The Fan

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On Tuesday, Buffalo Bills player Leodis McKelvin returned to his home to find out it had been vandalized. There was garbage strewn across his lawn and a graphic drawing that sent him some sort of message, I suppose. It all happened because he fumbled the ball - twice - when he was supposed to hang onto it.

Years ago a soccer player was gunned down in another country after scoring an own goal - Americans were certainly up in arms against that one - but tragically, something like that is coming here. It just has to be.

People are looking for a place to hang their hats. They are misguided in their passion for the games and their identities are somehow tied to the teams that they're following. I don't quite get it, but then again...

I've followed the Yankees for years and I must admit that my mood is a little brighter on days following a win. I do cheer at the games, but to spew hatred? I'm not really sure if I've ever booed a player. I was at Yankee Stadium when fans were booing Jeter a few years ago, and I was horrified.

But there is anger now. The ticket prices are astronomical. In the case of the Bills and Sabres there has been little return on that investment in the last twenty years or so. Listen to the talk radio stations. Read what is written on the message boards. People who are searching for an existence are pissed about being classified as a city of losers, and there's nothing you can to do to control any of it.

I'm more aggravated with the owners of the teams who appear to be pulling the wool over the eyes of people who desperately want to believe...but that's another story.

It was supposedly a couple of kids who did the damage to McKelvin's lawn. A completely stupid act, but one that gives me pause. They are not the only ones who were hopping mad at McKelvin for fumbling.

In this day and age of outrageous acts, I have a feeling that sooner or later there's going to be a horrific one.

Come on, now, really?

They are playing with a ball. Everyone I know has bounced, thrown, shot, or swung at a ball at one time or another in their lives.

It never was a case of life and death was it?

Some people in this country appear poised to amuse themselves to death.

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