Alcohol and sports are deeply entwined in New Zealand's culture.
Rugby, cricket, motorsport, sailing, tennis - whether it's a shower of champagne or watching the game over a pint or three, our most iconic sporting moments are almost always drenched in alcohol.
But alcohol has also been linked to some infamous behaviour amongst our sports stars, such as the Chiefs' stripper scandal, former Black Caps cricketer Jesse Ryder's alcohol-related disciplinary problems, and former All Blacks star Zac Guildford's alcohol-fuelled incidents.
Newshub national correspondent Patrick Gower hosted Newshub Talks: Booze on Wednesday night, a follow-on from his documentary Patrick Gower: On Booze. Appearing on the panel was former All Blacks captain Kieran Read, who said in his experience he's "probably a binge drinker".
"I probably don't drink all the time… in my rugby career you didn't drink for a long period of time, like a season where you wouldn't drink. But you got to the end of the season, and especially if you won - or probably didn't matter if you won - you'd have a really big session on the booze," he told Gower.
Read shared a "highly embarrassing" story where, after winning the Ranfurly Shield, the Canterbury team got "pretty hard on the booze" in a hotel.
"Obviously went to bed, I've got a bit of a sleepwalking sleeptalking habit. I woke up in the middle of the night in the hallway in my undies. Didn't quite know where my room was, had to go down to reception to get a key to get back in."
Booze brands spend millions sponsoring sport, but what message does that send when alcohol companies are on teams' shirts?
"Clubs need money to survive and I think the alcohol industry does provide some good in that aspect in terms of helping out with equipment and things. Lotteries are the same in terms of the money they get," Read told Gower.
"Is it dubious how they get the money? Yes. But do we need it to survive, do clubs need it? I think they do. It's a really hard one. And in all honesty, if we want to change the culture, yes our stars and our people who are in the spotlight need to try to find a way to change themselves. I always say it comes down to individual choice."
However Read is optimistic that people can change and get out of binge drinking.
"I think it's shown on your show last night. You can make the decision not to binge drink," he told Gower.
Another guest on the panel, science educator Dr Michelle Dickinson (aka Nano Girl), was asked if sports teams glorify alcohol.
"I think what some of the mainstream brands are doing is actually offering zero-alcohol alternatives so I do think that one of the things that's happened in the past five years is that now options are available, you can be drinking a beer but it doesn't have alcohol in it," she said.
"It doesn't have to revolve around getting drunk, it's about being around people and being social."
Watch the full Patrick Gower: On Booze documentary on-demand at ThreeNow. The conversation around booze continues at Newshub Talks: Booze, also on ThreeNow.
