed with alcohol. Instead, the public embraces the nitwit who took the snap from Brett Farve during a 2005 Packers-Bengals game at Paul Brown Stadium. Or the guy in San Francisco who tried to make nice with Barry Bonds. Lest we forget that we aren’t that far removed from the Monica Seles attack and two separate attacks on umpires at U.S. Cellular Field. It’s only a matter of time before those drunken antics take a serious and tragic turn.

And now, in a culture of YouTube, Deadspin, With Leather and a plethora of other sports culture/media sites, rowdy fan behavior is certainly encouraged. Granted, the comments section might be filled with people calling them idiots, but they’re watching the video. So, who’s the real idiot here?

It wasn’t too long ago that the government stepped in and banned tobacco companies from advertising on our playing fields and racetracks. And now, in 2007, with the health dangers of cigarette smoking clearly evident, most stadiums have strict anti-smoking policies in place. But what’s the point of telling somebody they can’t smoke and letting them plaster themselves with alcohol? Why is this limited to just tobacco? As bad as second-hand smoke is, it doesn’t ruin one’s judgment, both in the stands and on the drive home. And the alcohol companies, like their predecessors in tobacco, have successfully targeted young children who lack the responsibility and legal age to drink in the first place. As cute as those Dalmatians in Budweiser’s Super Bowl commercials might be, who are they tailored towards? Ditto to the talking frogs.

I believe leagues, teams and the alcohol companies can do more for fans without hurting the bottom line. The New York Yankees successfully cut off beer sales in the bleachers after an on-field incident at Wrigley Field in 2000. They’ve sold more bleacher seats, including those god-awful left field bleacher seats, than ever before. The NFL can monitor fans upon entry into the stadium, denying entry to anyone with signs of drunkenness and conducting thorough searches for hard alcohol. Instead of one non-alcohol section, how about a level of no-alcohol sections, keeping fan rowdyness restricted to one area of the building. Or, in some areas, like Tampa Bay, having a section reserved for college kids, in the upper deck, with deeply discounted liquor and enhanced security. Alcohol commercials should be targeted to the 21-plus crowd only and only aired during night games.

There are solutions to the problem. It’s up to the owners, leagues and businesses to get creative and do so.