Assault at Orioles game sends man to intensive care

[LookinUp]

Wearing Marlins garb to OPACY is slightly different than wearing NY or Boston apparel. Though it is a free country.

I think the point some are trying to make is that while you have every right to wear your team's colors and cheer like everyone else, it might not be well advised to wear the #1 rivals stuff into a venue with drunk people.

That doesn't mean this guy's at fault. I obviously don't think he was. On the other hand, good people know not to walk down strange dark alleys in Chicago. It's not that they don't have the right to that public alley, but it's smarter not to do it.

That all being said, I'd hate for Oriole park to be unwelcoming to other fans beyond the point that they have a hard time getting tickets because we're sold out.

[333WCamden]

I hate the Yankees, but I also hate calling them our rival when we aren't theirs. Hopefully the Rays and Os can battle it out atop the standings for the next decade or two and we can establish a new true rivalry.

[LookinUp]

This is supposedly a page where you can donate to help this guy pay his medical bills. I haven't independently verified this, but one of my friends who was at the scene sent it to me.

http://mfortese.wix.com/matt-fortese-fund#

[UpstateNYfan]

That statement is so wrong. I mean really, really wrong. The average weekly salary in Manhattan is close to $2500. In the financial industry it tops $8,000 per week. That's a good "poor".

I love the term average. It is a great term to lie with. The number of people making HUGE salaries can skew the mean. The median salary would probably be a better measure and even better the bottom quartile salary even better.

I am really disappointed that so many here seem to think the fan should have better sense than to wear a Yankee cap at a game in Baltimore. That is an outrageous statement. Does a girl that wears a revealing top and short shorts deserve to get raped?

It is a ballgame, if a person has a favorite cap, wear it. Have fun and wear any cap you want. Any "fan" that has that much hatred for a rival needs help. It is a game, not a war. In fact without rivalries it would be boring. When I am in Baltimore next week for a couple of games against the Red Sox. I am going to wear a Yank or Sox cap just to see how I am treated. I bet 99.9% of the O's crowd will be fine with it, just like when I go to Fenway or the Stadium, those crowds are very congenial to me with O's stuff on. It will be interesting.

[Tx Oriole]

All of you are right, sort-of. The fact is, Manhattan below 118th St. (West Side) and 106th St. (East Side) (approximations) is, for the most part, exceedingly well-off - but there are a lot of people living above there (Harlem, Washington Heights, Spanish Harlem, Inwood) that are still in Manhattan, and those areas tend to be less affluent. In Manhattan there are still public housing projects, too, so there are clusters of poverty as well. For the most part, however, the Manhattan that folks call "the City" is prretty well-off. But it's also very expensive. All of that said, however, the incredibly high prices not only reduce the size of a true "middle class," they create a very problematic environment for crime.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/20/realestate/what-is-middle-class-in-manhattan.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Meh, I wouldn't say you're looking to instigate a riot. And maybe "moronic" is a bit extreme. I guess I'd view it on par with wearing socks with sandals, or cowboy boots with basketball shorts, or bright colors to a funeral.

I'm just talking about going to a ballgame. Not being out in general. I'd never in a million years go to a Nationals-Braves game wearing O's gear. I'd go to the grocery store doing so, just not to a neutral ballgame. Whenever I go to OPACY and we're playing the Rays or something and I see someone wearing a Phillies jersey, I just think "boy what a weirdo".

Then again, we're all weirdos to some extent or another. I mean we do spend money to watch grown men run exercise. So who knows...

Well if you wore a O's jersey to a Nats Braves game I would not think anything

about it. I would just figure you are an O's fan that is in DC that likes baseball

that had a chance to see a game. Me I tend to my own business and don't bother

what others wear to a game. This man is a Yankees fan in Baltimore. If I had

seen him that would not have bothered me in the least. I guess I just don't

understand why some fans think they have to defend the honor of the O's so let's

go beat the snot out of this guy. I find that kind of fan pathetic. Drunk or not.

[El Gordo]

I think the point some are trying to make is that while you have every right to wear your team's colors and cheer like everyone else, it might not be well advised to wear the #1 rivals stuff into a venue with drunk people.

That doesn't mean this guy's at fault. I obviously don't think he was. On the other hand, good people know not to walk down strange dark alleys in Chicago. It's not that they don't have the right to that public alley, but it's smarter not to do it.

That all being said, I'd hate for Oriole park to be unwelcoming to other fans beyond the point that they have a hard time getting tickets because we're sold out.

I hope you are not comparing a dark alley in Chicago with OPACY. :laughlol:

[brianod]

I don't have a problem with anyone wearing what they want to to any game. I don't think wearing a Yankee hat should invite any mistreatment. But, we have all seen arrogant, loud, obnoxious Redsox and Yankee fans over the years who thought it was their God given right to sit in our stadium and take it over. It's not. Fact is, some of them are slower to recognize that fact then others. I'm not condemning anyone until the facts are in. I'm not justifying the action of the guys that got arrested and I'm not deifying the Yankee fan. All I'm saying is let's get the truth, the entire story, before we pass judgment.

[mdterp911]

This is supposedly a page where you can donate to help this guy pay his medical bills. I haven't independently verified this, but one of my friends who was at the scene sent it to me.

http://mfortese.wix.com/matt-fortese-fund#

The site is legit. Matt fortese neighbor of 21 years started it and is leading the the fund-raising campaign. Sweet frog has already stepped up to help out and the yankees are going to as well. I've know him since he was 11 years old and this whole situation sickens me and is devastating to our entire community. My question is where are the orioles? As a life long orioles fanatic, I must say I am more than disappointed in their lack of a response to this.

[notfast]

I've heard multiple "stories" that the guy who was injuried tried to or was in the act of climbing a terrace box railing/wall to go after the two guys who throw the bottle and ended up assaulting him. His was punched/pushed and fell hitting his head on concrete...Has this been verified?

[Mayor McCheese]

I've heard multiple "stories" that the guy who was injuried tried to or was in the act of climbing a terrace box railing/wall to go after the two guys who throw the bottle and ended up assaulting him. His was punched/pushed and fell hitting his head on concrete...Has this been verified?

Yes it has been.

In fact he he climbed up just to say "I am here now, say it to my face" when the d-bags friend decides to suckerpunch him causing him to fall.

[russ snyder]

I love the term average. It is a great term to lie with. The number of people making HUGE salaries can skew the mean. The median salary would probably be a better measure and even better the bottom quartile salary even better.

I am really disappointed that so many here seem to think the fan should have better sense than to wear a Yankee cap at a game in Baltimore. That is an outrageous statement. Does a girl that wears a revealing top and short shorts deserve to get raped?

It is a ballgame, if a person has a favorite cap, wear it. Have fun and wear any cap you want. Any "fan" that has that much hatred for a rival needs help. It is a game, not a war. In fact without rivalries it would be boring. When I am in Baltimore next week for a couple of games against the Red Sox. I am going to wear a Yank or Sox cap just to see how I am treated. I bet 99.9% of the O's crowd will be fine with it, just like when I go to Fenway or the Stadium, those crowds are very congenial to me with O's stuff on. It will be interesting.

I agree with you on the Yankee cap. The problem is not the cap IMO. The problem is an overall lack of common decency, and respect for other people's personal space as well. There is no justification for provoking someone because of what they are wearing.

I also agree that people should feel free to wear whatever hat or jersey to a game that they want. Any fan that has that much hatred for a rival probably needs some anger management counseling. Rivalries are great, but I think that we have lost perspective as society. I mean, the Ravens actually play the Under Armour "protect this house" ad during football games for tens of thousands of drunken fans. What exactly is "threatening" the house and from what?

Good luck with your experiment. I hope that you are treated well, and I'm glad to hear that the fans up north have been so congenial to you in the past.

[Dipper9]

Yes it has been.

In fact he he climbed up just to say "I am here now, say it to my face" when the d-bags friend decides to suckerpunch him causing him to fall.

There is never a good reason to punch someone at the game, and obviously the victim had just had enough, but when you get right down to it, had he stayed in his seat, he would not be in the hospital right now. What did he think would happen when he climbed the wall and got in the drunken idiots' faces? Did he think these drunks would suddenly grow up and apologize? It wasn't his "fault" that he got hurt, but just like the usher who let it go on, and the cops who did nothing, the victim was by no means "innocent" in this attack.

[notfast]

There is never a good reason to punch someone at the game, and obviously the victim had just had enough, but when you get right down to it, had he stayed in his seat, he would not be in the hospital right now. What did he think would happen when he climbed the wall and got in the drunken idiots' faces? Did he think these drunks would suddenly grow up and apologize? It wasn't his "fault" that he got hurt, but just like the usher who let it go on, and the cops who did nothing, the victim was by no means "innocent" in this attack.

This is kind of my point.

I think what needs to be taken from this is that the ushers need more training. They are not used to packed crowds and the demands they entail. This situation seems to have been one that escalated and probably could have been prevented. Make sure the ushers are actually paying attention to things when they walk down to the front of the aisle in between innings. Make sure they are watching the crowd more than they are watching the game.

We had situation on Opening Day where two entire rows were up in each others face multiple times and no usher, police etc ever came to the area. Could have turned ugly. Plenty of time to contact the polie and have them come hang out in the section because 99.9% of the time that diffuses the situation that could have escalated to something violent.

[russ snyder]

There is never a good reason to punch someone at the game, and obviously the victim had just had enough, but when you get right down to it, had he stayed in his seat, he would not be in the hospital right now. What did he think would happen when he climbed the wall and got in the drunken idiots' faces? Did he think these drunks would suddenly grow up and apologize? It wasn't his "fault" that he got hurt, but just like the usher who let it go on, and the cops who did nothing, the victim was by no means "innocent" in this attack.

You make some good points. However, I bet that the thrown beer is what brought on the second degree assault charges against these two clowns. One might argue that he was defending himself by confronting these two guys after the beer was thrown on him and his date. I'm sure that he was expecting a fight, and fortunately it did not cost him his life.

[luismatos4prez]

I've heard multiple "stories" that the guy who was injuried tried to or was in the act of climbing a terrace box railing/wall to go after the two guys who throw the bottle and ended up assaulting him. His was punched/pushed and fell hitting his head on concrete...Has this been verified?

Where in the stadium did this happen? I'm trying to visualize it.