Morning all, must say that reading thro and hearing of others experiences and what is to be expected certainly does help so much, to be forewarned of the 60 to 90 day window and be prepared / expect a chance of a few rough days is definitely helpful.
In the end being around all the drinking yesterday didn't bother me at all, got myself a bit worked up before I went but no need, I ordered a 750 ml bottle of sparkling water as the first round was placed and sat chatting before ordering a meal - I was extremely thirsty so drank that in the same manner I would have done the first few pints - and then needed the loo more than those drinking !! Family I was with had 1 or 2 drinks each - had I been drinking it would have turned it to a completely different day as it would have been at least 10 pints in the time we were there, saw one lad out of it but realised that not many were in anyway shape or form drunk, I always thought that everybody was in the same state as me when there !!
To be honest quite often I would have ditched the second half of the match to carry on drinking and watched it on the tv in the lounge (you can't take alcohol into the stands) - when not in the corporate have been known to leave the match at half time to carry on drinking and smoking weed etc - the event just became a distraction for getting smashed - that's all it was about in the end.