bbb Posted June 12, 2014 Posted June 12, 2014 A couple of things I stumbled upon that I found interesting: SUNY Albany's Center for Problem-Oriented Policing describes the types of, and factors that contribute to, spectator violence. http://www.popcenter...tator_violence/ And then there's this Wiki page that, starting in 1879, lists incidents of spectator violence. http://en.wikipedia....dents_in_sports This has been the #1 predictor in my experience: Performance quality. Spectators may be more likely to act out if their team performs poorly.35 Aggression in sports fans has been associated with team performances that did not live up to spectator expectations.3
All_Pro_Bills Posted June 12, 2014 Posted June 12, 2014 The OP is looking for statistics and facts. What part of "beyond anecdotes" confused you guys? What should we consider facts? Is it hard numbers or other types of evidence? To be sure social norms have changed over time. Just look at the way people dress. If you look at pictures of people from the 1920's and 1930's ditch diggers back then were better dressed and groomed than the average mope you see roaming around the local mall transfixed by their smartphone. Looking at them and the blank stare on their faces as they await the next urgent message about the latest you tube video makes you understand why zombie flicks and shows are so popular now. Life imitates art I guess. At the game its not just the fights and the drunks but the level of profanity. Who wants to bring their kids to the game when every other word coming out of the mouths around you is 'F' this and 'F' that. And I get tired of hearing it too because after a while it just sounds stupid. So for sure, the average level of competency with the English language has come down dramatically over 20 or so years. Having a couple beers along with tailgating is great but I never understand why anyone wants to get so plastered that they cannot even walk or remember anything about the game. Getting drunk is not the problem but rather being nuasance to the people around you is the issue. If they would just pass out during the 1st quarter it would be a better game experience.
JPS Posted June 12, 2014 Posted June 12, 2014 Well, 20 years ago I was one of those 30 year old drunks and everything seemed fine. Now that I have kids and care what is said around them, it's a completely different evaluation. I don't have the time to do the research, but I can tell you there were certain games (6-3 Cleveland) where drinking was the only logical thing to do. In the glory days, the entertainment was a bit more compelling than finding the craft brew cart. So there's that.
May Day 10 Posted June 12, 2014 Posted June 12, 2014 I believe it is a lot of things. The most vocal people who say they wont go to a game because the atmosphere are the same people who wouldnt go anyway. It reminds me of the non-hockey fans who feel the need to criticize fighting in hockey as if they would watch it. Drama queens like Schopp and the Bulldog. It may be slightly worse. But its the product of the team IMO. When I go to concerts, I will have a bunch to drink, whatever, have fun... but if its an act I care about and want to preserve the memories... and not have to go to the bathroom... I will limit myself to 1 or 2 drinks all day. I can see this being true with the Bills games. If its a playoff game, or they are an exciting team gunning for New England... I would likely lay off and take it all in.
kasper13 Posted June 12, 2014 Posted June 12, 2014 I started going to games when I was 5 years old in 1977. There was no problem because the stadium was 1/3 full. I was there all through the 1980's and never a problem. Not once did my Dad say my brother and I couldn't go because of fan behavior. I started going on my own with a group of friends in 1990. We had 10 season tickets. Bills were winning big time. Never once did we get in a fight, very rarely even saw a fight as far as I can remember. We tailgated big time, brought beer and full bottles of booze into the stadium, they even gave out cigarette packs once or twice before games as you went in. Never ever once was there a problem. Started to change in the late 90's. I don't know if I just got older and the people causing problems were younger or what happened. Got to a point by the mid 2000's that going to a game was just too much of a hassle and not very fun combined with the constant losing, the major increase in security, not sure exactly but something went bad at some point.
3rdand12 Posted June 12, 2014 Posted June 12, 2014 Back in the day i was one of the hard partying fools.. But i would never be mean . just a drunken idiot with my drunken idiot friends having fun and screaming alot. Like Go Bills ! or You Suck ! But later on in life when i took my son to a patriots game back in the mid nineties and he was rooting for them. ( i was not but kept that to myself ) he was cursed at length and and had beer thrown at us . Never gone back . Now he is 28 . I think i might try again . He is not as impressionable as he was then and may well just laugh it off. But I , still hold resentment . Lordy i hope it has changed for the better . That day was not any fun at all
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