bartenders in ref uni's

I recently stumbled upon a revelation--it seems in mid-'80s cinema, there was a trend of featuring bartenders in referee uniforms. This one's from Running Scared as you can see. Others I remember are About Last Night and Nothing in Common. I think there was also a Burt Reynolds movie with one. Maybe that one with Goldie Hawn--Best Friends? Or was it Switching Channels? You're wondering why, aren't you? Well, I'll venture a guess. Sports marketing really took off in like '86 with Jordan. Predating Nike were those irksome Miller Lite spots in which old ex-jocks like, say, Larry Tzonka (sp?) and that large, mustachioed lineman who starred in Webster would argue over whether Miller Lite's excellence was due to it "tast(es)ing" great or being "less filling." These ads all took place in bars obviously and I believe there was a referee in the house, presiding over the sparrings. So the movies just took this concept and ran with it. I've seen this at real-life bars as well; Dave and Busters, the popular Chuck E. Cheese-type establishment for adults has their bartenders running around in zebra-stripes. Anyone who wants to steal my idea can forget about it--I've already filed the necessary papers for my dissertation.