Why NFL games have become unpleasant (SI Article cites Jets fans)

[InstantClassic]

http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/for_the_record/posts/22423

Football is a violent sport, but that doesn't mean fans should feel unsafe in the stands. The NFL has been trying to crack down on boorish behavior at the stadium, but the games I've attended this year still feel out of control -- and I'm in the press box. I can't imagine having to sit in the crowd.

Last week's Rams-Jets showdown at the Meadowlands hardly seemed worthy of a pregame celebration that rivals Mardi Gras. But legions of green-clad fans were already hammered when I arrived at the stadium by 11 a.m.

Walking through the stadium parking lot in business casual attire with a laptop strewn over my shoulder feels like breaking through a strike's picket line. Just because I'm not wearing a "Klecko" jersey and I appear to be sober instantly identifies me as an outsider. No one said anything specifically -- like in Philly a couple of years ago when a group of fans vowed to destroy my rental car after I walked away -- but it was easy to sense a low-grade atmosphere of hostility ... not to mention over-the-top drunkenness.

I don't understand how anyone can drag their kids into that kind of environment. While nothing beats the excitement of a live football game, is it really worth exposing them to a bunch of obnoxious fans who are using the game as an excuse to get loaded?

The Jets crowd drew national recognition last year when The New York Times reported that fans line up at halftime and chant for women to expose their breasts. That story, and an HBO Real Sports segment on excessive alcohol use at games, prompted the league to try to crack down. But there's little the teams can do. Giants Stadium, for example, is crawling with security. That might cut off some of the more obvious outlandish antics but, over the course of a game, any fan is guaranteed to run into some sort of improper fan behavior.

While the league has created a spectator conduct policy, the onus falls on the fans themselves to step up their games. Being loud and cheering for the team is great. Just don't say anything or do anything you would never do sober. Before you decide to curse out Bill Belichick from the top row of the stadium, just remember all the families who have to hear your tirade.

NFL fans have no reason to act like European soccer hooligans. Unlike soccer, the action on the field is actually exciting. The last thing anyone needs is your behavior to spice things up.

Must have ran in to my good friend BP last week!

[Vudu]

Haters

[Aten]

NFL games haven't become unpleasant because of ****. They've become unpleasant because of Chad Pennington.

[InstantClassic]

I just find it funny that a dude that big can hold a pink hat like that.

[Gainzo]

http://www.fannation.com/si_blogs/for_the_record/posts/22423

Whoever wrote this drivel is a clown.

[J.E.T.S. JETS JETS JETS]

Whoever wrote this drivel is a clown.

Yes a big clown

[Darth Vader]

That guy is sooo on cloud 9.

[gangreenman]

I just find it funny that a dude that big can hold a pink hat like that.

Okay....Which mod was it??

[MasonJet]

Who the F goes to a football game in "business casual with a laptop strewn over his shoulder?" No **** you looked like an outsider a-hole.

[aec4]

I agree with part of the article. I don't see the appeal of being so drunk by 11am that you don't even comprehend what's going on in a 1pm game. You're paying close to $100, and soon more, for FOOTBALL. If your goal is to drink, eat and have fun that way, I don't blame you, but go in your TV room and do it. It would be a lot cheaper..

[Jbro22]

He'll be typing stories from the Coaches Club Lounge in 2010, wondering where all the real fans went.

[Bugg]

You pack your car at the crack od dawn for a 1PM game, followed by a postgame 4-hour ride home in bumper to bumper traffic. OF COURSE WE NEED A DRINK OR 7.

Wonder if someone in the Jets, Jints or NFL offices puit him up to this. They see that parking lot filled with grills and coolers and are spitting mad pissed they don't get anything more than a parking fee. Which is why they will sell like some all the "amenities" of the new totally-unneeded stadium.The world really needs ANOTHER MALL in New Jersey filled with crappy chain restaurants(gee, wonder if they'll be open on gamedays; don't, they will be) and a giant indoor ski slope(nothing brings schussing down the slopes to mind quite like Route 3). Make no mistake-yes, there are morons who get drunk ( certainly qualified opening day, but I didn't drive!). This is about MONEY. The NFL doesn't want anyone spending dime one on site without them wetting their beak. So badmouthinga few drunks is business.

[124]

That shirtless guy in the pink hat was in the section next to mine late last season.

[Matt39]

People go to football games to get wasted, eat and watch a game. WTF is the big deal? As long as people arent fighting, relax.

[flgreen]

No wonder the fan's were hostile to him. Dressed like that they probably assumed he was with the pats video staff.

[Klecko73isGod]

WTF is with dissing people who wear Klecko jerseys?

[Bugg]

WTF is with dissing people who wear Klecko jerseys?

I dunno. If it was a Gastineau jersey, I'd understand though.

[RutgersJetFan]

This dude needs to go to a few European Football games, he'll be writing an article about how American football fans are tame before he even gets off the plane.

[Garb]

He's 100% correct.

[JohnnyHector]

I'm not saying that the stadium is packed with a bunch of saints, but how many people are really visibly intoxicated by 11AM? Yes, most people will be drinking and some may occasionally be loud, but rarely do I see people in the lots and think to myself, "wow, this idiot is ossified already."

Typical media bull****, sensationalizing his experiences to make a "good story."

[4HCrew]

Can't this guy go cover golf or tennis where he would fit more in?

[Boozer76]

I'm not saying that the stadium is packed with a bunch of saints, but how many people are really visibly intoxicated by 11AM? Yes, most people will be drinking and some may occasionally be loud, but rarely do I see people in the lots and think to myself, "wow, this idiot is ossified already."

Typical media bull****, sensationalizing his experiences to make a "good story."

Exactly. This guy is immediately equating parking lot rowdiness (by rowdyness I mean the occasional cheers of J-E-T-S and "down with opposing team) as being drunk. Because a person cheers for his team while holding a beer bottle does not instantly equate to being drunk. I rarely see people who are drunk at 11am. Rarely. It's honestly only the warmer weather games early on that I can ever recall seeing people just out and out DRUNK.

[Klecko73isGod]

I dunno. If it was a Gastineau jersey, I'd understand though.

The Gastineau people are easier to spot, what with their mullets and bad pornstaches.

[CTM]

NFL games haven't become unpleasant because of ****. They've become unpleasant because of Chad Pennington.

lol!!!!!!

As far as I'm concerned, if you're that worried about your kids being exposed to it the don't bring em.. Simple as that.

When my girls get older I plan to bring them to football games/concerts where I know they will be exposed to different things. I would never expect people to curtail their enjoyment for the benefit of my kids, so I will explain to them before during and after what the deal is. I don't understand the mentality of hiding things from kids. I'd rather they learn the truth about things from me then a distorted reality from one of their friends anyway..