http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Matt-Diaz-does-Philly-fan-a-favor-with-safe-but?urn=mlb-271200
Matt Diaz does Philly fan a favor with safe, but effective trip
By 'Duk
Big League Stew ShareretweetEmailTue Sep 21 06:02am PDT
Matt Diaz does Philly fan a favor with safe, but effective trip
By 'Duk
Atlanta Braves left fielder Matt Diaz(notes) may have looked like a cold-blooded UFC champ when he expertly swept the leg of this trespassing Philadelphia Phillies fan on Monday night.
But Diaz said he actually had the best interests of the generic Spider-man in mind when doing the only stopping by a Brave in the seventh inning of a key 3-1 loss to the Phillies.
From the Associated Press:
"I saw this idiot coming right at me," Diaz said. "I figured he'd be better off getting tripped than Tased."
It sounds like the reputation of Citizens Bank Ballpark security may have preceded itself with Diaz. There was the highly-publicized Taser incident with a young fan earlier this season and then that dude in the funny pants who was apprehended a day or so later.
It's worth noting that this romp probably wouldn't have gone high-voltage now that it's the sole responsibility of ballpark security — and not the packing Philadelphia police — to catch wayward fans and then hand them over.
But given that security looked like the Eagles defense, it's a good thing that Diaz decided to intervene. Otherwise Red-Man might've run on and on like that one Orioles fan.
Showing posts with label fan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fan. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Monday, August 30, 2010
Football fans to fanatic?
Posted on Sat, Aug. 28, 2010 10:15 PM
Some football fans get a little too fanatical
BY KENT BABB | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Sta
Are rowdy Chiefs fans just a part of the experience at Arrowhead Stadium, or do they sometimes cross the line? More News
Haley expects to be more Jekyll and less Hyde this year Chiefs are trying to build with character Weis as an assistant coach might be a great thing for the Chiefs Jones gives Chiefs more than just running ability How players motivate themselves Some football fans get a little too fanatical Chiefs’ 2010 schedule John Benson decided that if this was the Arrowhead Stadium experience, then it just isn’t worth it.
Benson, an Olathe resident, says that two years ago he took his young sons to a Chiefs exhibition game. It was bad enough that it rained, and then a handful of rowdy fans began displaying how much they’d had to drink. Benson says they were smoking and cursing, and he had to tell his sons, ages 7 and 11, that not all fans behave this way.
“It’s hard to explain,” says Benson, 48. “It was just terrible.”
He says he won’t be back — not unless he is assured that things have changed.
Arrowhead has been known for years as one of America’s liveliest venues to watch football. The sea of red, and all that passion with a fan base that lives and dies with every play. But at Arrowhead, the same as anywhere, the venue is only as enjoyable as the people who congregate inside it.
As sports fans get rowdier and ticket prices rise, those who pay their way in expect a total outlet. Chiefs Sundays are sacred, and one fan’s charms are another’s turnoffs.
“That Sunday is what you live for,” Benson says. “But you shouldn’t have to worry about who’s sitting around you and who might throw up on you. I can’t subject my kids to that.”
Thomas Joiner is a psychology professor at Florida State University, and he has studied sports fans’ behavior. He says that there has been a gradual “loosening of control” in many football stadiums, and as some fans get louder, drunker and more profane, there’s another group that just won’t subject themselves to something that’s supposed to be fun.
“There’s an element of cutting loose and blowing off steam,” Joiner says. “Those scenes are not for everybody.”
Joiner tells a story about a medieval tradition in a religious village. On occasion, the villagers would gather in a sacred location. The clerics, commoners and priests all drank themselves silly and acted like maniacs, because they believed it helped them deal with the rigors of life.
Joiner says that sounds a lot like today’s football stadiums, when people from various races, genders and socioeconomic backgrounds dress alike for one day a week and leave reality at home.
Joiner even says there’s a correlation between gathering at sporting events and a reduction in the suicide rates, because there’s relief in joining like-minded fans, even if the team is dreadful.
Jeff Mann lives in Kansas City, North, and says he can understand that feeling of belonging. He’s a 20-year Chiefs season-ticket holder, and he says his section has become something like a community. Like in a strong neighborhood, the regulars keep the riffraff at bay.
“There’s an element of fans there that are newer to the stadium,” he says, “who don’t know protocol, who don’t go to many games. You get that new fan out there who’s quicker to drop an F-bomb or get rowdy. Fans around them do a good job to say ‘knock it off.’ ”
Even so, Mann has seen Arrowhead when it shows its teeth. He’s used the stadium’s system of reporting misbehavior via an anonymous text-message line, which alerts authorities of bothersome fans and identifying their whereabouts. Mann says he witnessed a brawl in the parking lot last season, when one group of Chiefs fans fought with another after a loss to Oakland.
“Chief-on-Chief crime,” he says, and it’s amusing until he recounts the fight, in which one man suffered a broken bone in his face and another separated his shoulder.
Rich Lockhart is a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, and he says there’s a thick police presence dispatched each Sunday in the vicinity of Arrowhead. That’s in addition to off-duty police who work security inside.
“Whenever there’s more celebration,” Lockhart says, “there’s a better chance of misbehavior.”
Chiefs president Denny Thum says the team heard in recent years from concerned fans, and they were taken into account when Arrowhead was renovated. A family area was added to the northwest corner of the exterior, and the team will experiment this season with some lower-level seats that, Thum says, will be alcohol- and obscenity-free. He says there will be 25-40 of those seats in 2010, at no additional cost, and there’s potential for expansion.
That’s nice, but as usual when there’s discussion of change, not everyone is on board — not without some assurances that the old charms won’t be flushed away.
“I would hope the Chiefs never aspire to neuter, in effect, the fans,” Mann says. “I don’t think you want to take away that home-field advantage. There’s a way to go out there — raise hell, so to speak — and do it without (annoying) the family and spilling beer on the grandmother in front of you.”
Benson says he’s not yet ready to bring his children back to Arrowhead. Not only was his previous experience one he’d like to forget, but there are also the joys of high-definition TV to consider.
“I don’t want to be a prude about it,” he says, “and I don’t think I really am. We love the Chiefs. I’d just rather watch them from my living room.”
Posted on Sat, Aug. 28, 2010 10:15 PM
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/28/2176264/some-football-fans-get-a-little.html#ixzz0y8xnLkPU
Some football fans get a little too fanatical
BY KENT BABB | THE KANSAS CITY STAR
DAVID EULITT/The Kansas City Sta
Are rowdy Chiefs fans just a part of the experience at Arrowhead Stadium, or do they sometimes cross the line? More News
Haley expects to be more Jekyll and less Hyde this year Chiefs are trying to build with character Weis as an assistant coach might be a great thing for the Chiefs Jones gives Chiefs more than just running ability How players motivate themselves Some football fans get a little too fanatical Chiefs’ 2010 schedule John Benson decided that if this was the Arrowhead Stadium experience, then it just isn’t worth it.
Benson, an Olathe resident, says that two years ago he took his young sons to a Chiefs exhibition game. It was bad enough that it rained, and then a handful of rowdy fans began displaying how much they’d had to drink. Benson says they were smoking and cursing, and he had to tell his sons, ages 7 and 11, that not all fans behave this way.
“It’s hard to explain,” says Benson, 48. “It was just terrible.”
He says he won’t be back — not unless he is assured that things have changed.
Arrowhead has been known for years as one of America’s liveliest venues to watch football. The sea of red, and all that passion with a fan base that lives and dies with every play. But at Arrowhead, the same as anywhere, the venue is only as enjoyable as the people who congregate inside it.
As sports fans get rowdier and ticket prices rise, those who pay their way in expect a total outlet. Chiefs Sundays are sacred, and one fan’s charms are another’s turnoffs.
“That Sunday is what you live for,” Benson says. “But you shouldn’t have to worry about who’s sitting around you and who might throw up on you. I can’t subject my kids to that.”
Thomas Joiner is a psychology professor at Florida State University, and he has studied sports fans’ behavior. He says that there has been a gradual “loosening of control” in many football stadiums, and as some fans get louder, drunker and more profane, there’s another group that just won’t subject themselves to something that’s supposed to be fun.
“There’s an element of cutting loose and blowing off steam,” Joiner says. “Those scenes are not for everybody.”
Joiner tells a story about a medieval tradition in a religious village. On occasion, the villagers would gather in a sacred location. The clerics, commoners and priests all drank themselves silly and acted like maniacs, because they believed it helped them deal with the rigors of life.
Joiner says that sounds a lot like today’s football stadiums, when people from various races, genders and socioeconomic backgrounds dress alike for one day a week and leave reality at home.
Joiner even says there’s a correlation between gathering at sporting events and a reduction in the suicide rates, because there’s relief in joining like-minded fans, even if the team is dreadful.
Jeff Mann lives in Kansas City, North, and says he can understand that feeling of belonging. He’s a 20-year Chiefs season-ticket holder, and he says his section has become something like a community. Like in a strong neighborhood, the regulars keep the riffraff at bay.
“There’s an element of fans there that are newer to the stadium,” he says, “who don’t know protocol, who don’t go to many games. You get that new fan out there who’s quicker to drop an F-bomb or get rowdy. Fans around them do a good job to say ‘knock it off.’ ”
Even so, Mann has seen Arrowhead when it shows its teeth. He’s used the stadium’s system of reporting misbehavior via an anonymous text-message line, which alerts authorities of bothersome fans and identifying their whereabouts. Mann says he witnessed a brawl in the parking lot last season, when one group of Chiefs fans fought with another after a loss to Oakland.
“Chief-on-Chief crime,” he says, and it’s amusing until he recounts the fight, in which one man suffered a broken bone in his face and another separated his shoulder.
Rich Lockhart is a spokesman for the Kansas City Police Department, and he says there’s a thick police presence dispatched each Sunday in the vicinity of Arrowhead. That’s in addition to off-duty police who work security inside.
“Whenever there’s more celebration,” Lockhart says, “there’s a better chance of misbehavior.”
Chiefs president Denny Thum says the team heard in recent years from concerned fans, and they were taken into account when Arrowhead was renovated. A family area was added to the northwest corner of the exterior, and the team will experiment this season with some lower-level seats that, Thum says, will be alcohol- and obscenity-free. He says there will be 25-40 of those seats in 2010, at no additional cost, and there’s potential for expansion.
That’s nice, but as usual when there’s discussion of change, not everyone is on board — not without some assurances that the old charms won’t be flushed away.
“I would hope the Chiefs never aspire to neuter, in effect, the fans,” Mann says. “I don’t think you want to take away that home-field advantage. There’s a way to go out there — raise hell, so to speak — and do it without (annoying) the family and spilling beer on the grandmother in front of you.”
Benson says he’s not yet ready to bring his children back to Arrowhead. Not only was his previous experience one he’d like to forget, but there are also the joys of high-definition TV to consider.
“I don’t want to be a prude about it,” he says, “and I don’t think I really am. We love the Chiefs. I’d just rather watch them from my living room.”
Posted on Sat, Aug. 28, 2010 10:15 PM
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/08/28/2176264/some-football-fans-get-a-little.html#ixzz0y8xnLkPU
Friday, July 23, 2010
Baltimore fan taking his sweet time
The Baltimore Orioles had a field rusher the other day and instead of being aggressive, they let the fan run around for several minutes. I do not condone such a response as it encourages others to follow. A great response is to after, the fact, put a message on the scoreboard highlighting that such conduct is not allowed by fan code of conduct. However, pictures should also be posted of prior field rushers and highlight the specific punishment they received. if there is an atmosphere that such conduct is not acceptable and will be punished harshly it can discourage future breaches.
Here is the stories link: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Security-shrugs-as-O-s-mope-runs-laps-around-Cam?urn=mlb-257721
Here is the stories link: http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Security-shrugs-as-O-s-mope-runs-laps-around-Cam?urn=mlb-257721
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Fan conduct impacting high school officials
The New York Times-
Unruly Sports Fans Sending Some Officials to the Sideline
By MARK HYMAN
Published: June 4, 2010
Carl Wilkinson stopped officiating high school football games in Eugene, Ore., about five years ago — after irate spectators chased him and the rest of the crew from the field to the locker room, then pounded on the door demanding that they open it.
Enlarge This Image
Ryan Gardner for The New York Times
Carl Wilkinson gave up his whistle five years ago after fans at a high school football game chased him and his crew to a locker room after a game.
“It was just getting horrible,” he said of the fans’ behavior.
Bill Srna recently decided to hang up his whistle after about 30 years as a referee at high school basketball games in Salina, Kan. He said he had grown weary of the hysteria over every backcourt violation and charging call.
“It gets old night after night,” he said, adding that he prefers the relative calm of his full-time job as a firefighter.
Looking for part-time employment in a field in which hundreds of onlookers can raise a ruckus over one’s honest mistake or no mistake at all? There are plenty of openings.
Around the country, it has become harder to find youth sports officials and to keep experienced ones on the job. The situation has forced some games to be postponed and others to be played with short-handed crews. In some places, it is not unusual for football referees to work two games on long and exhausting Friday nights. Spot shortages are also common in soccer and volleyball.
“Are we desperately short? No,” said Jack Folliard, the executive director of the Oregon Athletic Officials Association. “But we are struggling to get enough officials.”
The cause of the problem is not a mystery to those in striped shirts, who are growing weary over abuse from agitated fans, most of them adults.
“I have officials specifically tell me that’s why they’re not renewing their licenses anymore,” said Fran Martin, the assistant executive director of the Kansas High School Athletic Association. “They’re tired of putting up with the behavior.”
The same concerns keep potential recruits from considering the job, said Henry Zaborniak, the assistant commissioner of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. He says he speaks with young athletes about becoming officials someday, and they ask a standard question: Why would I want to take that abuse for $35?
Despite surprisingly long hours and modest pay — about $40 for a junior high basketball game in Oregon — officiating has a lot to offer, youth sports officials say.
“It’s like a friend once told me,” Srna said. “ ‘I love the game of basketball, but I ran out of eligibility. This is the way I can stay in it.’ ”
Two years ago, the Ohio association asked officials to name the worst part of their jobs. Poor fan behavior was the No. 1 answer. In another poll, the National Association of Sports Officials asked high school administrators in every state to choose the biggest reason officials do not reregister from a list of 14. The most frequent answers were poor sportsmanship among spectators, and poor sportsmanship among coaches and players.
To complicate matters, disputed calls that inflame parents and other adult spectators now live forever in cyberspace. Type “controversial call” and “high school” into YouTube’s search engine, and it returns dozens of videos. (One titled “Ref Ruins Finale to a Great State Championship Game” had about 38,000 views.)
“It isn’t like 30 years ago when the game was over, it was over,” Zaborniak said.
How the numbers of officials nationally have been affected is hard to measure. A sampling of state high school associations suggests the count has been relatively unchanged the past few years.
“When the economy tanks, our numbers go up,” said Mary Struckhoff, the assistant director of the National Federation of State High School Associations. “When times are good again, the same people ask, ‘Why the heck would I do that?’ ”
Officials in basketball and soccer need the thickest skin. Folliard, who referees high school basketball in Oregon, recalled leaving the court after a close game when he heard someone call out, “Hey, ref.” As he looked up, a fan doused him with a full cup of soda.
At an Ohio high school soccer game last fall, Kathleen Dolan issued a red card to a player for taunting. That call stirred one parent to deliver to her door a DVD of the YouTube video showing the disputed play and a letter explaining that she had misinterpreted the situation.
“All I can say is I found it excessive and intrusive,” said Dolan, who is also the president of the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Officials Association.
Many state associations offer classes to help officials deal with unruly fans. The best defense, though, may be a witty retort.
Wilkinson, who is still an umpire for girls’ softball, explained how he handled one hotheaded fan. He removed his mask and calmly said: “Sir, I’m going to try very hard to allow you to stay at this game. I want you to try very hard to stay here too.”
Wilkinson added, “I didn’t hear another word out of him after that.”
Mark Hyman is the author of “Until It Hurts: America’s Obsession With Youth Sports and How It Harms Our Kids.”
This is not a new story, but has been an issue for years and even though some legislatures have developed laws making it a felony to attack a sport official, there are more incidents than ever. One of the reasons for so much pressure is the massive potential scholarships or revenue that can generated by top athletes. Parents see sport participation as their ticket to wealth or saving a lot of money on college. That is why they are pushing their kids, coaches, and refs to help their kids out. Unfortunately the reality is that most kids are not talented enough to go pro or if they receive a scholarship- it is often much less than parents had paid to cover the cost of travel teams. Thus, parents off go overboard, without reason, due to greed. It is amazing what people do for money or the hope of money.
Unruly Sports Fans Sending Some Officials to the Sideline
By MARK HYMAN
Published: June 4, 2010
Carl Wilkinson stopped officiating high school football games in Eugene, Ore., about five years ago — after irate spectators chased him and the rest of the crew from the field to the locker room, then pounded on the door demanding that they open it.
Enlarge This Image
Ryan Gardner for The New York Times
Carl Wilkinson gave up his whistle five years ago after fans at a high school football game chased him and his crew to a locker room after a game.
“It was just getting horrible,” he said of the fans’ behavior.
Bill Srna recently decided to hang up his whistle after about 30 years as a referee at high school basketball games in Salina, Kan. He said he had grown weary of the hysteria over every backcourt violation and charging call.
“It gets old night after night,” he said, adding that he prefers the relative calm of his full-time job as a firefighter.
Looking for part-time employment in a field in which hundreds of onlookers can raise a ruckus over one’s honest mistake or no mistake at all? There are plenty of openings.
Around the country, it has become harder to find youth sports officials and to keep experienced ones on the job. The situation has forced some games to be postponed and others to be played with short-handed crews. In some places, it is not unusual for football referees to work two games on long and exhausting Friday nights. Spot shortages are also common in soccer and volleyball.
“Are we desperately short? No,” said Jack Folliard, the executive director of the Oregon Athletic Officials Association. “But we are struggling to get enough officials.”
The cause of the problem is not a mystery to those in striped shirts, who are growing weary over abuse from agitated fans, most of them adults.
“I have officials specifically tell me that’s why they’re not renewing their licenses anymore,” said Fran Martin, the assistant executive director of the Kansas High School Athletic Association. “They’re tired of putting up with the behavior.”
The same concerns keep potential recruits from considering the job, said Henry Zaborniak, the assistant commissioner of the Ohio High School Athletic Association. He says he speaks with young athletes about becoming officials someday, and they ask a standard question: Why would I want to take that abuse for $35?
Despite surprisingly long hours and modest pay — about $40 for a junior high basketball game in Oregon — officiating has a lot to offer, youth sports officials say.
“It’s like a friend once told me,” Srna said. “ ‘I love the game of basketball, but I ran out of eligibility. This is the way I can stay in it.’ ”
Two years ago, the Ohio association asked officials to name the worst part of their jobs. Poor fan behavior was the No. 1 answer. In another poll, the National Association of Sports Officials asked high school administrators in every state to choose the biggest reason officials do not reregister from a list of 14. The most frequent answers were poor sportsmanship among spectators, and poor sportsmanship among coaches and players.
To complicate matters, disputed calls that inflame parents and other adult spectators now live forever in cyberspace. Type “controversial call” and “high school” into YouTube’s search engine, and it returns dozens of videos. (One titled “Ref Ruins Finale to a Great State Championship Game” had about 38,000 views.)
“It isn’t like 30 years ago when the game was over, it was over,” Zaborniak said.
How the numbers of officials nationally have been affected is hard to measure. A sampling of state high school associations suggests the count has been relatively unchanged the past few years.
“When the economy tanks, our numbers go up,” said Mary Struckhoff, the assistant director of the National Federation of State High School Associations. “When times are good again, the same people ask, ‘Why the heck would I do that?’ ”
Officials in basketball and soccer need the thickest skin. Folliard, who referees high school basketball in Oregon, recalled leaving the court after a close game when he heard someone call out, “Hey, ref.” As he looked up, a fan doused him with a full cup of soda.
At an Ohio high school soccer game last fall, Kathleen Dolan issued a red card to a player for taunting. That call stirred one parent to deliver to her door a DVD of the YouTube video showing the disputed play and a letter explaining that she had misinterpreted the situation.
“All I can say is I found it excessive and intrusive,” said Dolan, who is also the president of the Ohio Collegiate Soccer Officials Association.
Many state associations offer classes to help officials deal with unruly fans. The best defense, though, may be a witty retort.
Wilkinson, who is still an umpire for girls’ softball, explained how he handled one hotheaded fan. He removed his mask and calmly said: “Sir, I’m going to try very hard to allow you to stay at this game. I want you to try very hard to stay here too.”
Wilkinson added, “I didn’t hear another word out of him after that.”
Mark Hyman is the author of “Until It Hurts: America’s Obsession With Youth Sports and How It Harms Our Kids.”
This is not a new story, but has been an issue for years and even though some legislatures have developed laws making it a felony to attack a sport official, there are more incidents than ever. One of the reasons for so much pressure is the massive potential scholarships or revenue that can generated by top athletes. Parents see sport participation as their ticket to wealth or saving a lot of money on college. That is why they are pushing their kids, coaches, and refs to help their kids out. Unfortunately the reality is that most kids are not talented enough to go pro or if they receive a scholarship- it is often much less than parents had paid to cover the cost of travel teams. Thus, parents off go overboard, without reason, due to greed. It is amazing what people do for money or the hope of money.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Phili Fan "Gone Wild"
From- Big League Stew- Yahoo Sports. Tue May 04, 2010 4:15 am EDT
Teen fan tasered by Phillies security after running onto field
By David Brown
It wasn't the voltage but the amps this young Philllies fan felt on Monday night in Philadelphia.
In the eighth inning of a Phillies-Cardinals game, a 17-year-old male hopped a fence at Citizens Bank Park. He fled security for a few seconds until a Philadelphia police officer fired a Taser gun at the boy from about 15-feet away, dropping him on the spot in left-center field.
The Philadelphia Inquirer spoke to this young man's dad on Tuesday morning and reports that the kid actually called his father to ask for permission before running on the field. The dad told him it wasn't the best of ideas — you think? — but the future Penn State student went ahead and did it anyway. He's being charged as a juvenile for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and defiant trespass.
"He wasn't drinking. He was not on drugs," the father said.
The Philadelphia police commissioner, meanwhile, is publicly supporting the officer's actions. But the Phillies say they want to talk about whether or not such force is necessary for future trespassers.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Teen-fan-tasered-by-Phillies-security-after-runn?urn=mlb,238457
I agree with tasering in such a circumstance. You never know if the person who jumps the security barrier is a kid trying to have fun, or someone trying to injure others. Remember the father son tandem who attacked a first base coach several years ago?
Teen fan tasered by Phillies security after running onto field
By David Brown
It wasn't the voltage but the amps this young Philllies fan felt on Monday night in Philadelphia.
In the eighth inning of a Phillies-Cardinals game, a 17-year-old male hopped a fence at Citizens Bank Park. He fled security for a few seconds until a Philadelphia police officer fired a Taser gun at the boy from about 15-feet away, dropping him on the spot in left-center field.
The Philadelphia Inquirer spoke to this young man's dad on Tuesday morning and reports that the kid actually called his father to ask for permission before running on the field. The dad told him it wasn't the best of ideas — you think? — but the future Penn State student went ahead and did it anyway. He's being charged as a juvenile for resisting arrest, disorderly conduct and defiant trespass.
"He wasn't drinking. He was not on drugs," the father said.
The Philadelphia police commissioner, meanwhile, is publicly supporting the officer's actions. But the Phillies say they want to talk about whether or not such force is necessary for future trespassers.
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Teen-fan-tasered-by-Phillies-security-after-runn?urn=mlb,238457
I agree with tasering in such a circumstance. You never know if the person who jumps the security barrier is a kid trying to have fun, or someone trying to injure others. Remember the father son tandem who attacked a first base coach several years ago?
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