Assault at Orioles game sends man to intensive care

[Ommaculate]

If you've ever seen him, to say OFFNY goes to Yankees games in his O's gear is an understatement. He's dressed like a road show Orioles Bird. I give him a lot of credit. In the military he'd warrant a CIB or something. He's a true fan and not afraid to express his fandom. Nor should he be.

That's why I mentioned it. Did OFFNY really think I was saying something bad? We don't want him to end up on the wrong side of a beatdown.

The NY fans will probably be looking for revenge now too.

[SeaBird]

From what I gather, he's kind of popular with the fans at YS. The kids like him. I wouldn't go so far as to say he's an attraction, but he's pretty well accepted.

[Ommaculate]

From what I gather, he's kind of popular with the fans at YS. The kids like him. I wouldn't go so far as to say he's an attraction, but he's pretty well accepted.

So the question is, does OFFNY go to Yankees games with Orioles gear on, when the Orioles are not playing?

[OFFNY]

That's why I mentioned it. Did OFFNY really think I was saying something bad? We don't want him to end up on the wrong side of a beatdown.

The NY fans will probably be looking for revenge now too.

Well if that's the case, then I sincerely apologize.

I will delete my post, and I owe you a greenie in the future.

[El Gordo]

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.

If I think your opinion is ridiculous why can't I say so. I think I have characterized why I think it's silly. So I am happy to agree to disagree, but I see no reason to apologize for expressing my opinion. You are more than welcome to ridicule my opinions, as many other here frequently do. I don't demand apologies from them. I just don't take myself that seriously.

[El Gordo]

Originally Posted by El Gordo

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?

Originally Posted by Skee-Ball

This x 400 billion.

4 billion (and) 1.

Anything can be stretched to such an extreme that it is absurd. All that is being said is to realize that when in a stadium you are entering an area full of alcohol fueled machismo, tribal alliances (teams) and a supervisory force that is less than adequate to deal with any situation beyond the most simplistic. You don't have to sit at the game like a fossilized log and not express any support, but realize that under duress to keep cool and use your best judgement in what you wear, say, etc. (i.e. don't be stupid)

I can't say that this has been my experience either at Memorial Stadium or OPACY. While there are always going to be drunken idiots anywhere on any occassion, (weddings are particularly dangerous, and very tribal) they are always a minority, IMO. I don't care to live my life in fear of a tiny minority. It's bad enough being oppressed by the majority.

[NJOsFan]

Whether the two idiots threw the first punch or not, they assaulted the guy and his girlfriend first. Throwing a beer on someone qualifies, IMO.

In NJ (and probably most other states) that would be classified as harassment, not assault.

[Going Underground]

I think that's really the key here. Every team has rivals. For us it's the Red Sox and Yankees. Don't wear those hats in Camden Yards in neutral games because you are asking to be a target for some tool bags. Like I said, they have every right to wear those hats, and no one has a right to commit violence against anyone just because of what they are wearing, but if you wear a Rivals teams colors at a neutral event, you are putting an unneeded target on your back.

But it could happen at a rivalry game as well. The Giant fan wore his hat at Dodger Stadium. That was probably looking for trouble by the idiots. If something like this incident took place at Yankee Stadium or Fenway would we be saying the fan brought it on somewhat or those Yankee or Fenway fans are acting like they usually do.

[Tony-OH]

Sorry, but yesterday, you said I was struggling to "comprehend" your POV or that maybe I was just being "obtuse"; you know, I was being kind of "slow on the uptake".

Bottom line is that simply wearing a cap to a stadium shouldn't cause a physical confrontation. In reviewing the thread, it would appear that the majority of responders share the same view as I do.

You think it's okay for NYY fans to wear their gear during games in which the Yankees are playing the O's at CY. But when the same fan wears the Yankees cap to a "neutral" game at CY he is should expect potential trouble and by wearing that hat during a neutral contest he is signaling a big "F-You", as you put it, to Orioles fans. Sorry. That doesn't correlate.

I know you rule the roost here and I am respectfully disagreeing with you, but I'm simply suggesting that your POV seems to be in the minority on this particular issue with those that have chosen to reply.

And as I've said before, I'm fine with that. My issues were with people who were twisting my point around into something I was not saying. As for your first sentence, stop being so darn sensitive. I didn't say anything about you being "slow on the uptake". If you took it that way, that's on you. I never said your point of view was ridiculous like El Gordo did. I said you were either struggling to understand my point (which could mean I was not making my point well enough) or you were purposely ignoring or twisting it around in order to make your point. If I recall, you've had this issue with me before for being "unfair." Honestly, you seem to have quite an axe to grind with me in most threads. Regardless, disagree with me all you like as long as you keep it respectful and stay away from the woe is me crap.

[Tony-OH]

If I think your opinion is ridiculous why can't I say so. I think I have characterized why I think it's silly. So I am happy to agree to disagree, but I see no reason to apologize for expressing my opinion. You are more than welcome to ridicule my opinions, as many other here frequently do. I don't demand apologies from them. I just don't take myself that seriously.

I have a differing opinion, it is not ridiculous, and I have been around here long enough and should have enough respect not to have my opinion called ridiculous. You sir are one of the people that have no clue about about respect or having a good discussion of differing view points without getting personal.

[mlaws9]

The NY fans will probably be looking for revenge now too.

Even if so, the odds of something horrific like that actually happening at the new Yankee Stadium are next to nil. Credit where credit's due: They run an incredibly tight ship up there, and snuff out anything with even a whiff of ill will before it brews up and boils over.

Of course, this is largely anecdotal (though I've heard it confirmed by other posters, callers on radio shows, etc.). But I went up to game four of last year's ALDS, and, while I was expecting to face some harassment, given that I was wearing an O's jersey and cap -- and given that a guy on the street in Manhattan, as well as a couple fans outside the stadium itself, had accosted me (verbally, nothing major) -- I've probably never felt safer while actually within the confines of an opposing stadium.

It didn't happen to me, but there were a couple times throughout the game where it looked like trouble was afoot between a pocket of O's fans and the NYY guys in the bleachers surrounding them -- and, IMMEDIATELY, stadium personnel ran over and dealt with it. Everyone seems to know the score: If you're involved even marginally in any kind of incident (which includes verbal harassment), you get your ticket notched; anything subsequent, no matter how minor, and you get tossed. And, incredibly, the benefit of the doubt seems more likely to be accorded to the visiting fans; the attitude is that it's the minority that should be protected. (I even, at a few points, coming and going between the bathroom or vendors' booths and my spot in the RF bleachers, had a certain stadium employee asking me if I was doing all right.) Yes, it can feel a little like a police state (witness the vigilance with which they patrol the freakin' bathrooms), but I guess you're ceding certain rights when you enter a Major League park (and besides, the bathrooms have proven, time and again, a trouble spot, in my experience at OPACY).

As an aside, the result of all this enhanced security has been to make the hardcore NYY-ites more cleverly benign in how they shout down overzealous visiting fans: What they usually do is, everyone kind of turns in a circle to face the fan or fans in question (the ones adjudged to have been behaving obnoxiously) and points at him/her/them and chants, "A--hole, a--hole." Which, honestly, I think is pretty funny, and typically ends with the out-of-town fan laughing in embarrassment, and the hometown crew feeling satisfied, and no one thinking about breaking a bottle over anyone else's head. Or at least that was my impression.

Long story short: Huge visible presence of stadium security + no-bull attitude = very little in the way of shenanigans. I hate the Yankees as much as the next guy, but there are (a couple) things Baltimore could learn from them ...

[Tony-OH]

But it could happen at a rivalry game as well. The Giant fan wore his hat at Dodger Stadium. That was probably looking for trouble by the idiots. If something like this incident took place at Yankee Stadium or Fenway would we be saying the fan brought it on somewhat or those Yankee or Fenway fans are acting like they usually do.

Sure it could and has happened at rivalry games. The whole point is if you wear a rivals hat to a neutral game, you are upping you odds of being targeted by the drunken jerks because you are probably the only one wearing that hat that day.

[SilentJames]

But it could happen at a rivalry game as well. The Giant fan wore his hat at Dodger Stadium. That was probably looking for trouble by the idiots. If something like this incident took place at Yankee Stadium or Fenway would we be saying the fan brought it on somewhat or those Yankee or Fenway fans are acting like they usually do.

I don't mean to attack you - but well, you're wrong. And it is that opinion that makes stuff like this okay. Your statement, and others like it, to me seem as if you are trying to explain away the problem and make it seem like not such a big deal.

This is the same thing as saying, "she was asking for it dressed like that." How's about we all just grow the eff up a little bit and understand that there are other fans in the world and not give a crap what other people are doing, wearing, and saying.

And you know, you would be almost right IF someone wasn't laying in a hospital bed right now clinging to life. Sure, this may have been a bit of ballpark douchebaggery that escalated way too quickly and ended in the worst possible consequences but that doesn't change the fact that we as a community of fans can not just allow stuff to escalate like that. If you see a drunk jackass doing jackass things it shouldn't matter the laundry of the people involved some one needs to get the authorities.

[Tony-OH]

Long story short: Huge visible presence of stadium security + no-bull attitude = very little in the way of shenanigans. I hate the Yankees as much as the next guy, but there are (a couple) things Baltimore could learn from them ...

Sounds the Hangout version of stadiums.

Seriously though, I've always felt the Orioles ushers that I've been around have been more worried about seat jumpers than diffusing possible altercations. I don't have the full story on what happened so I can't blame the local ushers to this situation, but it would appear by just what we've read in the papers and people's personal accounts that they could have taken a tougher stance and this would not have come to such horrible conclusion.

[Tony-OH]

I don't mean to attack you - but well, you're wrong. And it is that opinion that makes stuff like this okay. Your statement, and others like it, to me seem as if you are trying to explain away the problem and make it seem like not such a big deal.

This is the same thing as saying, "she was asking for it dressed like that." How's about we all just grow the eff up a little bit and understand that there are other fans in the world and not give a crap what other people are doing, wearing, and saying.

And you know, you would be almost right IF someone wasn't laying in a hospital bed right now clinging to life. Sure, this may have been a bit of ballpark douchebaggery that escalated way too quickly and ended in the worst possible consequences but that doesn't change the fact that we as a community of fans can not just allow stuff to escalate like that. If you see a drunk jackass doing jackass things it shouldn't matter the laundry of the people involved some one needs to get the authorities.

I think you missed his point a bit or I did, but either way, you are 100 percent correct in your past paragraph. There appeared to be a whole lot of "it ain't my problem" that went around this situation.