FIRST, READ THIS ARTICLE FROM SPORTS ILLUSTRATED
THE UGLIST GAME
By: Jack McCollum
Afterwards, you may read this article.

My Thoughts On/ The State Of
Professional Sports & Fans (Dec. 2004)

I will never forget the catastrophe that occurred at the Palace of Auburn Hills on Friday, November 19, 2004. I thought I was just going to watch another NBA fight between the Detroit Pistons’ Ben Wallace and the Indiana Pacer’s Ron Artest. However, a stupid Detroit fan through a cup of beer at Ron Artest. And the rest of the incident has been shown on television over and over again. As I recall one of my friends told me that the incident was “funny.” I totally disagree with his comment. The incident pissed me off and I was totally appalled by it since I am a fanatic of the Oakland Athletics.

For the 2005 baseball season, I have purchased a 20-game season ticket package with the Oakland Athletics. Last season, I went to a total of 27 A’s games at the Network Associates Coliseum in Oakland. The most money I paid for one ticket was $14.00, and at one game I sat in the front row, right by the Oakland A’s bullpen. I love going to A’s games. The A’s have an opportunity to win every game, and I like talking to other people in the stands. By going to so many A’s games, I have been to many memorable games.

In mid-September of 2004, I attended the “chair” game in which the Texas Rangers’ player, Frank Francisco, threw a foldable chair to an obnoxious A’s fan sitting in the front row of the visitor’s bullpen. I sat in the right field bleachers, but I didn’t know what went on until I watched my TV back home.

In September of 2003, I walked towards an ATM machine, located near the stadium exit, in order to withdraw some money. On my way back to my seat, I accidentally kicked over a full cup of beer. I recall the owner of the beer with his friends talking with each other until one of them realized that the beer spilled. I honestly didn’t see the beer, and I said I was sorry. So, slowly but surely, I started to walk up one of the corridors. All of a sudden, the guy with no beer yelled at me, “Get back here!” Immediately, I ran to the BART (subway/train system) station, and headed back home. I thought to myself, “Whew, I am safe.”

In July of 2003, I remember going to an A’s game with one of my good friends. All of a sudden in the fourth inning, a cherry bomb went off in the first deck. We were sitting in the third deck. When I heard the cherry bomb explode, I told my friend, “Oh, no! There’s a shooting in the Oakland Hills.” Several minutes later, I saw some smoke come out from the first deck and I realized that it was a bomb.

All kidding and joking aside, all three of the Oakland A’s incidents that occurred to me do not compare to the magnitude of the NBA brawl at the Palace at Auburn Hills on that fateful Friday Night in November. I know that the moronic Pistons’ fan (who’s a convicted felon) has no right throwing a beer at a professional athlete. However, that does not give the right to any professional athlete to go into the stands to “kick the crap out of the perpetuator and any Detroit fan that got in the way.” THIS INCIDENT SHOULD HAVE NEVER HAPPENED. I know that there are fights between NBA players, but the pro athletes cannot fight the fans or vice versa.

Lots of professional athletes think that they are “so great,” because they make way too much money and they part of an elite group of the best athletes. I can still remember what former Tight End, Kellen Winslow Jr., from the University of Miami Football Team shouted out to the media, “I am a soldier.” I believe that many pro athletes, especially many NBA Players, believe and follow what Winslow Jr. said about being a soldier. This football player is not a soldier, and he’s insulting all of the men & women serving in the military either in America and/or overseas.

Remember the Indiana Pacers player who has been suspended for the remainder of the season, Ron Artest. While making several television appearances after the Detroit brawl, Artest wore a T-shirt promoting his new rap album. What a joke! The week before the fight, Artest wanted time off from the Indiana Pacers in order to promote his rap album. This is just plain wrong now. Thanks to stupid players like him, I am not going to watch the NBA anymore (read the article the State of the NBA). Now, I am just going to watch high school and college basketball. I am not going to spend my money on these wealthy NBA players, who I constantly watch on MTV “Cribs.”
I am not going to waste $40.00 on an NBA game, in which I know the money is going to be used by an NBA player buying $20,000.00 tire rims for his Cadillac Escalade. I have two words for these ego-centric millionaires…“Hammer time.” (This term refers to a celebrity who makes millions of dollars & files for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy).

I believe that the best professional league around is the National Football League (NFL). The NFL sales player jerseys not based on the individual, unlike the NBA who sells only individual jerseys, but based on the number in the back of the jersey. There are not that many bad people in the NFL, maybe just Ricky Williams (former Miami Dolphin who likes to “pass the dutchie”). Most of the NFL players are good people on and off the field including quarterback for the Green Bay Packers, Brett Favre.
On a Monday Night in the December of 2003, the Packers faced the Oakland Raiders at the Oakland Coliseum. A day before the Monday Night match-up, Favre’s father had died. As a remembrance to his father, Brett Favre decided to play football. He though that’s what his father would have wanted him to do. At the end of the game, Brett Favre threw five touchdown passes against the weak Raiders defense. What’s even more tragic is that Favre’s mom is trying to fight off disease while his wife has been diagnosed with breast cancer. By the way, Brett Favre has made 200 straight starts at the quarterback position since 1993.
What a great guy! I cheer him on, even though he has defeated the San Francisco 49ers on many occasions.

The professional athletes have a great impact on their prospective sports. However, the commissioners of each of the four major have the responsibility of not only taking care of the players, but more importantly, to take care of the fans.
I just thought of a great idea. All four commissioners of the four major American professional leagues should meet each other in a conference. NBA Commissioner, David Stern; NFL Commissioner, Paul Tagliabue; NHL Commissioner, Gary Bettman; and MLB Commissioner Bud Selig need to resolve the problems between stupid, hardcore fans and many of the immature professional athletes.
In this conference a new rule should be implemented: the sale of alcohol cannot occur after 75% of a game has been completed. Here’s a list of when this rule would take affect in the four major sports:
NFL: At the end of the third quarter (with only one 15 min. quarter left to play).
NBA: At the end of the third quarter (with only one 12 min. quarter left to play).
MLB: At the end of the 6th inning (with three or more innings left to play).
NHL: Five minutes into the third period (with only 15 min. left to play in the period).
The consumption of alcohol at the Palace of Auburn Hills lead to the worst catastrophe in American sports history. The commissioners of all four major sports need to protect both the players and the fans in the seats.

My second idea involves creating a barrier surround the entire field of play, like the nets used in football for field goals and the screen behind home plate in most baseball ballparks. Many soccer stadiums in Europe and Latin America surround the soccer field with a chain-link fence in order for the players to avoid the fan’s wrath and/or riots. I know for a fact that many soccer fans are very passionate & go completely insane over their favorite team. Unfortunately, many soccer fans have died in terrible tragedies involving other fans. The barriers in soccer become vital for the safety of the players and fans especially when a soccer team plays their archrival.

In National Hockey League (NHL) arenas, a hockey rink is surrounded by strong, durable clear boards that protect the players from “checking” and the fans. Unfortunately, the high velocity of a flying puck went into the stands and killed a 10 year old girl. MLB and NFL stadiums need to use some form of netting in order to surround the playing field. The NBA needs to get rid of courtside seating. David Stern, NBA commissioner, needs to move the rows back a little in order to avoid another fight between convicted felons that call themselves fans and some of the immature punks of the NBA. The fans pay these “gifted” athletes millions of dollars so that they can play their sport to the best of their abilities. In addition, corporate sponsors pay even more money for athletes to endorse their product.

For example: a three year old infant makes fifty free throws in a row from a NBA regulation free throw attempt. A shoe company representative actually witnessed this event. As a result, the parents received a shoe deal for their son of $1,000,000. By the way, this is not a joke. This event actually happened. I have disdain over those greedy parents for exploiting their kid. But, I know many others who would do the same thing.

Professional athletes and fans need to become friends, not enemies. Fans are always going to jeer the opposing team in order to disrupt their concentration and focus.
I do it all the time. For example: What’s the matter fathead, which refers to Kevin Mench of the Texas Rangers. I know that there’s a fine line that should not be crossed, and I do not try to overstep that line.What I do is fine.

However, some of the hosts on sports talk radio tell the fans, “It’s a matter of life and death. You have to root your team on, or else they’ll lose without your full support.” I know the feeling, because right across the Bay is where the “Raider Nation” and “Black Hole.” Luckily, I have only been to one Oakland Raiders game. It’s a given at a Raiders game that fans of the opposing team who show up to the Coliseum will get raped by the “Raider Nation.” There are always going to be fights between players of the opposite teams. However, there should NEVER be a fight between pro athletes and fans. Security should take care of the mess, not the players. The athletes should just worry about playing the game, and the fans should enjoy watching a game while cheering on their favorite team.