I don’t know how it is at most stadiums, but at Oakland Coliseum (for Athletics games, not Raiders) I have had many vulgar or abusive fans shut up by security.
They have an announcement on the PA before the game that they strive for a family environment and that abusive language or behavior is grounds for removal. I tolerate a lot, but when necessary I’ve spoken to security, and they’ve always quieted the people down.
I know they have similar announcments at Enron Park (or whatever it is called these days) and Bank One Ballpark in Phoenix. Don’t know how good they are at enforcement, though.
But the vast, vast majority of baseball fans are well behaved. I got to a lot of baseball games and maybe 10% have situations where I am even bothered by another fan, let alone disgusted or moved to action. Last year, during the playoff series against the Yankees, I sat next to two Yankees fans that had flown in just for the game. Everyone treated them well (though there was good natured trash talking).
I don’t drink, and I also recognize that alchohol is the source of much of the bad behavior, but I don’t think it should be banned from the games.
Not that I’m defending John Rocker, because he’s a moron, but if I had to put up with Mets fans throwing batteries at me and my girlfriend then I’d hate New York for the rest of my life.
Alcohol plays a large part in it, yes. If we go by stereotypes alone, though, it seems to me that anyone who has the money to get drunk at a sporting event (hell, them beverages are expensive) ought to be civilized enough not to say these things, no matter how drunk they are. We usually associate these sorts of incidents with the boorish.
I’m reminded, too, of the basketball game (was it Texas vs. OSU?) this past season where a Texas player, chasing a basketball out of bounds, accidentally knocked over a pregnant woman; and the man sitting next to her, presumably her husband, was hell-bent on going apeshit on the player. Had to be restrained and everything. (Keep in mind the game was played at OSU).
People do and say things in crowds that they’d never do or say in a situation where there was more accountability. It’s a psychological thing. Add that to the adrenaline and quickly-shifting emotions of a sporting event, and it doesn’t surprise me all that much. People just go nuts sometimes.
The burden is that of the arena/dome/stadium staff and security force. Fuck the first amendment–it doesn’t apply here. You’re paying to be there, and they can kick you out for any reason, including vulgar language and just plain tastelessness. There are plenty of security guards at sporting events–I’ve seen them–so where are they, and why aren’t they looking out for Jason Kidd’s wife and son in the first place? Why’d they let it get on the evening news and in the papers?
The problem that Jason Kidd had was not that people were calling him a wife-beater. It was that the Boston fans were yelling at his wife Joumana and three-year old son T.J., causing Jason Kidd to fear for Joumana and T.J.'s safety.
Mrs. Kidd tried to stay low-key at the Celtics games, not wearing her usual #5 jersey, but she’s hot and the papers have her splashed all over the place, not to mention the TV interviews. Plus T.J., a miniature dead ringer for Jason Kidd, seems to want to blow a kiss to every person in the world (hence Jason blowing a kiss before each free throw). As a result, the fans recognized them immediately.
It’s a shame that on the night when Jason Kidd and the New Jersey Nets could reach the NBA Finals for the first time ever, Kidd’s wife and child won’t be there to celebrate with him.
Still, the worst fans have to be Philadelphia’s. Cheering loudly as the Dallas Cowboys’ Michael Irvin lay injured on the field of the Vet, possibly paralyzed, was low class. Only Philadelphia would loudly boo visiting hometown heroes Mike Piazza and Kobe Bryant, who get booed at worse in Philly than in any other town.
I’ve heard a number of players basically saying this. Pro athletes realize that they’re going to get heckled and, for the most part, they accept that the fans bought the right to do it. But they say that saying stuff about their families is out of bounds. I think this is a reasonable distinction to honor.
As far as heckling goes, there was a guy who has season tickets next to the visitors penalty box at the MCI Center. This guy is a master of getting in a player’s head, but he never mentions anything personal. He goes purely by statistics or their performance in the game. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen players arguing with him. I heard that he once got so deep in a player’s head (and I can’t remember who it was) that the player stayed in the box a few extra seconds to argue with the guy. That, my friends, is talent.
The guy at the capitals games is the kind of heckler I can live with. His name wouldn’t by any chance be Robin Ficker would it:wally ? He was voted the worst fan in the NBA by the players four years running, but when the Boulez/Wizards moved to the MCI Center he disappeared 'cuase he said the ticker prices were too high. Good riddance.
The one time I got to see Michael Jordan play a real game, the experience was nearly ruined by Ficker’s non stop screeching and screaming for 3 hours, from the moment Jordan stepped on the court. I was behind one of the baskets and I could still hear him.
In that thread, Feynn also posted, “Similarly, the U.S. women’s Olympic hockey team used our beloved flag as a floormat in their dressing room when they played our ladies team.”
What the fuck is wrong with these jerks? I can’t think of anything that would even come close to justifying any of this shit.
Oh, I forgot to mention. Feynn went on to say “In the defense of the American women, they say they never walked on the flag but placed it there to remind themselves who they were playing.”
Sounds a lot like “I smoked marijuana but didn’t inhale.”