Sports are changing. A baseball or football game used to be a family event. Now not only is it too expensive for most families to go to the ballpark, it’s too dangerous. There are so many stories, like Bryan Stowe, beaten at a Giant’s game two years ago by rival fans. In the last few days two more incidents have taken place. At Levi Stadium two men attacked two others in the restroom not long before kick-off. And at the Angels Stadium three people attacked a 43-year-old man and his cousin (an off-duty police officer, yet!) in the parking lot.
The news doesn’t answer my major question about all the attacks: how many of these incidents involved people who had been drinking? With tailgating and free-flowing beer concessions–not to mention what is sneaked in–a good number of people at any game end up drinking enough to make them belligerent. That mood is heightened by the heat of the sun, the roar of the crowd, and the emotional ups and downs each time a team scores.
Maybe it’s time to make games family-friendly and safe again. Ban drinking at tailgate parties, and don’t sell alcohol in the stadium. Does a fan really need to drink to enjoy the game? Would fans’ behavior and language improve if they didn’t have alcohol-soaked brains? Would–here’s a thought–fans therefore get more for their money, because they’ll actually see the game? I imbibe a bit of the grain or grape from time to time, so I’m not suggesting another Prohibition…just a dose of common sense.