http://www.joesportsfan.com

When the intensity level is cranked up at a sporting event like it was at Scottrade on Saturday night, the key element for a true fan to maximize the experience can be summarized by one word – efficiency.

It applies to everything from getting a sweet parking spot, crushing the pre-game meal, scoping out the best urinals, and of course, keeping your brew donkey freshened up.  If you’re standing in line at the concession stand waiting for a refill and you hear that trademark fog horn start blaring inside the arena, you’ll regret it forever.

But there’s no way the beer vendors can adequately meet the ferocious demand they’ll encounter during a playoff game, so you’ve got to find an angle.  Throwing two fingers into the air and keeping your head on a swivel, making you miss half the game isn’t good enough.

Somehow, some way you need to make sure the guy peddling 24 ounces of lubrication knows that you’re probably in need every time he makes his way to your section.   There is a simple solution…

The minute you walk to your seat before they drop the puck, catch the eye of a beer man and give him a peek at the back of your sweater, you’ve got him locked in.  He knows that you’re not some pompous jerk expecting top notch service in return for nothing, you’re the guy who has so much respect for their profession that you just had your Blues jersey personalized in their honor. 

And if an optimistic vendor assumes that the number is part of your standing order too?  Well, better to have 30 coldies at your seat than none, am I right?

(h/t @andrew_long)