Posted April 19, 2005 5:53 p.m.

What in the world is wrong with sports fans these days?

Recent events at major sporting events led me to believe that some fans are just friggin’ morons. Who in their right mind is going to throw their beverage on Ron Artest?

C’mon, buddy, think that through a little more.

Every self-respecting NBA fan knows Artest is more than a little off his rocker. I mean, he fell off that thing and ended up halfway to China. So there’s reason No. 1 not to throw anything in his direction.

Reason No. 2 would be the fact that you just dropped at least $4 on that thing you just hurled onto the body of an insane man with a need to promote a rap album.

Way to go, buddy. Now you’ve got that crazy cat jumping up in the stands ready to whoop the ever-living stuff out of you. Luckily, he didn’t get a good view of you and he attacked that poor dude standing next to you. But I have a strange feeling the man who actually threw the beverage would do it all over again if he were given the chance.

After that incident, I really didn’t expect much more by way of fans acting a fool. But last week there were two pretty high-profile instances of it.

And one of those instances may be the most insane thing I have ever seen when it comes to sports fans crossing the line.

European soccer fans are nuts. I’ve witnessed the junk firsthand. But, thankfully, their team won, so they were happy.

On Tuesday though, in a cross-town soccer rivalry in Milan, Italy the fans were not happy. But rather than just accept the fact their team was losing, they had a better idea.

With 15 minutes left in the game, AC Milan was up 1-0 against Internazionale, and that’s when the fans decided they had seen enough. So somehow, someway, they came across some flares, lit the suckers and tossed ‘em out onto the playing surface.

They even nailed the AC Milan goalkeeper with one of the flaming projectiles.

Way to go, fans.

The game was stopped 15 minutes early, and according to an Associated Press report, there were as many as 20 flares burning on the field as the game was stopped.

The AP report also stated that the Internazionale fans got upset when a goal that would’ve tied the game at 1 was disallowed.

Well, what a way to show your displeasure — throw flaming objects onto a field with 22 players running around on it.

Our most recent glance into the world of stupid fans comes to us from last Thursday night during the Red Sox-Yankees game at Fenway Park in Boston.

Gary Sheffield was attempting to field a ball near Boston’s short right-field fence when a fan decided he’d go ahead and try to become famous. The idiot tried to hit Sheffield with an uppercut, and while he didn’t fully connect, he did get a piece of the Yankees outfielder.

Sheffield then grabbed the ball and gave the fan a shove before throwing the ball back to the infield. Then, after much jawing between Sheffield and fans, another guy who doesn’t value the four or more bucks he spent on a beer went ahead and chucked it at Sheffield.

Mr. Sheffield didn’t like this too much and had to restrain himself from pulling an Artest and belting on some fans.

Really now, what in the world are they thinking? When did fans decide they wanted to be part of the game?

What a big mess. Folks, leave the players alone. Cheer for your team, let the refs know when they made a bad call, but for Christ’s sake, don’t attempt to change the outcome of a game.

It’s only going to make things worse and elicit more and more of us media types to write columns about this junk. I don’t like writing about these stupid things the fans do. I’d rather write some sort of inspirational deal about an athlete or team doing a wonderful thing.

But nope, all I had this week was writing about these stupid fans or writing 700 words of Ron Mexico jokes.

So fans: shut up and watch. And star quarterbacks: don’t knowingly pass on your STDs.

I mean, after all ... that’s how I get down.





		What are sports fans thinking?

			Posted April 19, 2005 5:53 p.m. What in the world is wrong with sports fans these days? Recent events at major sporting events led me to believe that some fans are just friggin’ morons. Who in their right mind is going to throw their beverage on Ron Artest? C’mon, buddy, think that through a little more. Every self-respecting NBA fan knows Artest is more than a little off his rocker. I mean, he fell off that thing and ended up halfway to China. So there’s reason No. 1 not to throw anything in his direction. Reason No. 2 would be the fact that you just dropped at least $4 on that thing you just hurled onto the body of an insane man with a need to promote a rap album. Way to go, buddy. Now you’ve got that crazy cat jumping up in the stands ready to whoop the ever-living stuff out of you. Luckily, he didn’t get a good view of you and he attacked that poor dude standing next to you. But I have a strange feeling the man who actually threw the beverage would do it all over again if he were given the chance. After that incident, I really didn’t expect much more by way of fans acting a fool. But last week there were two pretty high-profile instances of it. And one of those instances may be the most insane thing I have ever seen when it comes to sports fans crossing the line. European soccer fans are nuts. I’ve witnessed the junk firsthand. But, thankfully, their team won, so they were happy. On Tuesday though, in a cross-town soccer rivalry in Milan, Italy the fans were not happy. But rather than just accept the fact their team was losing, they had a better idea. With 15 minutes left in the game, AC Milan was up 1-0 against Internazionale, and that’s when the fans decided they had seen enough. So somehow, someway, they came across some flares, lit the suckers and tossed ‘em out onto the playing surface. They even nailed the AC Milan goalkeeper with one of the flaming projectiles. Way to go, fans. The game was stopped 15 minutes early, and according to an Associated Press report, there were as many as 20 flares burning on the field as the game was stopped. The AP report also stated that the Internazionale fans got upset when a goal that would’ve tied the game at 1 was disallowed. Well, what a way to show your displeasure — throw flaming objects onto a field with 22 players running around on it. Our most recent glance into the world of stupid fans comes to us from last Thursday night during the Red Sox-Yankees game at Fenway Park in Boston. Gary Sheffield was attempting to field a ball near Boston’s short right-field fence when a fan decided he’d go ahead and try to become famous. The idiot tried to hit Sheffield with an uppercut, and while he didn’t fully connect, he did get a piece of the Yankees outfielder. Sheffield then grabbed the ball and gave the fan a shove before throwing the ball back to the infield. Then, after much jawing between Sheffield and fans, another guy who doesn’t value the four or more bucks he spent on a beer went ahead and chucked it at Sheffield. Mr. Sheffield didn’t like this too much and had to restrain himself from pulling an Artest and belting on some fans. Really now, what in the world are they thinking? When did fans decide they wanted to be part of the game? What a big mess. Folks, leave the players alone. Cheer for your team, let the refs know when they made a bad call, but for Christ’s sake, don’t attempt to change the outcome of a game. It’s only going to make things worse and elicit more and more of us media types to write columns about this junk. I don’t like writing about these stupid things the fans do. I’d rather write some sort of inspirational deal about an athlete or team doing a wonderful thing. But nope, all I had this week was writing about these stupid fans or writing 700 words of Ron Mexico jokes. So fans: shut up and watch. And star quarterbacks: don’t knowingly pass on your STDs. I mean, after all ... that’s how I get down.