Assault at Orioles game sends man to intensive care

[Gurgi]

Such a simple concept that seems to be missed by some on here.

Tony you fail to understand that someone is NOT out of place wearing a baseball cap at a baseball game. I have worn my Orioles hat at Yankee-Toronto games. At WhiteSox-Oakland games. Why should you expect abuse? You are at a baseball park where most stadiums have flags waving of all the league clubs.

Some people actually enjoy baseball as a visual sport but still only have money for their favorite teams gear. Why cant he wear it? It keeps the sun out of his eyes. It keeps the sweat out of his eyes. It is part of free speech.

And no one has put up evidence the victim was popping off.

Honestly I am a little shocked at peoples reactions to what I think of a simple matter.

[FlipCup]

Tony you fail to understand that someone is NOT out of place wearing a baseball cap at a baseball game. I have worn my Orioles hat at Yankee-Toronto games. At WhiteSox-Oakland games. Why should you expect abuse? You are at a baseball park where most stadiums have flags waving of all the league clubs.

Some people actually enjoy baseball as a visual sport but still only have money for their favorite teams gear. Why cant he wear it? It keeps the sun out of his eyes. It keeps the sweat out of his eyes. It is part of free speech.

And no one has put up evidence the victim was popping off.

Honestly I am a little shocked at peoples reactions to what I think of a simple matter.

I don't think Tony is saying he can't wear the hat. He is just saying that by wearing a hat of a rival team MAY provoke drunk idiots....I think that is a very reasonable thought process.

[Tony-OH]

Does it really matter? I can easily understand a guy losing his temper, when a beer is thrown of his girl friend, after having kept it for 7 innings of mindless, moronic, profane. heckling. What I can't understand is why someone feels the need to heckle, provoke, and yell profanities at someone for 7 innings, instead of watching the game, and finally need to throw beer at them, because they are wearing a Yankee hat. Yet some here seem to find that understandable. Scary.

Who found the actions of the two idiots understandable? I haven't seen one post that hasn't been against those two. Just because some of us feel he put an unneeded target on his back by wearing the Yankees cap to a neutral game does not mean we are defending the two idiots int eh least bit. We just know those kinds of idiots exist.

[Tony-OH]

I don't think Tony is saying he can't wear the hat. He is just saying that by wearing a hat of a rival team MAY provoke drunk idiots....I think that is a very reasonable thought process.

This concept seems difficult for some people to understand. By wearing a Yankees or Red Sox hat in Camden Yards during a neutral game, you put a target on your back for idiots like the very ones involved in this instance. That doesn't make it right. Nor does it mean the idiots are not at fault here, but the simple fact is if he didn't wear the hat, this incident would not have occurred.

BTW, most of this anger towards Yankees and Red Sox fans in Camden Yards comes from the years of their fans not just came into Camden Yards, but literally treated the place like a second home with reports of taunting of Orioles fans in their own home.

Again, I don't personally like when I see someone wearing the Yankees or Red Sox hat in Camden Yards in neutral games, just like I don't understand why someone would wear Steelers jerseys to Ravens stadium in a neutral game, to me, it's an "F you" to everyone around them. That doesn't mean that everyone really feels that way, but that's my first reaction. I actually saw a woman decked out in Steelers gear during the Ravens Super Bowl parade. Why? What are trying to prove?

Now I'm never going to harass a fan of another team unless they do something to bring it on, like start a "Let's go whoever" chant in someone else's ball park. Even then, I'm not going to throw beer on them nor am I going to threaten them in any manner. I might tell them to sit down or chant "Let's go Orioles" over them.

A lot of this is just respecting others. If I go to a visiting ballpark, I'm going to act like a guest. I'll cheer my team, but win or lose, I'm not going to instigate problems with anyone.

It sound like this guy's biggest mistake was wearing a Yankees cap near some drunken A-holes and then approaching them instead of getting help. He did not deserve his fate in the least bit and the guys who assaulted him should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law if the facts bear out that they were the aggressors.

[Tony-OH]

1. Have you ever been to a Yankee-Oriole game in NY or would you ever go to one there?

2. If you were there, would you not wear an Oriole hat or anything Oriole related?

I don't get what this has to do with anything I've said. I'm fine with Yankees fans being decked out in their gear when we play against them.

[El Gordo]

Who found the actions of the two idiots understandable? I haven't seen one post that hasn't been against those two. Just because some of us feel he put an unneeded target on his back by wearing the Yankees cap to a neutral game does not mean we are defending the two idiots int eh least bit. We just know those kinds of idiots exist.

There is a distinction between understanding a behavior and condoning it, or excusing it. I understand Fortese losing his temper after 7 innings of provocation. I don't excuse or condone it. People who suggest that heckling people wearing the wrong colors comes with the territory seem to be somewhat understanding the beer brothers behavior. I am not saying anyone is condoning it or excusing it. Although one bright light did seem to feel that Fortese was more culpable than Beer Boy if Fortese did indeed throw punches at him.

[El Gordo]

1. Have you ever been to a Yankee-Oriole game in NY or would you ever go to one there?

2. If you were there, would you not wear an Oriole hat or anything Oriole related?

I'm sure he would, he just wouldn't wear a Sox hat. If he had one.

[CA-ORIOLE]

I don't think Tony is saying he can't wear the hat. He is just saying that by wearing a hat of a rival team MAY provoke drunk idiots....I think that is a very reasonable thought process.

So much for promising myself I'd stay out of this one.

Does anybody really not get that though? Even without saying it. No disrespect meant to Tony or anyone else making the point, but I think some of the objection here (while the point is technically correct), is it comes off as a rationalization.

[El Gordo]

Yeah, I didn't pick up on the neutral game thing. Aren't you still putting a target on yourself during a non-neutral game? Even at a non-neutral game there is more chance of trouble or being heckled with your (the opposing) team's gear on. To carry your logic a step further, you shouldn't wear your team's gear in the opposing park because there is a greater chance of problems.

I think all this neutral game stuff is a bit ridiculous. If I wear an O's hat to a Yankees Red Sox game I am a lot a safer than if I wear a Yankees or a Red Sox hat, even though I'm an Orioles fan. Maybe I should have a hat for every team in the ML so I can always be safe from drunken idiots. There are a lot of things that will provoke a drunken idiot, a MFY hat at OPACY during an O's DET game, only one of them. I am not going through a check list before I go to a game to make sure I am not offending any drunken idiots. Maybe they're Hispaniphobes so I shouldn't wear my guayabera. Might be Homophobes, better not wear purple. And just what would constitute neutral attire at a baseball game?

[atomic]

I think all this neutral game stuff is a bit ridiculous. If I wear an O's hat to a Yankees Red Sox game I am a lot a safer than if I wear a Yankees or a Red Sox hat, even though I'm an Orioles fan. Maybe I should have a hat for every team in the ML so I can always be safe from drunken idiots. There are a lot of things that will provoke a drunken idiot, a MFY hat at OPACY during an O's DET game, only one of them. I am not going through a check list before I go to a game to make sure I am not offending any drunken idiots. Maybe they're Hispaniphobes so I shouldn't wear my guayabera. Might be Homophobes, better not wear purple. And just what would constitute neutral attire at a baseball game?

You can do whatever you want.

[Tony-OH]

Yeah, I didn't pick up on the neutral game thing. Aren't you still putting a target on yourself during a non-neutral game? Even at a non-neutral game there is more chance of trouble or being heckled with your (the opposing) team's gear on. To carry your logic a step further, you shouldn't wear your team's gear in the opposing park because there is a greater chance of problems.

In a way you are, but you will have much more back up during a Yankees-O's game with so many other fans around. Look, any time you wear your gear in an opposing park you are taking a risk that some jackholes are going to mess with you. My point is, I can understand you wearing during a Yankees-O's game because you are there to cheer on your team. That's fine. Wearing it when your team is not playing is just bringing on undo attention on yourself because you are probably the only Yankees-hat wearing guy in the section those giving the jackholes an easy target. Again, I'm not condoning this behavior in the least bit, but I just realize it occurs.

[El Gordo]

I have a solution. We need to have MLB neutral hats and jerseys to be safe. Sort of like the UN Peace Keeping Force unis. They should be grey with a little cartoon Bud on the cap and MLB on the chest.:laughlol:

[Nigel Tufnel]

We happen to agree. Tony feels it's more abrasive to wear a Yankees hat at a neutral game, but you still have a chance of being bothered at a Yankee/Oriole game. If the idea is not to put a target on your back then you shouldn't wear a Yankee hat at either game. In the end, I don't think you can talk about them wearing the hat at all. All of the attention has to be on the two guys who caused all of the problem.

Yeah, I think everyone puts 100% of the blame on the two drunken idiots. But it also seems pretty likely that they only targeted the guy because of his Yankees hat, so I guess it's fair to point that out.

[Tony-OH]

I think all this neutral game stuff is a bit ridiculous. If I wear an O's hat to a Yankees Red Sox game I am a lot a safer than if I wear a Yankees or a Red Sox hat, even though I'm an Orioles fan. Maybe I should have a hat for every team in the ML so I can always be safe from drunken idiots. There are a lot of things that will provoke a drunken idiot, a MFY hat at OPACY during an O's DET game, only one of them. I am not going through a check list before I go to a game to make sure I am not offending any drunken idiots. Maybe they're Hispaniphobes so I shouldn't wear my guayabera. Might be Homophobes, better not wear purple. And just what would constitute neutral attire at a baseball game?

There is no reason to call an opposing view point ridiculous. I have yet to degrade anyone's opinion in this matter. I believe some don't get my point, and some disagree with it. I'm fine if anyone has a differing view point but once we start throwing around ridiculous to describe another's valid viewpoint you start degrading the poster. No reason for it and you should apologize.

[OFFNY]

I think all this neutral game stuff is a bit ridiculous. If I wear an O's hat to a Yankees Red Sox game I am a lot a safer than if I wear a Yankees or a Red Sox hat, even though I'm an Orioles fan. Maybe I should have a hat for every team in the ML so I can always be safe from drunken idiots. There are a lot of things that will provoke a drunken idiot, a MFY hat at OPACY during an O's DET game, only one of them. I am not going through a check list before I go to a game to make sure I am not offending any drunken idiots. Maybe they're Hispaniphobes so I shouldn't wear my guayabera. Might be Homophobes, better not wear purple. And just what would constitute neutral attire at a baseball game?

This x 400 billion.

4 billion (and) 1.