Columbus Crew SC and the Portland Timbers provided a grand finale to the Major League Soccer season at the 2015 MLS Cup, and today two supporters and their guests are reminiscing about the experience of a lifetime.
Michael Flickinger, from Dublin, OH, the Columbus Crew SC Designated Driver for the Season and Andrea Tyler, a supporter from Portland, OR, representing the Portland Timbers, were selected as the grand prize winners of the “Responsibility Has Its Rewards” sweepstakes. The sweepstakes is in its eleventh season, provided by Techniques for Effective Alcohol Management (TEAM) Coalition with support from Major League Soccer (MLS) and HEINEKEN USA. It continues to succeed in raising awareness for the designated driver programs offered by MLS clubs.
Both winners and their guests attended the 2015 MLS Cup at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, OH on Sunday, December 6. The winners watched pregame warm-ups on the field after having been selected from among the 32,078 supporters who pledged to be designated drivers at MLS games throughout the 2015 season, ensuring a safe ride home for their friends and family.
US DOT / NHTSA 2014 NATIONAL DATA:
• In 2014, 9,967 people were killed as a result of alcohol-related (BAC > 0.08) car crashes, a decrease of 1% from the 10,076 fatalities in 2013.
• Many, if not most of those lives would have been saved if people did not drive when they were impaired by alcohol or if they used sober, designated drivers or if they simply wore their seat belts.
• Statistics and research clearly show that 21-34 year old males are the demographic most likely to be involved in an automobile crash, drive when impaired by alcohol, and fail to buckle up.
