My mother and I are considering making a trip to Washington or Charlotte to see the NBA’s Wizards or Bobcats take on our Indiana Pacers. (Even though we’ve been living in Virginia since '04, we lived in Indiana for 20 years prior to that, and still consider the Pacers our team).
Being fairly poor, it’s more of a long-term goal than anything set in stone.
This would be my first road trip to see one of “my” teams play in an opposing arena, so I have to ask the question: What’s it like? I’m interested in hearing the experiences of others who’ve done this. Specific information about what it’s like in Washington or Charlotte would be perfect, but more general information would be great, as well.
Missed the edit window, so let me clarify my question.
We are absolutely planning to be there bedecked in blue ‘n gold, rockin’ our Pacers jerseys, and cheering loudly for Our Boys.
Are we likely to get heat from the hometown fans? Worse service from the concessions people or arena people? Are we likely to be the target of violence? (I’ve heard horror stories about Washington in general).
In baseball at least, you don’t want to wear visiting colors in the bleachers, and I wouldn’t go solo or with my family to any highly contested game wearing visitor rags. But I think most games are perfectly safe - you just might take some razzing and verbal hassle.
I once went to a Yanks/Red Sox game by myself, wearing my Giants jacket. Got some nice comments from both sets of fans… until the outfield scoreboard started racking up runs for the Giants at about one a minute. (I think the game finished as a 15 or 16 to 2 blowout.) The entire section was whacking me on the back, playfully throwing popcorn and hollering, “Man, you’re at the WRONG GAME!”
This depends on where you are, but AFAIK it’s the exception rather than the rule to get hassled for wearing the opposing team’s colors/merchandise. It seems like, when they televise games, it’s not uncommon for them to show a couple in the stands that are obviously fans of the two different teams.
For the NBA, I think you’ll be fine, unless there’s something specific about the Washington crowd that’s usually hostile. But this early in the season, I think you’ll be fine.
For the NFL, it can get rough for you in most every stadium. My BIL wore a Broncos jacket to a Chiefs game, and had some run-ins.
For the MLB, it really depends. Go to a Royals game, and you’ll be fine. Go to a White Sox game in the opposing team’s colors, and you’re risking some abuse. Go to a Phillies game in any team’s uniform, and you’re going to get abuse. Definitely depends on the culture of the team’s fandom.
It depends. I have no problem wearing all my Dodger regalia when watching them spank the Padres at Petco. There are usually several thousand of us in the stands, so I don’t stand out. But I wouldn’t wear a Giants shirt at Chavez Ravine ever. (OK - I wouldn’t wear a Giants shirt if it was the last piece of clothing on Earth, but you get my point!)
My experience is almost entirely Giants/Dodgers and Yanks/BoSox; I don’t mean to say that it’s dangerous or a bad idea to wear visiting colors in any of those stadia but it guarantees you an interesting time - and I’d still go in a group and be wary of trouble for key games.
I’ve attended a good number of games at Yankee Stadium wearing my Royals jersey. I never get any hate, it’s always either pity or nostalgia for George Brett.
Of course, if I’d been in a Red Sox jersey, the situation would have been very different.
Back when I lived in Pittsburgh, I went to all of the Mets-Pirates games. I was always dressed head-toe in Mets gear but I never had a problem. Like others have said, it really depends on the home team crowd. Philly is usually hostile to outsiders but I’m also speaking as a fan of rival teams (football Giants fan). I have never had a problem going to Fenway in opposite gear but I’m not a Yankees fan so that probably makes a big difference. You might get the occasional joking comment or two but fans are usually pretty civil when its not a rivalry game.
I recently went to a hockey game at my son’s college. They were playing the team from my own alma mater, so we sat in the visiting team section. But, we were OK either way the game came out.
When I lived in Washington DC in the late 80s-early 90s I used to go see the Yankees play the Orioles in Memorial Stadium and later Camden Yards wearing my Yankee cap. I never had a problem.
I’ve gone to games at Fenway wearing my Yankees cap three times and never got more than a “You’re brave!”, although they weren’t games with the Yankees.
At Yankee Stadium I see fans of opposing teams all the time in the stands. Even Red Sox fans don’t get hassled much unless they’re loud and obnoxious.
Even then, it’s going to depend on the stadium, and whether the visiting team is a particular rival. In your BIL’s case, he wore a jacket for one of the Chiefs’ biggest rivals, so I’m not surprised.
Some NFL stadiums / fans are known for being particularly, well, fanatical – Philadelphia, New York, Oakland, and maybe New England come to mind.
I’m a Packer season ticket holder, and I’ve been to many games where there are visiting fans there, in regalia. Unless it’s the Bears or Vikings, any teasing or ribbing at Lambeau is likely to be of the good-natured variety (though, if the Packers start getting thrashed by the visitors, all bets may be off ).
I’d say the stories of opposing fans getting beat up for wearing the opposing team’s jersey are the very rare exception rather than the rule. It’s very common at Wrigley Field. There’s no heated rivalry between the Pacers and Washington or Charlotte, I think you’ll be fine.
Funny story: Accompanied by my friend the White Sox fan, I went to a Indians/White Sox game in Chicago dressed in my Indians shirt. We were walking down the ramps after the game when we came upon a group that had obviously had too much to drink during the game. My buddy said, “Better be careful Zam.” When we got closer, it because obvious that the group was no danger to me because they were all Indians’ fans. “These are my drunks!” I said to my buddy.
Lifelong Phillies/Flyers/Sixers/Eagles fan here. Attended more games in Philly than I can count. And I’m tired of the same cliches that get pulled out in every thread of this type. Frosted Glass, Munch, and anyone else: Please share tales of any first-hand “hostility” and “abuse” that you seen. I have never witnessed anything beyond good-natured ribbing of opposing fans at Philly sports events (and I’ve been on the receiving end of this at road games in New York, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Baltimore). Yes, there are isolated incidents, but these occur all over. Here’s one. Here’s another. And one more that did involve Philly fans.
So, I would say that if you wear the visiting team’s colors at a sporting event, you will get noticed. But I think actual hostility or abuse is the exception rather than the rule.
Sure thing. I was at this game wearing a Kansas City Royals jersey. I got heckled throughout the game. Which was a lot better than the 2 guys in Mets jerseys that got the shit beat out of them in the outfield concourse that I watched while waiting in line for a hotdog. Not only did I see the perpetrators get arrested and hauled off, I saw two other instances of people getting hauled off by the police at that game. Can’t say whether or not those other two instances were because of violence, but it was a hell of a lot more police action than I’ve seen in the hundreds of non-Phillies games I’ve ever been to. I’d hate to see how riled up those drunk assholes would get if the Phillies had not blown out the competition that night.
That’s because the announcers do all the hassling. The night I was there, they did a special “cap dance game” on the big board for visiting BoSox fans. The three caps went up and down very slowly and the ball never moved.
And then, the Yanks were too busy hassling their own as well. This was the first game after Steinbrenner called Irabu a fat slug for being too out of shape. He made an absolutely routine cover of first and the Yankee fans gave him a standing O.
The few media accounts I can find of a game 3.5 years ago don’t mention any violence, but I can’t deny your experience. I somehow have escaped seeing anyone get the shit beat out them. And I wonder if the 2 Mets fans you saw did anything to provoke the incident. I think it helps to be respectful when you’re visiting another team’s stadium/arena. You get what you give sometimes. Mets fans had once been notorious for rambunctious behavior in Philly. Not so much these days.
That said, I wonder if the good-natured ribbing I mentioned = the heckling you mentioned. After a Phillies loss at Wrigley a few years ago, I met a Cubs fan on the Red Line who quizzed me for my entire train ride: Who won tonight? What was the score? Who was the winning pitcher? Etc., etc., etc. I took it all in the good humor in which it was intended. (And then I thoroughly enjoyed the next two games when the Phillies schooled the Cubbies. Good times!)
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