Fighting the Fans

I don't attend many sporting events anymore. I haven't been to a Sabres game in years, and it's been even more years since I went to a Bills game.

I catch a Yankees game maybe once a year if I can make it work in my schedule and I happen to be in a city where they are.

Usually it's an enemy city and I make sure not to wear any Yankees gear because there are some goofy people out there and I don't need to be harassed.

What caught my eye on Saturday was that a number of the participants were involved in altercations with their "fans".

DeMarcus Cousins (basketball player) gave a two-word salute to a fan that was heckling him. The second word was 'You.'

Cousins was fined by the league.

Kyrie Irving of the Celtics requested that a fan perform a sexual act after the fan yelled out:

"Hey, Kyrie, where's LeBron?"

Even coach Jumbo Fisher got in on the act as he went off on a fan following a loss.

It's an odd dynamic and it's become worse through the years.

I once watched a drunken fan obliterate Yankees pitcher, Steve Howe, over Howe's troubled drug past.

It was way beyond what one human should say to another, and Howe, who was about 30 feet away, had to have heard every word. It went in for twenty minutes. Howe ended it by going into the dugout, retrieving a sharpie and signing a ball. He then tossed it up to the guy.

"I love you, Stevie!" The guy yelled.

It's a shame too because years and years ago, as a kid, I had an all-access pass. I used to go straight to the court at the Braves games. I walked right up to Celtics legend Bill Russel and asked him for an autograph.

"I don't do that," he said.

I thanked him anyways and walked away.

I spent 20 minutes taking to Yankees legend Ron Guidry. Bobby Murcer gave me a pinch of Skoal when I was 20.

Now?

You won't get near them!

And why would they let you?

The fans are paying a lot of money for the tickets. Around here they don't win a lot. The fans feel free to be as nasty as they want.

One year I was walking along with Jim Kelly at the free event that the Kelly family throws around Valentine's Day in honor of their son, Hunter.

Kelly signed autograph after autograph when he was called, over the PA system to report to the area where he was going to toss passes to children.

"Okay," Kelly said. "I have to stop signing now. I'm being paged."

A 40-something man shoved a football out at Kelly.

"I'll be back," Kelly said. "I'll sign some more when I get back."

"You're a f****ng c******er!" The guy yelled out.

Kelly actually turned and looked at me.

"That's ridiculous," I said.

The guy was screaming Kelly down.

"Happens every day," Kelly said.

Yeah.

They get paid a lot.

But they aren't your whipping boys!

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