Chris Long urges football fans not to 'be that guy,' stay hydrated while drinking

Updated

If you're the fan who gets a little too rowdy in the crowd at an NFL game, Chris Long sees you.

Drinking and football, of course, go hand in hand. Fans spend all week looking forward to Sunday afternoon, when they can let loose, eat some calories that don't count and down a few brews while watching their favorite team. But there are dangers to letting your drinking go too far.

"As players, we know what that person looks like in the stands," the two-time Super Bowl champion told AOL Sports. "You don't want to be that guy or that girl."

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To keep fans safe, happy and hydrated, Long is joining forces with Crown Royal to ensure supporters of every team drink responsibly — by balancing out their booze with water.

"It's one of the dumbest things in the world to not mix in water [when drinking]," Long said bluntly on behalf of Crown Royal's Water Break movement, which urges fans to include time-outs for H2O when they're indulging in a few drinks.

See Long with fans in Philadelphia on gameday:

"Even if I'm just walking around all week, if I'm not hydrated, I'm not myself," he continued. "Imagine if you're hanging out with your friends from 8 o'clock on and then you don't drink any water until the next morning at 10 a.m. If you weren't even drinking, that would affect you."

Long's tip that he swears by is to simply keep a glass of water in your hands between your Kentucky Mules or your Crown and ginger beers. That way, you're more tempted to finish it so you can put it down and free your hands for something else.

The former defensive end also strictly sticks to a 1:1 drink ratio, downing one glass of water for every alcoholic beverage he consumes.

"That's what I've been doing lately and I do feel a lot better," he said. "I feel like I'm able to have a good time without spiraling out of control."

Long is certainly a good person to take advice from. Earlier this year, he retired from the NFL after a successful 11-year career that included championships with both the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles. Plus, he knows a thing or two about water: His organization, Waterboys, connects professional athletes to communities in need of clean, accessible drinking water. Since its inception in 2015, Waterboys has funded the creation of 74 wells that serve roughly 300,000 people.

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