Have sports rivalries between fans gone too far?

[Exit8A]

I consider myself a Yankee fan, but to be honest with you, I feel that the rivalry between the Yankees and Red Sox has reached an extreme level of idiocy and lunacy, especially in light of this news story where a woman rammed her car into a group of hecklers making fun of her Yankee bumper sticker.

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/baseball/mlb/05/05/yankees.redsox.death.ap/index.html?cnn=yes

Seeing all the news stories about incidents between Yankee and Red Sox fans just makes me shake my head. These are grown people (apparently) who behave in such a fashion when it comes down to their favorite team and their rival, and decide that their favorite team is above all common sense. And it is not just the Yankees and Red Sox. I remember a story where a man got his scrotum ripped off in Oklahoma solely for wearing a Texas Longhorns shirt.

I admit, I am a fan of some teams over others, but in general I am a fan of the sports themselves. I may be a Yankee fan, but I don't necessarily hate the Red Sox, plus I can sit down and enjoy a game played by two teams on the opposite coast. I just feel that this whole "rivalry" thing is because, or has made, otherwise mentally sound individuals become very childish. My brother and I had a conversation yesterday that quite a bit of Red Sox and Yankees fans are pretty much blind and that the baseball universe revolves solely around those two teams.

Anyone elses thoughts?

 

[Tom Servo]

I love the rivalry or the teams, and the rivalry of the fans. Of course however, there is always someone who takes it way too seriously, like this woman, and causes pain and tragedy. Thankfully its not a common occurance, and most people have the common sense to recognize its just a game.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

This is definitely a case of a rivalry going too far. Sometimes it's just not worth it.

 

[SmoothieX]

I can't stand the majority of NY and Boston fans for this very reason. And I've lived on both sides of the fence. It's just a game for crying out loud.

 

[Roger Wilco]

I can't stand the majority of NY and Boston fans for this very reason. And I've lived on both sides of the fence. It's just a game for crying out loud.

I don't care for baseball, so I don't know how baseball fans feel about that. But the worst thing someone can say to me to cheer me up after my club loses an important (or even unimportant) match is "it's just a game".

But yeah, sports rivalries shouldn't be taken outside the stadiums (not counting innocent teasing ), especially not violently.

 

[Luckyflux]

I love the rivalries, it makes some games even more to look forward too. I love the interleague play between the Mets and Yankees, I will miss it this year cause I moved to LA.

But it does take a few rotten apples to ruin it for everyone. Some idiots take it too far. It is a game and it is cool to be passionate about it, but please, don't take it too far...Just have alittle fun talking trash, but agree to disagree and just leave it alone.

 

[SmoothieX]

^ I love a good natured ribbing between fans. It's so much fun.

I grew up in NY, as a Mets fan. I happened to be a college student in the Bronx when the 2000 subway series World Series happened. I wore a Mets NL champs hat to class that whole time.

Got a lot of flack for it, and threw it right back at the people giving it to me. As someone who loves baseball and grew up in NY, that was as much fun as I've ever had as a sports fan.

That was 8 years ago at this point but I remember it very fondly.

I don't see why there has to be animosity between fans who root for different teams. Who cares, just have fun with it.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'm a Yankee fan who is about to visit Boston for the first time, so I'm paying extra close attention to this thread.

 

[JonathonWally]

I'm a Yankee fan who is about to visit Boston for the first time, so I'm paying extra close attention to this thread.

Make sure to wear a yankees cap and jacket and get seats on the green monster.

 

[Tom Servo]

I'm a Yankee fan who is about to visit Boston for the first time, so I'm paying extra close attention to this thread.

Make sure to wear a yankees cap and jacket and get seats on the green monster.

And then he will be HANGING from the Green Monster.....

 

[Swarles Barkley]

I wouldn't read too much into this particular incident. Apparently the woman was extremely drunk, which certainly affected her judgment. Far be it from me (especially as a Sox fan) to make excuses for this woman. I'm just saying I certainly don't view her as in any way representative of most Yankee fans. They may be boorish, front-running louts... ... but they generally aren't homicidal.

And I think most Sox and Yankee fans are just as sick of the hype generated around the "rivalry" as most other baseball fans are. I blame MLB and their media partners for that though. It's ridiculous that they played each other 5 or 6 times in April. That's all ratings driven BS.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'm a Yankee fan who is about to visit Boston for the first time, so I'm paying extra close attention to this thread.

Make sure to wear a yankees cap and jacket and get seats on the green monster.

And then he will be HANGING from the Green Monster.....

Don't worry, I will leave all my Yankee and New York-related gear at home.

I don't know who the Sox play when I'll be out there, but if it's the Yankees, I *will* root for them, though. Why shouldn't I? But I won't be going into Boston bars and starting some shit. I only do that here.

 

[JonathonWally]

Make sure to wear a yankees cap and jacket and get seats on the green monster.

And then he will be HANGING from the Green Monster.....

Don't worry, I will leave all my Yankee and New York-related gear at home.

I don't know who the Sox play when I'll be out there, but if it's the Yankees, I *will* root for them, though. Why shouldn't I? But I won't be going into Boston bars and starting some shit. I only do that here.

Wear it. If they got a problem, fuck em. Every time I go to bean town I make sure to bring a Yankees cap

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Don't worry, I will leave all my Yankee and New York-related gear at home.

I don't know who the Sox play when I'll be out there, but if it's the Yankees, I *will* root for them, though. Why shouldn't I? But I won't be going into Boston bars and starting some shit. I only do that here.

Wear it. If they got a problem, fuck em. Every time I go to bean town I make sure to bring a Yankees cap

You could probably defend yourself in a fight. I don't have that luxury. In fact I don't think I've ever been in a fight in my life. I'd probably go down like a sack of potatoes.

 

[DBR]

Call me old fashioned, but rivalries are part of the fun. Of course there are some who will take it too far, but those people probably don't have a combined IQ of 100.

 

[KLOEN]

Well, over here we've got a lot of problems with fan rivalry, hooliganism and so on.
In my country there's a major political debate going on, about wether or not the various football clubs have a financial responsibility regarding damages caused by larger groups of disappointed fans in for example trains or at train stations and so on.
One argument is that since they make money of the fans and encourage them to follow the team when they play in another city, they also have to pay up when said fans wreak havoc on public or private property.
The other argument is that no one man or organization can ever be held responsible for private people's stupid actions.

On a private note, I frickin' hate coming to work after a big game that we've lost. I work in the rival city, so you can imagine how annoying it is at the office.
People who I know for a fact goes to watch matches, and generally care about their team, them I can respect teasing me. That's ok, 'cause I know they'll be hiding when their team loses. It's all the non-fan fans I can't deal with.
The kind of "fans" who doesn't give a rat's ass when their team is doing shite, they just shrug and go: "Meh..". The kind of "fans" who've never been to an actual match but just enjoy making fun of me 'cause they want to put the other city down.

Those "fans" I frickin' hate.

 

[BRG]

In Scotland we have a very ugly rivalry between Glasgow giants Celtic and Rangers.

Celtic fans are hard line catholics who hate protestants, and of corse, Rangers fans are hard line protestants who hate catholics.
This Glasgow Bigotry Festival is held 4-6 times a year, with the usual aftermath of drink feuled violence in the city after the game, with kickings & stabbings galore. But as these two are Scotlands biggest clubs, with massive fanbase and finacial power, the chiefs of Scottish football turn a blind eye to this disgraceful behaviour.

When they come into our ground to play us, it is a very unpleasant experiance. Celtic wave Irish flags, sing pro-IRA songs, and call you "Orange Bastards". Rangers wave Union flags, sing Rule Britannia, and call you "Fenian Scum".
They can keep this religious and Irish shit out of Scottish football.

BRG

 

[Tom Servo]

And then he will be HANGING from the Green Monster.....

Don't worry, I will leave all my Yankee and New York-related gear at home.

I don't know who the Sox play when I'll be out there, but if it's the Yankees, I *will* root for them, though. Why shouldn't I? But I won't be going into Boston bars and starting some shit. I only do that here.

Wear it. If they got a problem, fuck em. Every time I go to bean town I make sure to bring a Yankees cap

And then the Sox respond by beating the snot out of that over paid, whiney bunch of bums. Hank Steinbrenner's idiocy is the best thing to happen to the Sox for a long time.

 

[JonathonWally]

Don't worry, I will leave all my Yankee and New York-related gear at home.

I don't know who the Sox play when I'll be out there, but if it's the Yankees, I *will* root for them, though. Why shouldn't I? But I won't be going into Boston bars and starting some shit. I only do that here.

Wear it. If they got a problem, fuck em. Every time I go to bean town I make sure to bring a Yankees cap

And then the Sox respond by beating the snot out of that over paid, whiney bunch of bums. Hank Steinbrenner's idiocy is the best thing to happen to the Sox for a long time.

A BoSox fan commenting on the Yankee payroll doesn't make a whole lot of sense. Ya, Yanks have the highest payroll in pro sports, Sox have the 2nd.

We also have the greatest dynasty in the history of sports, so we deserves the money

 

[Hermiod]

In Scotland we have a very ugly rivalry between Glasgow giants Celtic and Rangers.

Yeah, the Old Firm stuff goes well beyond anything else I've ever seen. It's gone far, far beyond football now.

Actually, thinking about it, the Yankees/Red Sox situation kind of reminds me of my own rivalry - I am an Arsenal fan and our chief local rivals are Tottenham Hotspur. Arsenal have been considerably more successful historically than Spurs.

American sports, because of the franchise system, don't seem to have many cases of two teams being in the same city. In London alone we have Arsenal, Chelsea, Tottenham, West Ham and Fulham and that's just the Premier League.

Arsenal and Tottenham's stadiums are separated by a matter of a couple of miles. Chelsea and Fulham's are served by the same Tube station!

A colleague went to the US last year and went to a baseball game (he did not say who he saw). He noted the complete absence of any support for the away/visiting team. In England, and in Europe, every Football stadium has an away section which is normally the area where you'll see the least proportion of empty seats. Of course, given that the UK is roughly the size of Oregon, I can appreciate the difference in travel times.