If you said you saw him pissed while out getting the morning paper it would be sad.
He was pissed at an after dinner event, at night, with possibly a free bar. I don't think that is sad.
I’ve also seen Kendal ( RIP ) quite a few times and he managed to stay sober until after the event. These were all free bars too.
To be so drunk, that you can hardly stand up or speak before an event is terribly sad and also incredibly disrespectful to all of the people who paid a lot of money to be there, as well as your ex team mates.
By the way, it wasn’t in a social club, it was in a hotel, with a three course meal and a dress code. So, I’d say that people were entitled to expect the speakers to be able to stand up.