Serious question: How many of you have stayed away from attending a college football game because of this?
“Nut allergies affect a sizable segment of the population and those people have to be very conscious of it at all times, in environments outside their control,” Northwestern coach Pat Fitzgerald said in the announcement on the school’s website. “This special day will give many people that may never have attended a live sporting event the opportunity to experience Chicago’s Big Ten Team for the first time. Our entire football family is thrilled to be part of such a great initiative.”
In addition to peanuts not being sold at the game, they’ll also be prohibited from being brought into the stadium. The school says that the stadium will also “undergo extensive cleaning” to ensure that there are no peanuts anywhere on the premises.
I don’t know whether this is mockworthy, but I suspect Michael Adams has a V8 moment when he hears about it.
Get The Picture 
Good grief…a nation of pansies
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Having deadly allergic reactions makes one a pansy?
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The peanut allergy is an extremely dangerous one and can, and sometimes does, cause death. I know there was/is a movement to ban peanuts from airliners.
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I’m allergic to Georgia’s secondary, so I will be unable to attend this weekend.
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Well played, sir
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I have, in fact, missed a ballgame because of the nut who bought the tickets next to me there in Section 131.
“The armies of the night are mindless and faceless like the Visigoths”
JL Burke
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Gee, I hope this does not make me a pansey.
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No. You were a pansy before. 🙂
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As long as you don’t sit on row 11, I’m clear.
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This would disqualify 9/10 of Tennessee’s fan base from ever attending a game.
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Louis CK says it best……
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First they came for the Peanuts, and I did not speak out–
Because I like Peanut Butter, creamy and crunchy.
Then. they came for the Socialites, and I did not speak out–
Because I was not a Socialist, except when I’m here.
Next they came for the Soy Allergens, and I did not speak out–
Because I like Edamame, crunchy not boiled, but didn’t want anyone to know about it.
Then they came for the Gluten, and I did speak out-
‘What’s up, no beer or pizza?’-
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Coming for the beer? NOW LET’S NOT GET CARRIED AWAY HERE!
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Nice, but they do make gf beer in Portland, OR. No surprise there.
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I guess it’s worth noting that people actually do die from allergic reactions to peanuts somewhat regularly.
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I think this is cool and applaud what Northwestern is doing. Nut allergies, while not common, can be very serious.
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Damn Cube… “Don’t know if I would have said that”
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LOL, I didn’t mean it like that!
Although, I have known a few women that behaved as if they suffered from that.
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I hear ya… but “Although the number of people who die annually from peanut allergies is in the low hundreds at most, peanuts have gotten a reputation for being particularly deadly. While some people call peanut allergies an epidemic, others say the situation has been blown out of proportion. For example, Professor Nicolas Christakis of Harvard Medical School told the BBC that there was “a gross overreaction to the magnitude of the threat.” He even said that the fear of peanuts had led to a situation resembling mass psychogenic illness — once known as epidemic hysteria.” It doesn’t mention how many die from consuming peanuts at a sporting event. I can’t imagine there are very many.
On the other hand…”According to The National Center for Catastrophic Sports Injury, 325 men and boys have died either directly or indirectly from playing football at the high school and college level between 1982-2008 (26 years). Direct injuries are defined as those fatalities which resulted directly from participation in the fundamental skills of football (such as tackling and blocking). In all sports——> http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_sportspeople_who_died_during_their_careers
Peanuts are kinda non-threatening. But if we can create a job for the federal gov. to pay someone to police it well then why not? You know in Kentucky there is a gov. guy/gal that checks to make sure when you build a new dwelling that the thermostat can’t be set above 76 in the winter for heat and below 74 in the summer for cooling. Yep. They retire at 85% of their base salary and are voting for the best of the best that are in office.
Yep.
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That’s all great…I’m guessing you don’t know anyone with a peanut allergy.
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From experience I can say it’s something you just don’t get until, oh say, one of your children has one and you have spend their formative years worried that some ignorant ass will send snacks with peanut allergens to his elementary school classroom and send them to the ER.
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I have a dog in this fight. My 7 year old has a peanut allergy. Twice he’s been given peanuts at school by mistake, in a peanut free environment. Nothing like stabbing your kid with an epi pen so he can breath and race to the hospital for the night. Some are worse than others. He has to eat it. Some kids just have to breath the dust. I assume that’s what they are referring to at a game. Someone cracking peanuts behind a kid that allergic. I guess I’m a pansy for hoping my kid lives to an age where he can fend for himself. On the other hand I’ve never asked anyone not to eat, smoke or drink anything they want. Just don’t poison my son with it and I’ll be fine. If my son didn’t have the allergy I’m sure I’d be mocking it too Senator. Unfortunately I can’t afford to be ignorant on this one.
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Completely agree. Food allergies for our youngest daughter, including epi-requiring nut allergies, have changed our lives in ways I never would have anticipated. I don’t think I was ever unsympathetic to it (as some have seemed here) but I just didn’t really think about ALL of the ramifications. In the early days even out of town grandparents had to be reminded of the foods to avoid. Unless you live with it 3 meals + snacks everyday it is hard to imagine. While we don’t have the airborne sensitivity to nuts, I certainly don’t have a problem with making a public venue safe for those that do.
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I have a nephew that is a brittle diabetic. Found out at 18 months of age when the child nearly died. He had to have an insulin shot every day. As much as we all tried to make his life normal he was finally pulled out of school and home schooled for a few years. Why? Everyone was on pins and needles during Christmas, Thanksgiving, Valentines Day and HALLOWEEN because of all the sweets involved with those celebrations. I’m not sure but some of them may be banned from schools now for various reasons. Kid is in college on a pump now. Unfortunately, he adjusts his insulin to compensate for his eating choices. As he has explained to me … he just wants to fit in with his friends. Good luck with your child.
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My kid had allergy issues & we went through the dreadful skin prick test.
we had to keep peanut butter out of the house for a couple years. Then on a follow up test they figured it was peaches, not peanuts she was allergic to. Thanks Doc. This sucked cuz we had been feeding the kid peach yogurt every other day.
Kid loves peanut butter now.
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Next thing you know they will ban whiskey and smoking in stadiums. What?
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Just Google “deez nuts”and thee you’ll truly understand… Bofa
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“I don’t know whether this is mockworthy”? Wut, Senator?
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Kid allergies are weird. My daughter had so many ear infections in her first 3 years that she had to have tubes. After her second set the doctors tested her and found that she was allergic to feathers. She had had a feather pillow all along. Made us feel real bad.
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My favorite comment on the article was how much this sucked for all the elephants that planned on attending the game.
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Think of the squirrels.
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I would guess that a lot more people die from alcohol poisoning or DWI wrecks on the way home than from peanut allergies. So ….
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Why can’t the people with peanut allergies sit at home in their peanut free environment while the other 99.9% of fans have the option of enjoying peanuts at the game?
Why punish everyone to accomodate a few?
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Because everybody wants to have their 15 minutes when the whole world thinks about them.
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It’s for one game. What’s the big deal with trying to let people with families affected by this go to one game?
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“A wheat allergy is an allergic reaction to wheat, which, as we know, is a grain used to make a wide variety of different foods. Wheat has many different components, including starches, proteins and even a little bit of fat.” AND
“The Dangers of Gluten
A recent large study in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that people with diagnosed, undiagnosed, and “latent” celiac disease or gluten sensitivity had a higher risk of death, mostly from heart disease and cancer. (i)
This study looked at almost 30,00 patients from 1969 to 2008 and examined deaths in three groups: Those with full-blown celiac disease, those with inflammation of their intestine but not full-blown celiac disease, and those with latent celiac disease or gluten sensitivity (elevated gluten antibodies but negative intestinal biopsy).”
just sayin.
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I’m apparently denser than usual today. What are you just sayin’? 🙂
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There is a peanut strapped under seat 37F. We want a plane fully fueled at the airport.
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Now THAT’S funny right there.
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Why focus on nuts when there are people with gluten allergies who can’t eat pretzels? Or folks who can’t eat the hot dogs? Diabetics can’t drink Coke. Why not ban all concessions entirely? Hell, let’s just ban football to avoid the problems inherent in large groups of people gathering together. Actually, let’s just ban large groups of people gathering together.
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I am very glad I did not read this before I posted below. Have a great day.
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I’ll shorten what I could really rant on for thousands of words to say as the parent of a kid that has been to the ER because of his peanut allergies I appreciate something like this.
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I agree. As a parent of a 3 yr old w/ a peanut allergy this whole thread is disturbing. I know there is ignorance around this issue, but if people can’t understand the difference between a gluten allergy and a peanut allergy then it’s worse than I thought. I don’t think the whole world should revolve around him and it’s on us to try our best not to put him in dangerous situations, but I don’t see how it’s the end of the world for a school or organization to do this for one game.
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BCD I have to quit reading any article on peanuts. I don’t stop myself and then go to the comments. The ones on here are tame in comparison. It baffles my mind and boils my blood. I attempt to be more civil in my responses than some people are in theirs.
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I suffer from allergies myself. My whole family does, actually. Bee stings in particular have been troublesome. I find it crass that a certain trade school has a bee as a mascot, as if mocking my potentially life-threatening condition. They should change it to something less threatening and non-offensive so it better resembles their football team. Nobody is allergic to fish, right?
It’s not mockworthy because it’s a real thing, and I’m glad all five UGA fans that have some experience with it have opined. Since this is a one-off thing, yay for North Vandy. I am sure the attendance at this week’s game will increase by 10 people (whose one game to watch live is Northwestern-Minnesota? I thought torture was illegal unless you did it off-shore.). If this becomes a policy, then we should come back together and have some words.
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BCD, Dawgfan Will, ZeroPointZero, dawgfan17, Normaltown, Tim, Trey and others
No one knows until they or a loved one has walked the mile. You have. Apologies extended for making light of a matter which can have fatal consequences.
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+1.
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Thanks for that.
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Ok I’ll make light of it ,it is mockworthy….I’ll be the bad person …..I’ll ask the question that sensitive ,intelligent men don’t ask …..why don’t we teach kids with peanut allergies what the F**k they look like and tell them to stay away. I doubt NothWestern is cooking anything in peanut oil and aren’t these adults in college. Doctor I get sick when I eat peanuts…oh I don’t know ….DON’T EAT THEM.. I love boiled peanuts and some genetic mutation in .0001 % of the population should not prevent me from enjoying them….
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To answer your question: parents do exactly that.
Unfortunately, a shitload of common food products are made with peanuts without people realizing unless they look at the ingredient list. Some foods are made on equipment that also processes peanuts, which can still cause problems even though the food is not made WITH peanuts. And some allergies are so severe that simply breathing around peanuts can cause anaphylaxis.
And to repeat what I said above: it’s for ONE game. What’s the big deal?
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Well, none of this deals with the primary issue of refusing to sell peanuts. Presumably, nobody with a peanut allergy will buy and eat a bag of peanuts. And that seems to be what the school is worried about.
So, the worry over the peanuts in games seems to be that, if some person has a bag of peanuts in an open-air stadium, another person with a peanut allergy could suffer a life-threatening allergic reaction from simply being in the general vicinity as a bag of nuts. That worry seems obviously overblown to me, or else we would have far more people dropping dead on the streets of America when they pass by someone holding, or eating, something containing nuts.
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If they were permanently banning peanuts I’d sort of care, but for one game? Let the little mutants enjoy a game.
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