Medina Today

Let’s talk rowdy fans.

OK, you have paid your hard-earned bucks to buy a seat, or a bunch of seats at an athletic event. With that payment and entry, you have earned the right to cheer for your teams and your players, root against your opponents and enemy players, boo your guys for playing lousy and boo an adversary you don’t like. You can trash talk and be as funny or as biting as you want … within limits. The purchase of a seat doesn’t give fans the right to be violent, incite violence or be overly vulgar among children and those who are opposed to vulgarity. I am not moralizing, just stating common courteous behavior. I am not the fan police.

Throughout the history of sports there have been riots, cursing, spitting, throwing of batteries, bricks, rocks, popcorn, beer cans, and throwing punches by the fans in the stands. Now, let’s limit this discussion to American sports, as internationally, there is arguably nothing like soccer hooligans and soccer riots.

A recent survey of more than 2000 NCAA fans nationwide discussed the worst-behaved fans. After seeing what this study has to offer, we will add our own thoughts. PlayMichigan.com surveyed fans in Power Five conferences (SEC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12 and ACC) along with independent teams, and the respondents selected Alabama fans as the worst, for their arrogance, The Ohio State University was second, for their yelling at other fans, followed by LSU for yelling, Tennessee for throwing trash and Florida and Florida State for not being able to hold their alcohol. The most volatile curse-spewers came from Texas A&M, Miami, Georgia, Boston College, Arizona and Iowa. The most arrogant included Duke, Notre Dame, Auburn, BYU, Texas and UCLA

Fan behavior at the professional level is often worse, yet two of the most memorable fan riots were promotion-induced.

Ten-Cent Beer Night at Cleveland as the Indians (now Guardians) played Texas, June 4, 1974, allowed a limit of six 12-ouncers per drinker. A drunken riot in the ninth inning showed that it was a bad idea.

Right there with it was the July 12, 1979, Disco Demolition Night promotion at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Between games of a doubleheader between the ChiSox and Detroit Tigers, vinyl was exploded and at the end, a crate filled with disco records was blown up on the field. Fans rushed onto the field after the detonation. The playing field was damaged both by the explosion and by the rowdy fans to the point where the White Sox were required to forfeit the second game of the doubleheader to the Tigers.

Other out-of-control incidents have included a game in 1968, at which Philadelphia Eagles fans threw snowballs … at Santa Claus, then followed with beer cans and hoagies.

Back to college hoops, in 1988, Arizona State U fans trash-talked basketball star and future coach Steve Kerr (then playing for Arizona) about his father, who had been assassinated in Beirut, Lebanon, by terrorists.

Those were isolated occurrences, but day-to-day trash and hate-spewing goes on often in the stands. I am not talking about most loyal fans, and the most loyal support, I am talking about loud, obnoxious and curse-spewing, hate-yelling, violence-inciting fans.

It has been speculated that the NBA has the most trash-talking fan incidents, and most fan-to-fan and fan-to-player incidents, but the NFL vies for most fan-to-fan contact.

Without the assault and battery, is yelling anything you want, fair play for pay? You pay for your ticket. It is OK to say “funny” things to try to distract a player to get him off his game … one time Larry Bird was at the foul line and a fan behind the goal held up a Playboy centerfold to distract him … and fans often chant “airball, airball” and wave arms, fingers and wavy balloons. That seems to be OK, but how far is too far? You can get personal, but not too personal. Trash, I guess, is in the eye of the beholder, and vulgar for one is not vulgar for all, just as funny for some is not so funny to others.

I don’t have an answer to what is going too far. Hey, I give respect to the opposing fan at YOUR home ballpark who is decked out in opposing gear and uniform. It takes courage and fan support to do that. So, pay for your seat, enjoy the game, but remember that you ARE in public and not at home. Get the other guy off his game and root to your heart’s content … but take it easy, that fan next to you has ALSO paid for the right to enjoy the game. Take it easy, as the Eagles sang: "Don’t let the sound of your own wheels drive you crazy." Do you agree or disagree? Tell me what you think at: mike.blake@advantageinformatics.com

See you next time.