As readers of this blog know, I am the father of four. My oldest is now of an age where he appreciates sports--in fact, he's quite obsessed. However, I have never taken him to a professional sports event, and am leery of doing so anytime soon. The long and the short of it is that I simply do not want to expose him to the frequently hostile atmosphere which exists at these events. There is a fascinating article on the subject in today's Wall Street Journal, of all places: http://www.opinionjournal.com/la/?id=110010740.
The closest major city to where I live is Philadelphia. Though I have not been to an Eagles game at Lincoln Financial Field ("The Linc"), I had been to Eagles' games at Veteran's Stadium, the team's home until 2004. The behaviour of the fans there was loutish at best. Who would want to expose their children to that? Generally speaking, the atmosphere is better at Phillies, Flyers and 76ers games, but there are episodes at those teams' events as well of abusive fans.
Look, I'm all for supporting your team, and if a fan of another team wears their jersey in your building, some good-nature razzing should be expected. But, does it have to result in expletive-filled abuse or even violence? What does it say about our society that we permit this conduct and (in some areas) even encourage it?
1 comment:
Bring 'em to Seattle, I've been to all major venues and the behavior has always been civilized.
JCM at LGFh
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