Sports has many foes.
Steroids in baseball.
Greed in the NFL.
Soccer...well, Soccer.
But the real threat is in the stands, with these chumbaloans who are taking the term sports "fanatic" to a dark, dark place. It is said the game is played for the fans, but what happens when that gets to the fan's head?
We have seen so many examples of violent acts by fans before, but after the savage and brutally senseless beating of a San Francisco Giants fan by a group of Los Angeles Dodgers fans, the question has been risen again:
When does it stop being fun, and when do people need to be reminded it's just a game?
Well if you're Giants fan Byan Stow, it stops being fun when your beaten so badly, you're put into a medically induced coma with serious brain damage.
It's not the first time the rage of the game has boiled over into violent waters. In fact, it happens so much in European Futbol that we are immune to it. We are so numb to the enormous scale of violence that we actually enjoy watching soccer riots on a Spike TV special about violent acts caught on tape.
But as we burn further on into the 21st Century, it seems as though we are all devolving to a level of sub-humanity.
Maybe it's the economic times we are in that has everyone so stressed out that when their hometown team loses, instead of kicking a chair or slamming their fists into a table, they are compelled to kick a person's head or slam their fist in their face.
Football has always been a violent sport, and it seems highly hypocritical that they can turn around and say that everyone who is watching must play nice, but it makes sense.
Everyone has a story about that drunk guy they encountered at a sports game, whether he was sitting next to you, in front of you or if you were him. But now people are telling stories of that funny drunk guy doing not so funny things like starting fights, throwing beer on people or even attacking players on the field.
Remember back in 2002, when two psychotic fans jumped out of the stands in Chicago and savagely attacked Royals first base coach Tom Gamboa? It seemed so shocking because it was an isolated incident. This had never really happened at a baseball game, at least not in these modern times.
But since then that attack has just become a notch on the bedpost of violence in sports.
It's this macho attitude some fans feel they need to have; otherwise they aren't really fans. I'm not saying we should ban loud, annoying fans and that we should all sit quietly on our hands as we watch.
Cleveland Browns fans booing a little kid in a Jets jersey is borderline, but it's not entirely wrong. The kid can ignore these fans; it's a big stadium.
Browns fans attacking a little kid in a Jets jersey in the parking lot after the game is sick, wrong and has no place in sports. It's not macho, as these fans are under the impression it is; it's actually illegal and just immoral.
And try arguing that statement: if you believe pushing a kid for wearing a sports jersey you don't agree with isn't immoral, then you are one of these violent, under-the-impression-you're-macho nimrod criminals ruining sports.
There isn't an answer to the question at hand. Because time after time, the question is disregarded and violence ensues.
I probably love sports more than any human being should, and my loyalty and allegiance to my teams is bordering on ridiculousness, but never once have I been compelled to beat someone because the Buccaneers lost, or because the Yankees knocked the Twins out of the playoffs for the eight millionth time.
Giving other fans a hard time or civilly harassing the "enemy" is fine. It's part of what makes sports competitive for more than just the players. Bragging rights are almost as good as winning a championship themselves.
But unfortunately this isn't enough for some fans, and when they don't win, the thug in them comes out.
And that's really what this is a case of: sports thugs of all creeds colors and sizes ruining rivalries because either they are suffering from a mental disorder or they can't let go of their own personal sports failures, so they invest everything in the teams they wanted to play for.
Faux-Macho bullcrap.
And the worst part of all this is how it has boiled down to youth sports and the psychotic parents who are desperately trying to vicariously live their dead sports dreams through their children. It's sad and it's probably the root of the issue.
And next time it could be someone you know whose life is derailed because the Giants beat the Dodgers. It could be you who has to take care of their children because their father is so brain damaged that the mother can't handle raising what is now essentially three children.
All because my team beat yours.
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