Fan revolts out of control, one wanted to fight UGA player
Braves fans littered Turner Field with beer bottles after bad call. (Curtis Compton/AJC)
The Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines fan as: 1) an enthusiastic devotee (as of a sport or a performing art) usually as a spectator; 2): an ardent admirer or enthusiast (as of a celebrity or a pursuit).
As with anything, definitions can often be broadened. The boundaries of this definition just seemingly shouldn’t stretch to home fans cheering when their quarterback crumbles to the ground with a concussion. Or throwing bottles and garbage on a baseball field, endangering other fans and players, in protest of an umpire’s call. Or egging and toilet-papering a home known to be rented by five college players out of disgust, merely because the team lost a football game. Or effectively challenging one student-athlete to a fight on Twitter.
Yes. One “fan” actually did that last week to Georgia’s Christian Robinson.
“There were all these people saying stuff about me on Twitter, it got personal,” Robinson, a senior linebacker, said about the aftermath of last week’s loss at South Carolina. “I had to start blocking people Sunday. I think I blocked about 30. One guy really started coming at me. I’m like, ‘Why are you talking to me like?’ Then he started giving me an address, saying, ‘Yeah, come meet me,’ and I’m like, ‘Are you serious?’”
So this is what it has come to?
That there is a lunatic fringe in sports fandom is not a revelation. In ancient times, a chariot race at Hippodrome in the year 532 CE, organized to raise support for overthrowing the emperor, ignited a riot that led to the deaths of 10,000 to 30,000 fans. But at least there was the backdrop of political and social issues.
A house rented by Christian Robinson (45), Aaron Murray (11) and three other Georgia players was egged and toilet-papered after a loss. (AP)
Lost perspective has reached moronic proportions. Kansas City Chiefs fans cheered last week when Matt Cassel was concussed because their team stinks, and they wanted Brady Quinn in the game. Chiefs linemen Eric Winston responded appropriately, saying, “We are not gladiators” and called it “sickening. It’s 100 percent sickening. I’ve never been so embarrassed in my life to play football.”
Hundreds of Braves fans threw bottles and garbage after an umpire botched an infield fly rule call in the Wild Card playoff game
Fans cheered when Matt Cassel went down with a concussion, and one teammate called it "sickening." (AP)
against St. Louis. The next day, when Chipper Jones was asked why he didn’t respond to a plea by fans for a curtain call following the final game of his career, he said he wasn’t aware they wanted him out there, then joked, “I thought they were still throwing bottles.”
Then there is what happened in Athens. A house rented by five Georgia players was egged and toilet-papered following the Bulldogs’ 35-7 loss at South Carolina. The masses vented on social media, particularly Twitter, some taking personal attacks on players.
As if perspective hadn’t already been lost, the idiocy became magnified when it was learned that the father of quarterback Aaron Murray — one of the home’s tenants, with Robinson — had been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and was about to undergo surgery.
“People can hide behind [fake screen names], especially when alcohol is involved,” Robinson said. “I understand people get emotionally involved. But you hope they realize that there are bigger deals in life than Georgia football, especially when you see something like what happened to Aaron’s father.”
The Athens police department will begin making frequent checks of players’ homes during road games. It’s sad that it has come to this, especially on a college campus.
Sports sociologist Jay Coakley, author of “Sports in Society: Issues and Controversies,” believes a number of factors have combined to embolden sports fans more than ever, including: a growing belief that they can affect the outcomes of games with crowd noise, increased ticket prices that grow their sense of involvement; and the growing platforms for their opinions, including message boards, blog commenting and sports talk radio.
“There is a sense of entitlement, but it goes beyond that,” Coakley said from his home in Colorado Springs. “It’s also a sense that you can get away with it. I don’t want to blame it all on talk radio, but those narratives have become pretty extreme. The boundaries for what’s acceptable and what’s not have been pushed, even to the point of egging the home of your own quarterback.”
When asked for a solution, Coakley said it would help if athletes, particularly on college campuses, were less sheltered from the public and allowed to make an off-the-field connection with fans. He added, “It also would be nice if somebody in the stands stood up and said, ‘This is is not acceptable.’ Point people out. Maybe the message would start to get across.”
The Athens eggers have not been caught. Robinson laughed when asked what he would like to see happen to them if they ever were brought to justice.
“I think if they ever get caught, just the public knowing who did that would be worse punishment than anything else,” he said. “They would be complete social outcasts. That would be enough.”
By Jeff Schultz
•
New York Times Bestsellers! (OK, not quite, but…)
• Weekend Predictions: No sacrifices, but Falcons, LSU win
• Video blog: Are Falcons (5-0) really better than before?
• Radakovich says Johnson is ‘right person for job’
• Al Groh’s problems at Georgia Tech weren’t pure ‘fantasy’
• Falcons are easy highlight in Atlanta’s dark sports weekend
• Short takes: Gonzalez, Bryant and missing RG3 in Falcons’ win
• Braves’ Frank Wren needs to fix good, but not great, team
• Chipper Jones on loss in his finale: ‘Ultimately, I’m to blame’
• Spurrier should take a lesson from Richt on handling criticism
• Chipper Jones: Braves lose legend, fans lose hero, I lose reason to open laptop
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432 comments Add your comment
Joe fan
October 13th, 2012
9:57 am
Can we please not lump fans trashing the field in with egging a player’s house or cheering an injury? They aren’t even close to being the same thing.
DawgNole
October 13th, 2012
9:58 am
JSS
October 12th, 2012
10:19 pm
“it is because you’re mind could not wrap itself once again on being on the wrong side of an issue…”
Correction: it is because your “mind” could not wrap itself the fact that once again your on the wrong side of an issue…
___________________
STILL incorrect.
“. . . wrap itself the fact that . . . .”??? Huh?
“. . . once again YOUR on the wrong side . . . .”??? Hello?
Delusional
October 13th, 2012
10:00 am
“It is very possible that the people doing this aren’t UGA students or fans at all.”
Yep, that explains it. Do you really think another teams fans really give a hoot about your team?
You need some time with a therapist. “Duh”
loyal dawg
October 13th, 2012
10:01 am
Some fans are just self centered at tmes. At the Outback Bowl, there is an 85 year old and a 72 year old behind me sitting at their seats. The guy on row in front of me with his teenage kids decides to stand up the entire game. Standing for big plays is expected. After he stood up for the entire first quarter, the elderly couple was discussing among themselves what to to do. They are watching the game off of the Big Jumbo Screen. I asked the guy in front of me if he could sit for the parts of the game that were not a big play because of the elderly fans behind me and him. He looked at the elderly fans and told me that he was standing the entire game and that he paid for his tickets and that he was entitled to this. The stadium personnel did absolutely nothing. Another situation happens continuously. Buy a ticket to a game, sit amongst profanity laced fans who think that everyone on the filed can hear their insults towards the refs, players and coaches. It is like being on a golf course with a golfer who is not only a poor golfer and also a poor guest. In the case of the golfer, he has the attitude of, I paid my greens fee and by golly, my behavior and attitude is mine even if it ruins the round for others. The same attitude is with the profane and obnoxious fan, I paid for my ticket and I can act anyway I desire even if it destroys the atmosphere of the game for those around me. It was a teachable moment for my 9 or 10 year old when we went to a game. The education that my kids received was precious. They learned decisively how not to act and how to respond to such obnoxious behavior. And the stadium attendants would do nothing. And if they did, then the entire section would have to be dismissed because the obnoxious behavior is the norm for so many people. I am glad that I am abnormal. The enjoyment of rooting for my team and watching excellent play is important. As an All-American and professional, I know how hard it is to master a craft. The game is more important than the fan.
Atlanta fan
October 13th, 2012
10:01 am
As the fans are forced to pay more and costs of tickets skyrocket, you can be certain the fans will continue to act this way. Fans want their opinions known and a simple letter usually falls on deaf ears. You wanted to charge the fans more, fine but deal with the monster you have created. Ajc reporters do not pay for tickets so who are they to lecture the paying fans who are not constantly courted by front offices of these teams. More money means you better win, NOW. Just a fact of life….teams can’t have it both ways.
Nurse Ratched [aka Randal Patrick McMurphy]
October 13th, 2012
10:05 am
Gee Jeff Schultz… hard hitting article. Shame you can’t apply yourself in the same manner when it comes to covering the actual play on the field…
You, Sir, are a disgusting example of the Lap Dog media; can’t be critical of the teams… no, that might make some of the players and personnel angry with you…
boo-hoo-hoo…
Go buy some soap, take a bath and find something constructive to do with your miserable existence… |-)
Pace53
October 13th, 2012
10:05 am
With all the PR that the Braves provide to the youth with their various events for Turner Field , this
show of fan support showed a ‘recklessness and disdain ‘ for acceptance of a bad call.
Someone should have taken a mike (Chipper or Gonzalez) and request ‘civility and restrain’ from the
fans who were throwing debris on the field. Thankfully, this episode in bad conduct did not continue
onto the streets around the stadium after the game. We dont want to become another Oakland…
Red Neck Fan
October 13th, 2012
10:08 am
I’m Sorry to Say Jeff Schultz, I can understand why Sports Fans in Atlanta are so restless. We’ve had ever major professional sport in Atlanta for 40 plus years now and only one Championship to show for it.
And please Falcons, don’t wear those damn losersville uniforms anymore.
DawgNole
October 13th, 2012
10:17 am
phil
October 12th, 2012
11:33 pm
Georgia fans are EASILY the country’s most delusional…..and I am one!!
Minus the delusions and the inability to accept that Herschel was 30 years ago now and we still can’t let go.
______________________
phil? That really you??
An Old Fan
October 13th, 2012
10:19 am
I agree with The Grinch 100%!!!
I was at the Braves game and I would have thrown my water bottle too, if I hadn’t been up in the nosebleed section.
Chipper didn’t come out for a farewell waive because he didn’t want to. It had nothing to do with the fans.
Motocross Survivor
October 13th, 2012
10:23 am
Nobody uses “CE” for AD except Christian haters. If you look at programs even on PBS, almost all still use the traditional BC and AD.
Vince Doodley
October 13th, 2012
10:23 am
“Fan” is a contraction for “fanatic”. What you are seeing is fanatical behavior, that I believe is stoked by the internet. All these internet brave folks who post trash on the interwebs take it to the street. Updyke style. None of this is a surprise.
DawgNole
October 13th, 2012
10:25 am
Red Neck Fan
October 13th, 2012
10:08 am
I’m Sorry to Say Jeff Schultz, I can understand why Sports Fans in Atlanta are so restless. We’ve had ever major professional sport in Atlanta for 40 plus years now and only one Championship to show for it.
___________________
This is an accurate assessment–except that it’s been closer to 50 years for the Braves and Falcons.
Really
October 13th, 2012
10:25 am
It is the fan interest(?) that puts 100,000 in the stadiums. Pays football coaches 3-5 million a year.
It allows somone to make a GOOD living writing about this crap.
Jeff, I sometimes think your articles are over the top making heroes of these guys, so maybe you
are part of the problem not solution.
When I was growing up we had a name for the Jeff’s of the world ” jock sniffers”.
unknown hinson
October 13th, 2012
10:26 am
Disagree with the Braves ordeal, I’ve never been more proud of our fans. It was a way to protest the BS call and the new one and done playoff game. Completely retarded format. Chipper even said, “there’s no way you can say our fans don’t have passion now”. As for UGA and Cassel situation I agree. Wrong about the Braves though.
Motocross Survivor
October 13th, 2012
10:26 am
@loyal dawg, did you know that an adult can be arrested now for using profanity in the presence of children? You might want to push that next time you are around the crumbs you alluded to.
bill
October 13th, 2012
10:32 am
typical UGA fans. should be used to never winning the big game by now
ATLien
October 13th, 2012
10:34 am
Braves fans action warranted. Horrible call blatant cheating with no ability to rectify it. Fans showed passion now if only the ATL media would show some passion and DEMAND a consistent level of top tier performance Atlanta sports would be better. To much middle of the road conciliatory sports reporting and opinion from our media. Expect and demand excellence
Delusional
October 13th, 2012
10:34 am
“It is very possible that the people doing this aren’t UGA students or fans at all. Many of the messages are from Tech fans that are jealous of UGA’s success against them. What is your evidence that these are UGA “fans”? I would give you 10 – 1 odds that the threat did not come from a true UGA fan but some idiot that is to much of a coward to ever show his face.”
AND then again you could be a completely delusional/paranoid person. I suppose by your logic those Braves’ fans were not actually Braves’ fans but fans of other teams and at the specific moment they decided to throw expensive trash on the field. Is that how it works in your world? What makes you think fans of an opposing team would go out on a Saturday night and egg/toilet paper some UGA player’s house? Why would they wait until a loss? Why not do it every game? Since you want to give “odds” how many fans of opposing teams live in the greater Athens area? Or maybe they do not live in Athens but decided to drive to Athens on a Saturday night and do the deed. You have “conspiracy issue” problems. Seek help and change your handle to “Duh”.
Dr. PHILL
October 13th, 2012
10:36 am
Enter your comments here
Bobby
October 13th, 2012
10:43 am
The act of sportsmanship has almost died in all sports – college and professional especially. I love GT football and was pleased when the GT band started playing the opposing visiting team’s fight song, but they (GT fans) objected and ACC agreed to stop the practice. Schools with class such as Notre Dame still play the opposing teams fight song before each home game.
Bobby
October 13th, 2012
10:47 am
@Motocross Driver: My church (and it’s definitely a Christian church) uses the terms CE more often than AD. Times change. God is dynamic and has shown himself to be throughout history.
Not sure what this has to do with the current thread but I had to respond to it as I did not want Motocross Driver speaking for all Christians.
John, ducktown
October 13th, 2012
10:48 am
I have no problem with what braves fans did. It’s such a rare occurrence for braves’ fans to do something like this and it’s a horrible call.
The kc fans cheering Matt casel? That was horrible
House getting egged & tp in Athens? That’s been happening for years. Not right, but that’s college shananigans. If it were a big ten or PAC 10 school, kids would have rioted in the streets burned cars, etc
However, there is no excuse for this crap & it’s getting worse. It is just a game, but the $ involved in buying tix, spending 3-4 hours watching an event bc of tv commercials when it should take 2 hours to watch is part of the problem. You spend good money and hours of your time wasting your time on crap like this, yeah, it makes you mad. It’s everyone’s fault who is involved, from the owners, to the league, to the media to the fans. This isn’t going to change until it quits being about $. . . . Which I’m sure will happen soon? Ha!
Varmet
October 13th, 2012
10:51 am
It was mentioned that the college players don’t get paid, what do you call the full ride free education the majority get…what is happening is just typical of our society, nothing more. From politicians, hip hop,I want it free and I want it now society. I find it hard to believe that anyone else would actually think this is unusual.
mike
October 13th, 2012
10:54 am
I’ve made many posts on various blogs about the way people react when the team they cheer for loses. That there are more important things in life. But “fans” don’t get it because they are too emotionally attached. And I guarantee if somebody in the stands DID speak out about unacceptable behavior around them a fight would break out. I was in the stands at the 1993 Tech-UGA game, UGA side. I’m a Tech fan. A fight between teams broke out near the end of the game because Tech believed UGA was running up the score. Everyone around me was cheering on the fight, even with their kids sitting right there. I said something to somebody and he remarked, “We kicked your ass on the field and now we’ll kick your ass in the fight”, referring to the teams. I just shook my head. Nothing I could have said would have mattered because there was bloodlust.
DawgNole
October 13th, 2012
10:56 am
ATLien
October 13th, 2012
10:34 am
Braves fans action warranted. Horrible call blatant cheating with no ability to rectify it. Fans showed passion now if only the ATL media would show some passion and DEMAND a consistent level of top tier performance Atlanta sports would be better. To much middle of the road conciliatory sports reporting and opinion from our media. Expect and demand excellence
________________________
It’s not only the media that fails to expect/demand excellence in this city. It’s the pro teams’ ownership, management, and coaching.
Proof? ONE championship (’95 Braves) in 156 seasons of competition spanning nearly a half-century.
Football Stinks
October 13th, 2012
10:57 am
I live in Athens and let me tell you, this behavior is common. I knew a coach’s wife years ago and people would put terrible signs in their yard if UGA lost. These “people” who call themselves fans go crazy and are crazy. And it is sad that 9 times out of 10 most of these idiots did NOT EVEN ATTEND UGA FOR COLLEGE. I can say this because I did graduat from there. They are just “Glom-ons” as we call them. No one remembers that these athelets are students and someone’s child. These crazies come in on Saturday (or earlier in the week if we are lucky) and trash the town and the campus. Why? I will never know. I say, get a life and a hobby.
The Hammer
October 13th, 2012
11:02 am
The infield fly rule at the Braves game, the blown call last night on Nate McLouth’s home run, and many, many other complete incompetencies of MLB umpires is exactly why I always say: MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL IS THE SINGLE WORST THING TO EVER HAPPEN TO BASEBALL. Except for maybe aluminium bats. Anyway, if you want better baseball, DESTROY THE MLB.
Peter
October 13th, 2012
11:06 am
I went to a GA GA Tech game in Athens once….. got tobacco spit on the back of my yellow shirt.
Tech won, and some fan was an ASS…… Please there is no class in Athens GA.
Here in Atlanta… don’t spend your money on mediocrity…… watch the Braves on TV, and go to the games after Wren and management has been fired !
Bazooka Joe
October 13th, 2012
11:08 am
Chicken fans – you better hope you win today because you will not beat Florida in the swamp. If you lose today, you are out of the SECe race…..
5150 UOAD
October 13th, 2012
11:08 am
Motocross Survivor
October 13th, 2012
10:23 am
Nobody uses “CE” for AD except Christian haters. If you look at programs even on PBS, almost all still use the traditional BC and AD.
——————————————-
Schultz is a left coast liberal frenchman…. what do you expect?.
Peter
October 13th, 2012
11:09 am
Proof? ONE championship (’95 Braves) in 156 seasons of competition spanning nearly a half-century.
Proof…….. WREN is dumb, and so are the Braves upper management.
Both Blanco and Infante are in the championship series…… last time the pair was on the Braves they had a huge lead after the All-Star game….. Funny they were traded and the Braves choked the last two season’s away !
WREN IS DUMB !!!!!!!!!
Delusional
October 13th, 2012
11:09 am
@Football Stinks, that does not fit in with “Duh”’s narrative. Those people you refer to are actually fans of other schools.
InAtl
October 13th, 2012
11:09 am
First point: The horrible infield fly call that was made against us would have resulted in AT LEAST the same reaction in any stadium in the county. Braves fans are probably the most respected in the country for their courteous behavior.
Second point, I think JSS and Factor have it right. The majority of UGA fans are great people, but face it, they have a segment of their fan base who are hooligans. Some of them have even gotten on the blog today, and they’re easy to spot. We’re Tech fans, but everyone in our family went to Georgia and hopefully our son will go there. But when we’ve gone to Athens with our son, we’ve always had some trashy remarks and behavior directed at us in front of him, so we quit going. My brother-in-law had to have another season ticket holder thrown out after he repeatedly got drunk and kept spilling drinks and falling on him. He had to have his seats moved because their friends harassed him. My sister had to get police involved when another UGA fan threatened her in a parking lot because of her “fancy” car. This kind of behavior needs to be called out, and people seriously need to get a handle on what’s really important in life, and it isn’t football.
Man up time on both sides
October 13th, 2012
11:13 am
The crepe that hummed the eggs and the tp at the house, need to own up to it and apologize and pay$ for the clean up. MAN UP.
THE UGA squad laid down vs SC and forever will be branded with they lost ther manhood and ran from SClike gutless cowards.
UGA under CMR has no ability to play physical in your face SEC ball and they forever ( this edition of UGA football) will be thought of as losers. They had their shot at greatness and ran from it.
UGA class of 71 & 73
mike
October 13th, 2012
11:14 am
People are STILL saying that the reaction of the Braves fans was warranted. It was a display of “passion”. BS!. It was a display of a lack of civility. A sense of entitlement. If you’re unhappy with the call then you just boo as loud and long as you want. You can write the commissioner’s office and you can also choose to not go to the games. Don’t give MLB your money.
ijag
October 13th, 2012
11:15 am
Anyone who says “it’s just a game,” doesn’t understand sports. It’s insulting to imply that sports are less important than other aspects of our lives. Many of lessons I’ve learned in life and that my children have learned were taught or experienced through sports. Saying “it’s just a game” is like saying “it’s just money to someone homeless or starving.” Quit criticizing fan, get off your high-horse, and actually attempt to understand the frustration we have with UGA and the Braves.
mike
October 13th, 2012
11:17 am
What you also saw at the Braves game is mob mentality. And mobs react with emotion, not reason.
5150 UOAD
October 13th, 2012
11:19 am
ijag
October 13th, 2012
11:15 am
Anyone who says “it’s just a game,” doesn’t understand sports
—————————————————————–
It is JUST a GAME unless you are in a uniform and on the field.
ijag
October 13th, 2012
11:21 am
Wow, Tech fans think some UGA fans are trashy…totally true. Some of them get drunk and are complete ashpoles. Do you really think Tech fans are any different? I mean you got into Tech, so you can’t be ignorant…there are bad, trashy fans everywhere. Failure to recognize your own brands you as an blind homer.
mike
October 13th, 2012
11:21 am
@ijag~I disagree. It is “just a game”. I’ve played sports my entire life. One lesson to be learned is there is going to be a winner and there is going to be a loser. Anyone who plays sports will experience both. Winning is not a long-term high, nor is losing a long-term low, unless you live and die with winning. I don’t, so my high or low passed pretty quickly and I went on with whatever else I had to do.
mike
October 13th, 2012
11:25 am
Fans put their sports “heroes” on a pedestal and think they can do no wrong, until they do, and then it’s open season on the same “heroes”. Some days you win, some days you lose. Ya gotta accept it and move on.
TalaDawg
October 13th, 2012
11:33 am
The same lack of perspective and the bitterness toward other human beings has more importantly led to the out-of-line and destructive hyper-partisanship in politics today, demonstrated by sophmoric name-calling of anyone who does not agree lock-step with ones position.
mike
October 13th, 2012
11:35 am
Went to a high school playoff game at the Dome one year, Camden Co vs somebody, can’t remember. I was on the Camden side. An elderly couple was sitting next to me. A guy was in the seat directly in front of them. He stood and stood and stood. Finally the elderly guy next to me asked him politely if he could please sit down. There was nobody standing in front of this guy so he could have seen just as well by sitting. But anyway, this guys says,”I’m supporting my team and I’ll stand if I want to”. I said I’ll go get security and he sat down. It doesn’t pay to argue with a fan in the heat of battle. Just call security.
ijag
October 13th, 2012
11:36 am
People don’t like being cheated, and people don’t like being fooled. Both of those things happened to a great degree on Fri and Sat at the Braves and UGA game. Players aren’t fans. I would argue that fans want to win more than players precisely BECAUSE they are not part of the team and have no control. Players are paid (don’t act like college players aren’t paid…have you seen the cost of college tuition and the value of a scholarship…quit with the “they don’t get paid” line…it’s insulting) to perform. That makes it a job for them, and job is a job. They may love their job, but it’s still a job. For a fan it’s different. Nothing upsets fans more than a perceived poor effort with a lackluster performance…and that is exactly what happened Friday and Saturday…as fans, we can’t understand how players perform so poorly when the stakes are so high…how players look unprepared for games that require the most preparation…how poor performance and effort is dismissed as a “bad day” and how team will “learn” and “move on.” In the real world (education, job, family, life), mistakes can’t be so easily dismissed, and that is the rub. Fans are super frustrated with it all…if you can’t understand that, you just don’t get it.
Beast from the East
October 13th, 2012
11:37 am
“Saying “it’s just a game” is like saying “it’s just money to someone homeless or starving”
This has to be the dumbest comment I’ve ever read on these blogs. Comparing a friggin game to someone’s basic needs for survival? You sir, are an idiot and should just go ahead and end it all the next time your team loses. The world would be better off.
phil
October 13th, 2012
11:39 am
James J McManus
October 13th, 2012
9:22 am
Fans getting worse? Mr Schultz. In the 1934 world series, Ducky Joe Medwick of the Cardinal’s Gashouse Gang, a tough guy ballplayer, slid into third and injured the Detroit Tiger’s infielder. When left field fans shouted their displeasure, Ducky offered them a face. Fans tossed bottles and cans. Left field umpire halted the game. The carnage continued. Baseball commissioner Kennesaw Mountain Landis had a front row seat. Judge Landis tired of the display and no response from the team managers. He tossed Ducky. Intentional beaning was a near-habit in those good old days. Recall the “battle of Atlanta” some years ago when an exchange of bean balls drew players and fans
onto the field. Players were tossed. Fans were arrested and jailed. Why all this fervor? In a major
sense it is the owners who see money in the fights and do nothing to discourage them. And the sports writers and broadcasters who love to whip fans into a froth throughout playing seasons. Then guys like Mr Schultz can wax puritanical. It’s okay, apparently, to pay sky high ticket prices (which guarantees a lawful “lease” on your seat) but you must bear in mind that sports writers/broadcasters laugh their way as they recount the battles on the field. Stick with the stats, Schultz.
*************
interesting. Always expect overreaction from radio and writers. It’s what they do.
Overstate.
See Rock City
October 13th, 2012
11:41 am
I am encouraged by our Eastern brothers resurged passion, while individual acts of violence and stupidity are judged abhorrent and subject to and a well earned amount of ridicule, they do however offer a side some could call the “barometer” into the general’s eye of public perception.
Case & Point: CMR would never last as the HC of Alabama football and he knows as much, Bill Curry found this out the hard way.
The “red brick incident” while shameful in its act, has forever enshrined Alabama as “the football program” outside of the NFL.
That has added benefits and the cretin who did that act begrudgingly did more for the program than any red elephant or administrator not that he had any foresight past his whiskey glass that night.
Great passion leads to acts of malfeasance by our “kook fans” (we all have them), but the caliber and absurdity does hold bearing on expectations from the gentlemen of the fan-base as well.
I was there at bat day in the 1970’s when the kids bats littered the field after a bad call, long time coming to see that passion return to the field, they had better take note for next year; expectations are high!
Delusional
October 13th, 2012
11:43 am
“The crepe” LOL
“UGA class of 71 & 73″ Probably should have left that off. LOL
Ken Stallings
October 13th, 2012
11:43 am
Jeff,
You hit the core issue and then dismissed it. Your analogy of the chariot race was precisely the root cause of these current outrages. Political and social issues are at the root of it all. The only difference is social media’s ability to concentrate the effect by allowing the same lunatic fringe to have virtually unlimited access. One person can spend a few hours dominating the social media outlets of multiple sites, expanding one person’s influence to give the appearance of a widespread problem.
You combine this effect of social media with the increasing anger in the body politic and things get out of control much easier.
For me, the worst example you mentioned were the Kansas City fans who cheered when their starting quarterback was seriously injured. That was horrible. The worst aspect of the Atlanta episode was the potential for injury to fans, because injury to fans in the stands underneath the thrown debris was under the greatest risk for injury. The players and umpires were able to coalesce in the center of the field or the dugouts.
The issue with social media can be controlled by ramped up moderation. I have owned a forum website for over five years now and while the membership is small, the behavior is excellent. I simply don’t allow unruly behavior and the members enjoy that. The bad behaviors we see here at the AJC forums can be equally controlled.
What concerns me the most is the rising level of anger directed publicly toward college athletes. This disturbs me greatly because these are young men who are not able to earn professional incomes. They work very hard for the limited compensation of a college scholarship for revenue sports, or equally hard for partial scholarships for the limited revenue sports such as women’s basketball or baseball.
There is no sense in challenging such amateur players to a fight, or threatening them by vandalizing their homes. It is perverse. And of all the episodes you mentioned, Jeff, this is the worst. I will offer some theory on what is causing this very obvious rise. First, again the social media allows the few unhinged fans to portray an influence greater than their actual numbers. Social media also allows a more intiment contact with athletes without the immediate accountability that face-to-face contact mandates.
But, there is more at work. Young people are increasingly concerned about their futures, and this is where politics and social changes appear. Unemployment among youth, including college graduates, is rising to unhealthy levels. People who feel they are losing their futures can often replace meaningful pursuits with trivial pursuits. Video games and social media are filling the vacuums created by the lack of faith in future professional growth.
We need to put this country back to work and expand buisiness opportunities and that needs to be done by expanding the scope of liberty. We need to stop trying to centrally plan everything and let a bit of chaos theory back into the free market. In other words, people need to be reminded that no amount of government can guarantee success and that there is no substitute for hard work and integrity.
When people realize that hard work yeilds success and likewise laziness and lack of personal accountability leads to suffering, then people stop pursuing the trivial and start pursuing the meaningful. It means we have to accept the truth that in life there are winners and losers in comparative measures, but with liberty and integrity even comparative failure can be successful in its own right and can therefore lead to happiness.
When people feel herded like sheep, they aren’t happy. When people are free to pursue their own dreams unfettered by outside control, they are happy. Socially, in my view, we have too much herding and an erosion of liberty in this country and this is causing the lower bar to anger. People are rebelling against what they see as usurpation of liberty, and it is time for government to pay attention to it!