spectator violence

[nu4everfan15]

this is for my college research paper so i thought that i would ask the best fans in the world about this... but any comments welcome, i just need some informal poll numbers for this paper

[AR Husker Fan]

I answered "Yes". However, I don't believe that viewing a contact sport verses a noncontact sport is the reason, per se. Take a look at baseball fans, for example. I think what causes it is a number of factors:

 

1. A passionate interest in the outcome of the contest - a kind of identification with the team or athlete.

 

2. Mob mentality, which means that if one person violates acceptable norms, it is easier for others to follow suit.

 

3. Alcohol.

 

There are other factors, of course. While there may be studies that support the theory that viewing "violence" leads to more violence, I don't necessarily accept that (unless, of course, my client needs that defense and can pay my fee). We all have a built-in sense of what is right and what is wrong. The degree to which that is ingrained is the key - how easy is it for someone to disregard or ignore those norms? Like the saying goes, "Conscience is that little voice telling you someone may be watching..." The factors I listed above all contribute to people disregarding that "little voice".

 

After all, road rage occurs without any viewing of a contact sport. It's a momentary irrationality in which people ignore that "little voice"...

[Blackshirt]

I'd be interested to find out what your definition of "contact sport" is. Do you have an exclusive list, i.e. football, boxing, martial arts -- or would soccer be included, which at times there is quite a bit of "contact" involved. With that said, I would also venture to guess that soccer is by far the sport that results in more fan violence than any other. I know I wanna kick the hell outta those damn eurotrash fans everytime I play

 

And btw, AR didnt get you to sign some sort of "retainer", did he nu4everfan15? B/c he typed that response like he was getting paid by the keystroke.

[AR Husker Fan]

***SNIP***

 

And btw, AR didnt get you to sign some sort of "retainer", did he nu4everfan15? B/c he typed that response like he was getting paid by the keystroke.

Never say in one word that which you can say in one thousand...when you get paid by the hour.

 

Lawyers' Credo

[nu4everfan15]

i would have to say contact sports for me would be football, hockey, soccer, boxing etc, but i am really focusing on football for my paper... thanks for all the comments. i def agree with u AR, especially with the alcohol. i see it every football game especially in the student section ( i go to wvu by the way)

soccer is far the worst statisticly so far that i have researched, which is interesting to me, but i think it is mostly because the fans are so into it, not that football fans arent, but they know the stiff rules and everything even wen drunk out of their minds

[formerfan]

How about the recent riots/near riots in basketball??

[nu4everfan15]

i am definately doin something on the pistons/pacers brawl, but is there any other bball things that have happened more recently that i dont know bout?

[AR Husker Fan]

i am definately doin something on the pistons/pacers brawl, but is there any other bball things that have happened more recently that i dont know bout?

Not recently - unless you count the riots in Detroit after the Pistons won a few years back...

 

Here's the funny part, though. The reason basketball players are referred to as "cagers" has to do with the fan violence in the early days of the sport. Back then (and we're speaking of pre-WWII), the fans often got so violent - throwing things at the players and coming on the courts to try and fight - that games were frequently played with wire mesh or bars around the court. Think of a "steel cage match" from "rassling".

[Eric the Red]

How do you define violence in this context?

[nu4everfan15]

well in this context i would say anything that has caused harm towards another person, not really like property violence or theft or stuff like that... but the prompt that i was given was REALLY unspecific as to wat it actually meant, so im sure it is endless as to the meaning of it...

[formerfan]

well in this context i would say anything that has caused harm towards another person, not really like property violence or theft or stuff like that... but the prompt that i was given was REALLY unspecific as to wat it actually meant, so im sure it is endless as to the meaning of it...

Would you not think that riots that occured after LA winning the NBA title or other such riots would fall into the same category of violence??

[TheKiD]

I'm guessing that if like some chess team got really popular somewhere and got a lot of hype.. the fans started getting drunk watching the matches, violence would, no doubt, ensue. LOL!

 

In Programming Terms:

var TEAM = sports_team;

var ENTHUSIASM = love_of_team;

var FANS = person_with ENTHUSIASM for TEAM;

var REFS = people_with_stripes_and_whistle;

var PARENTS = have_kids_playing;

 

array ALCHOL = beer, whiskey, bourbon, rum;

array VIOLENCE = cursing, biting, hitting, hair pulling, scratching, slapping;

 

if( ( isin(FANS, ENTHUSIASM) ) OR ( PARENTS ) ) {

  if( ( isin(FANS, ALCOHOL) ) AND ( ( TEAM == LOSING ) OR ( REFS == BAD ) ) OR ( PARENTS == LOSERS )) {

      begin: VIOLENCE(random);

  }

}

 

Edit: Revised.

[HSKRNOKC]

I have witnessed a few parents in little league baseball who thought it was a good idea to kick the crap out of each other.No alcohol. No excuses. Just plain egomaniacs who are trying to treat their 8 year old like he is the next Babe Ruth.It is truely SAD.

[nu4everfan15]

i've seen it too... i ref'd soccer for about 5 years and i have been yelled at from like 5 inches away like a baseball manager to an ump by a parent, and at the time i was like 14-15 yrs old. it was crazy, makes me not want to hate the refs for the huskers, kinda

[NU Era]

I'm guessing that if like some chess team got really popular somewhere and got a lot of hype.. the fans started getting drunk watching the matches, violence would, no doubt, ensue. LOL!

 

In Programming Terms:

var TEAM = sports_team;

var ENTHUSIASM = love_of_team;

var FANS = person_with ENTHUSIASM for TEAM;

var REFS = people_with_stripes_and_whistle;

var PARENTS = have_kids_playing;

 

array ALCHOL = beer, whiskey, bourbon, rum;

array VIOLENCE = cursing, biting, hitting, hair pulling, scratching, slapping;

 

if( ( isin(FANS, ENTHUSIASM) ) OR ( PARENTS ) ) {

  if( ( isin(FANS, ALCOHOL) ) AND ( ( TEAM == LOSING ) OR ( REFS == BAD ) ) OR ( PARENTS == LOSERS )) {

      begin: VIOLENCE(random);

  }

}

 

Edit: Revised.