The Art of Politics

Take A Seat

A true Texas gentleman always gives up his chair to a lady...

Another entry in the Modern Museum of Social Decay, the heckling at a Rangers/A's game in Oakland apparently sent Ranger relief pitcher Frank Francisco over the edge, who then launched a chair into the stands.

Of course, there is talk of a lawsuit, the first remedy of resort in American society. The attorney for the woman who caught the chair with the side of her head of course justified the foul behavior of those in the stands:

"Fans are fans and they have a right to have some fun and do some badgering if they want."

Well, sir, that's the excuse I use when my dog digs through the trash - a dog is a dog, they'll do that, it's just in their nature. This reverse anthropomorphism is nonsense. These people are adults, and the fact they've paid to attend doesn't excuse any and all behavior. Attending the professional games of the three major sports, it is easy to attest to the increasingly foul, profane, and drunken excesses of other fans. It's nigh impossible to take a young child to the game without bringing the earmuffs. Snarking the opposing team is a time honored tradition, but poking the beehive is going to eventually provoke a response, and what passes as modern gamesmanship from the fans would be an arrestable offense in any other setting.

This of course doesn't excuse the player, who lashed out like a child by throwing things indoors - I'm sure mom is very proud. Still, everyone has a limit, and if someone insists on pushing your buttons... the best solution is for ballclubs to have effective security that watches for this. It usually takes an incident like this before anyone treats the problem seriously.

A pox on all their clubhouses...

Posted by MEC2 at September 14, 2004 03:27 PM