PETE PAGUAGA – Sports Editor
What a year we had in sports in 2011.
A great ending to MLB season with two playoff spots coming down to literally the final out and a great World Series between the Cardinals and the Rangers. Both the NHL and the NFL saw two storied franchises rise back to the top of their respected sports with the Bruins and the Packers taking home the Stanley Cup and Lombardi Trophy. The NBA had a great playoffs with the Mavericks taking down the Big 3 in Miami.
But with all this success we saw in 2011 there were also three terrible events that occurred after sporting events concluded.
On March 31 after the MLB had opened the season, San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow was attacked by two Los Angeles Dodgers fans and suffered injuries to both his brain and skull.
In August during an NFL preseason game between the hated rivals the Oakland Raiders and the San Francisco 49ers, one fan was beaten in the bathroom. He was knocked unconscious and was placed in the hospital with life-threatening injuries. Two men were shot in the parking lot after the game; these were separate incidents.
One man was placed in the hospital with life-threatening injuries while the other was hospitalized with superficial wounds to his face.
Then there was another horrible incident between fans in Philadelphia two days after the New Year rang in. Three Flyers fans assaulted two Rangers fans after the Winter Classic. One of the Rangers fans, Neal Auricchio, was beaten so badly he was brought to a local hospital with a concussion and needed stitches by his eye.
What was the point of these incidents? Do these fans really think that their respected teams would be happy that they injured and almost killed fans of rival teams?
We are just fans. Let the athletes worry about the winning and losing. There is no reason why what happens on the field should change our way of life. Is there nothing separating us from animals? Because that is how we fans are acting.
I have been blessed to see all of my favorite teams go to the playoff and win championships and I have seen all of my teams lose in the playoffs. I have been heartbroken and angry. But not once have I thought of assaulting a fan of a rival team. Heck I live with a die-hard New York Rangers fan; I am best friends with a Red Sox fan and two New York Jets fans. We argue about whose team is better, but at the end of the day sports are just a game and if we lose sight of that, then what’s the point?
Sports Commentary: It’s only just a game
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Very well said Peter C! Your favorite teams should be proud to call you their fan!
Nice job Pete. It’s good to see you thought this out. Let the players play the game, and they are all just games in the end, and let the fans enjoy a hard played game then shake hands we each other when play is finsihed. You have to wonder how many of these ugly situations occur because fans are drunk and have lost control of their thought process. I have some of my greatest enjoyment at Yankee / Red Sox games, win or lose, because of the great baseball conversations with Sox fans. I think the stadiums/parks/arernas have to cut drunks off before they become dangerous to themselves and others, or big money live sports will begin to die. I was offered tickets to see the Flyers in Philly in a box and i didn’t jump at the offer because i’m not sure i want to be in the Philly parking lot after the game, I’m a Ranger fan. Last year i went to a Philly baseball game, the game Cliff Lee pitched a 2 hitter and he hit a home run. The person i was with was a BIG Philly fan, I’m a BIG Yankee fan an we couldn’t discuss the Yankees because we didn’t want to get attacked in the stands. We saw a great game, had good seats, watched a future hall of fame pitcher dominate a game, and in the end i didn’t enjoy it 100% because we couldn’t have a real baseball conversation.