Fans & Sporting Events

What is it with fans and athletes going crazy at sporting games. Within this past year we have had the riot police brought out to line the stands at Yankee Stadium during games 6 after the umps reversed a call (correctly) after it went against the Yankees. We've had Ron Arest & Steven Jackson of the Indiana Pacers enter the crowd to fight with a fan after a fan threw a beer at Artest. We've had fans of the home team Inter throw flares onto the field as their team was losing 3-0 to A.C Milan and injuring Inter's goalie. Then recently there was the incident at Fenway Stadium as a Fan was either trying to take a swipe at the Yankee's right fielder Gary Sheffield or purposely trying to interfere with the ball as it was in play... as another fan dumped a cup of beer on Shef. Either way the fan made contact, causing Sheffield to react and give the fan a two-handed shove before he threw the ball back into play and then showed great restraint by holding himself back and not letting his anger get the better of him.

My question is why do fans feel like they can do what ever they like, just because they bought the ticket? Don't get me wrong, I'm not absolving the players of any wrong doing. Ron Artest deserved to get suspended for the remainder of the season for wading into the crowd to get at the man who threw the beer. But the man who threw the beer was a season ticket holder for the Pistons. Likewise the man who took a swipe at Sheffield was a season ticket holder too. That is why I don't buy the excuse of him trying to grab the ball. The ball that was hit was clearly in play and any fan should know that you don't touch a ball that is in play, and if you do reach over the walls to interfere with a ball in play; it leads to a ejection from the stadium (Plus the ball is taken from you). This man should have known better and I would bet that he does. I also believe that in making contact with Sheffield that is a form of fan interference and should be ejected too. No mater what excuse he tries to make, there was no excuse for him to do that.

There is a line that is drawn to separate the fans from the players and players from fans. On the basketball court, line is behind the player's bench. In baseball it's marked by walls. In hockey, it's boards, in soccer it's a large area of space and the boards. These areas are clearly marked and neither side should cross them. It's my belief that any player that crosses that line should have the book thrown at him. The league should fine them, suspend them, and put those electric dog collars on them that shock them as they cross the line.

Conversely, fans that cross that line deserve what ever comes to them. When ever a fan rushes onto the field, the player has no knowledge of their intentions. Martina Hengis was stabbed by a fan at a tennis tournament. She never was the same player or person. There was a father & son that jumped the 1st baseline wall at a Chicago White Sox game and attacked the KC Royals 1st base coach. Jumped him from behind and double teamed him. Sure, there are some drunken fans who just want to run the base paths or streak or do something else that is stupid & harmless, but how is a player to know what the fan is trying to do. When a fan jumps onto the field, they are presenting a potential threat directly to the players, and security may not get their fast enough. The players have to protect themselves and I do not blame them for kicking the shit out of that fan. They may use brutal and excessive force, but those fans need to be sent a message of discouragement. Any penalty that gets handed down to them in the judicial court does not get as much publicity as players handing out the judgment.

Well, I started with a purpose for writing with this blog, but I've lost focus of where I'm going with it. Hopefully it will make the point I'm trying to. Players should not cross that line into the stands, and with fans running onto the field, they present a greater threat to the players, then the players do going into the stands. That is why I have no problem with the players beating up and ganging up on the fans that run the field.