Good sportsmanship & fan respect: How do we get there?

[Cathy]

As you may or may not have heard, an incident occured on Opening Day (March 31st) in a parking lot near Dodgers Stadium between fans of both the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants that resulted in a Giants fan being brutally beaten (and is currently in medically induced coma @ an area hospital).

The purpose of this thread is to suggest that while having fun, we should all respect & show good sportsmanship to fans of opposing teams both on & off SJ.



Please give me your ideas regarding improving sportsmanship & respect.

[Jerry]

I'm not sure that we need to do anything. These are isolated incidents that really don't have anything to do with sports. Without reading the details of the story, I can bet that alcohol was a main factor, and if it wasn't then I'd guess that the offenders were just a$$holes.

We simply have to look across the pond to see how those maniac soccer fans act with regards to that sport.

Still, the frequency of those incidents are fairly low when it comes to the amount of games there are.

If you want to stop these things from happening, then eliminate the score keeping or competitive nature of sports. Sounds ridiculous, I know, but isn't that what they are doing in youth sports?

[TrojanHorse]

The Dodger stadium beating shows the bad element existing in the stadium. It really had little to do with sports. The guy even lunged towards Dodger fans when he was done beating his victim. Anyone looking at him the wrong way would have been beaten just the same. No increased sportsmanship will change that, because they respect no one, even outside of sports. A larger police presence is a start.

[TheFranchise]

theres no hope for fandom, with the increased alcohol consumption at games and people being unwilling to be accountable for their actions, violence and hatred towards anyone not wearing their colors will continue to escalate.

[Reg]

Folks need to separate team affiliations/fandom from humanity. What I mean is that's it's flat out barbaric, illogical, & stupid to hate &/or impart generalized negative attributes to someone due to whatever team they support. For example, it'd be idiotic for me, a MIGHTY Lake Show fan to hate or believe in/declare some negative attributes to mrtxstar just because he's a Spurs fan, when both he & I are MIGHTY Cowboys fans. How does that kinda stuff work?...Do I hate & declare him a "horrible person" or whatever during NBA season but he's muh bro during NFL season? Furthermore...A person's fandom does not define their personality, character or worth. It's just friggin SPORTS, not World War X!

I LOVE sports and I LOVE to talk trash, but as I said above...this stuff is JUST sports. For me, it's fun & entertainment, so I raise hell with & talk trash to fans of opposing teams with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek. I also go outta my way to help ensure that everyone knows that I'm just clowning. In the "real world", there's a number of things I'll physically fight about...in defense of a tangible threat to my family, my friends, & myself. However, I ain't launching one "old man, 1 & 1/2-legged" round kick over a buncha guys or gals playing a friggin game...making mo jack than I'll ever see a fraction of in my lifetime and not sharing one dime of it with me.

Now, having said the above, EVERYONE knows that CelDICKS, Ratskums, E-girls, VaGinants & Chi-Town Cubbie-Cornholer fans are all assholes! LMAO

[Mike]

Originally Posted by Jerry-theohiostateguy

I'm not sure that we need to do anything. These are isolated incidents that really don't have anything to do with sports.

^ This

[Cathy]

Originally Posted by Reg

Folks need to separate team affiliations/fandom from humanity. What I mean is that's it's flat out barbaric, illogical, & stupid to hate &/or impart generalized negative attributes to someone due to whatever team they support. For example, it'd be idiotic for me, a MIGHTY Lake Show fan to hate or believe in/declare some negative attributes to mrtxstar just because he's a Spurs fan, when both he & I are MIGHTY Cowboys fans. How does that kinda stuff work?...Do I hate & declare him a "horrible person" or whatever during NBA season but he's muh bro during NFL season? Furthermore...A person's fandom does not define their personality, character or worth. It's just friggin SPORTS, not World War X!

I LOVE sports and I LOVE to talk trash, but as I said above...this stuff is JUST sports. For me, it's fun & entertainment, so I raise hell with & talk trash to fans of opposing teams with my tongue planted firmly in my cheek. I also go outta my way to help ensure that everyone knows that I'm just clowning. In the "real world", there's a number of things I'll physically fight about...in defense of a tangible threat to my family, my friends, & myself. However, I ain't launching one "old man, 1 & 1/2-legged" round kick over a buncha guys or gals playing a friggin game...making mo jack than I'll ever see a fraction of in my lifetime and not sharing one dime of it with me.

Now, having said the above, EVERYONE knows that CelDICKS, Ratskums, E-girls, VaGinants & Chi-Town Cubbie-Cornholer fans are all assholes! LMAO

You wouldn't be stupid enough to do physical harm to him (or anyone else), would you?

[rondo]

Good post, Reg. I agree with what you are saying. I spar with TJ about the Steelers, but I know he is one of the best members of Sports Jabber. Fans need to remember these are just sports teams. It may seem like life or death to some fans, but not to me. I may be disappointed, even for long periods of time, over a Cowboys loss. Sure, I sometimes over-react, but I've NEVER gotten in a fight over a sporting event. Life goes on, despite Jerry Jones and Wade Phillips--and, yeah, those damned Steelers. LOL!