OT: What's wrong with this world? Ravens fan clings to life after fight with Raiders fan

[CelticPatriot]

Reminds me of this > Hillsborough disaster - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"It can't happen here" - Yes it did.

When Hillsborough happened, US reporters attempted to spin American sports fans have so many choices to pull for while their British counterparts have just one soccer team and are more prone to going off the deep end. I think this proves on this side of the pond we have plenty of fans that are unbalanced.

I don't really know what you're getting at here, Hillsborough was a tragedy caused by incompetent policing, not even slightly comparable to what happened here.

 

[Jackson 2]

New Orleans was fantastic. Went to the 09 Pats-Saints game there with my parents, who grew up in Louisiana and were Saints fans. My dad's co-workers were telling him I shouldn't wear Pats gear because the fans were relentless on opposing fans. Bull crap. Between inside the Superdome and walking back to the hotel, I shook no less than 200 hands, and almost all of them were very complimentary of the Pats success.

I was at that game also. There were about a dozen of us there for the entire weekend, we went to the game in Pats gear and got similar reactions from NO fans.

 

[FCB02062]

Simple - one part testosterone, one part machismo, many parts alcohol, plus a hotly contested football game = fights. Personally been a part of several scuffles at Gillette - one time with NYJ fans after the MNF (i think) 45-7 drubbing and another with Atlanta fans in 98. NYJ fans always started schitt....

The Atlanta brawl in Lot A after the game was epic - cops, mounted staties, multiple arrests, multiple injuries, bottles to the head, etc. It was pretty crazy....all because an Atlanta fan started hitting on a girlfriend of a guy in our group. Pats fan boyfriend steps in, pats fan girlfriend gets between, then the Atlanta fan shoved the girl to the ground to get to the Pats fan (my buddy). After that it was, as my father used to say, Katy bar the door!!!!!!! You get physical with a female, I don't care how wasted you are, folks aren't taking kindly to that...

 

[The Boston Patriot]

Had a Raider sit behind us at the game in Foxboro yesterday. He made sure he told everyone in the section he was a Raider fan and proceeded to loudly insult the Patriots on every play. He finally got so drunk he had to leave in the 2nd half. About as stupid a ba$tard as I've seen at a public sporting event in a number of years.

Before Kraft cleaning up this fan base, I can remember more than a few times where having one drumk fan would have been an enjoyable game at Foxborough. I've seen multiple rows of drunks, in multiple sections.

 

[RecoveringCowboy]

I don't really know what you're getting at here, Hillsborough was a tragedy caused by incompetent policing, not even slightly comparable to what happened here.

American reporting may have been clueless back then. Boston not only has the Patriots, but the Red Sox, the Bruins, the Celtics, the Revolution. Reporters were attempting to say if one city had just one team, there would be more crazy fans living and dying on that one team. The story might have been all wrong.

 

[PatsDeb]

I would absolutely be averse to it, FWIW. Getting loaded in the parking lot is part of the gameday experience, in my book, and for the 99% of people who aren't complete degenerate pieces of ****, they won't become violent no matter how drunk they are. What I wouldn't be averse to is the owners reaching into their wallets for a change and properly staffing security at the games. For what fans pay to attend an NFL game, failing to staff the premises with enough security to protect paying fans is absolutely ludicrous, and the blame should go to the top. If they're unwilling to budget for that, then they don't care about your safety, plain and simple.

At the same time, I'm also a fan of the trend toward dramatically increasing the penalties for getting into fights, so no matter how dumb and drunk of a meathead they may be, could ever get away with pulling that crap twice. I'm find with lifetime bans being the result of fighting at games.

It's not even just the violent fans though. Last week I was next to a young lady who pounded beer after beer. We were at the same tailgate party before the game, so I struck up a conversation with her before she became totally blotto. By the end of the game she had fallen on me and the folks around us twice, was swaying and slurring uncontrollably and I was worried that her friends (who did not seem to be her close friends - she told me she got her ticket last minute when someone else she knew couldn't go) were going to leave her behind for the 1 mile+ walk back to the car. They didn't, thank goodness, but this is not the first young lady (or young guy) I have seen falling-down drunk and pretty much on her own. Being a gal myself, I know that it's only a matter of time before someone in that condition gets into serious personal trouble and danger. And who knows how many of these non-violent drunks get behind the wheel to drive home after the game. I try not to think about it and act responsibly myself, but it's a big problem.

 

[Tunescribe]

I must confess, it can be hard to restrain oneself sometimes. Yesterday at the game a guy was sitting right behind me who was drunk, cheering for Buffalo and spewing anti-Pats blather AFTER EVERY PLAY. Here's the kicker: he was NOT a Bills fan. He said he was a Raiders fan and just hates the Patriots. After being asked a couple times to knock it off he just got purposefully worse so we moved to other seats.

What I found myself wondering was: why should anyone have to put up with that kind of crap? I wanted to kill him, he was making a bad game worse with his constant screaming for Buffalo and laughing at the Patriots. I'm not sure security would have helped, since he wasn't threatening anyone ...

 

[patfanken]

Don't the Krafts already have a zero tolerance for fans who misbehave. IIRC you can lose your season ticket rights even if you aren't the people misbehaving but gave your tickets TO the people who misbehave. I don't see how much more they can do.

BTW- IIRC you can lose your season tickets, even if you aren't caught in real time. I'm pretty sure they look at the tapes to see if people aren't behaving after the game is over. At least that was the policy when they first got the team and where trying to clean up the crowd. I'm not sure what the policies are now.

 

[FourierSeries]

I must confess, it can be hard to restrain oneself sometimes. Yesterday at the game a guy was sitting right behind me who was drunk, cheering for Buffalo and spewing anti-Pats blather AFTER EVERY PLAY. Here's the kicker: he was NOT a Bills fan. He said he was a Raiders fan and just hates the Patriots. After being asked a couple times to knock it off he just got purposefully worse so we moved to other seats.

What I found myself wondering was: why should anyone have to put up with that kind of crap? I wanted to kill him, he was making a bad game worse with his constant screaming for Buffalo and laughing at the Patriots. I'm not sure security would have helped, since he wasn't threatening anyone ...

Did you make sure to remind him of his team's record over the last few years? Or better yet, of the 2001 Divisional game?

 

[GoBlue]

It can happen anywhere but yeah, Oakland probably the worst. As a Lions fan too I went to a Lions game in Chicago with a friend that lived there. I stood up to cheer for a play and 4 obnoxious guys behind me with big mouths were on me. I ignored them and the next time they threatened me. I went looking for a cop but security said it was all in fun and to go back to my seat. They were all drunk so i didn't want to irate them anymore. I was outnumbered.

 

[Belichick8384]

Anybody else notice they live in New York? Sounds about right to me

 

[RobertWeathers]

It can happen anywhere but yeah, Oakland probably the worst. As a Lions fan too I went to a Lions game in Chicago with a friend that lived there. I stood up to cheer for a play and 4 obnoxious guys behind me with big mouths were on me. I ignored them and the next time they threatened me. I went looking for a cop but security said it was all in fun and to go back to my seat. They were all drunk so i didn't want to irate them anymore. I was outnumbered.

Thats the key thing that needs to be recognized. There are some really bad people out there that have zero respect for other people's lives. If you have a career and loved ones at home that depend on you, your duty is to make it home in one piece.

Being a tough guy is not worth 2 months in the hospital.

 

[Deus Irae]

Even though I enjoy a ****tail before a game, I wouldn't be adverse to banning all alcohol at the games and in the parking lots.

Adults, freedoms, responsibilities and all that. When you find yourself accepting limitations on adult freedoms, you should generally assume that you're wrong to do so.

 

[fourhour]

I must confess, it can be hard to restrain oneself sometimes. Yesterday at the game a guy was sitting right behind me who was drunk, cheering for Buffalo and spewing anti-Pats blather AFTER EVERY PLAY. Here's the kicker: he was NOT a Bills fan. He said he was a Raiders fan and just hates the Patriots. After being asked a couple times to knock it off he just got purposefully worse so we moved to other seats.

What I found myself wondering was: why should anyone have to put up with that kind of crap? I wanted to kill him, he was making a bad game worse with his constant screaming for Buffalo and laughing at the Patriots. I'm not sure security would have helped, since he wasn't threatening anyone ...

Doesn't Gillette have a similar policy to Fenway, where they print it on the back of the ticket and review it publicly before the game on the big screen? Does it not state that if you offend or make any other fan uncomfortable you are subject to immediate ejection from the stadium?

 

[PatsDeb]

Adults, freedoms, responsibilities and all that. When you find yourself accepting limitations on adult freedoms, you should generally assume that you're wrong to do so.

Except there are many, many people who cannot deal with the freedom of drinking in public at a football game. Drinking in public is banned in lots of places.

 

[Froob]

Had a Raider sit behind us at the game in Foxboro yesterday. He made sure he told everyone in the section he was a Raider fan and proceeded to loudly insult the Patriots on every play. He finally got so drunk he had to leave in the 2nd half. About as stupid a ba$tard as I've seen at a public sporting event in a number of years.

Did he think the Raiders were playing the Patriots?

 

[MitchKumstein]

It's a shame that, as much as my kids (ages 8 & 12) love the Patriots, it's going to be a long time before I take them to an NFL game. There are just too many drunken shenanigans going on in the stands, even at a "fan friendly" stadium like Gillette.

 

[Froob]

Doesn't Gillette have a similar policy to Fenway, where they print it on the back of the ticket and review it publicly before the game on the big screen? Does it not state that if you offend or make any other fan uncomfortable you are subject to immediate ejection from the stadium?

I believe it requires two personal fouls to be ejected. You lose two beers for offending someone. 2nd time you get ejected.

 

[Deus Irae]

Except there are many, many people who cannot deal with the freedom of drinking in public at a football game. Drinking in public is banned in lots of places.

Your post changes literally nothing about what I posted, Deb. There are many things that are banned in many places, and the banning is almost always a bad thing.

 

[PatsDeb]

Your post changes literally nothing about what I posted, Deb. There are many things that are banned in many places, and the banning is almost always a bad thing.

I guess we'll have to agree to disagree. If everyone could act like an adult, then drinking before and during games would not be a problem. But too many people can't handle it. It's more the pregame blotto in the parking lot, now that I think about it. I attend a lot of Bruins games too, and while there are occasional drunks, there are nowhere near the amount of blitzed citizens that I see at Pats games.