Violence At Professional Sporting Events

Photo of a group of fans fighting at a Major League Baseball game.

Image Credit: David Owen (CC BY 2.0)

Sports fans around the world took notice to the series of violent events that occurred this past week at Candlestick Park in San Francisco, California (home of the San Francisco 49ers). Not only were there multiple scuffles throughout the stadium but there was even a violent shooting in the parking lot. The total number of arrests for the day totaled in at a staggering 40 people.

Upon reading these headlines one cannot help but to recollect the unfortunate event at Dodger Stadium in which Bryan Stow was beaten severely by a number of Los Angeles Dodgers fans. (Stow is still in a medically induced coma). While violence occasionally occurs at every stadium and arena in professional sports, these particular events in California have been rumored to have been gang related. Most people are aware that California has a growing gang epidemic, especially in the state's southern region. Even before the Bryan Stow event, I had come across numerous stadium reviews from fans on the 'Ballparks of Baseball' website. Most of them seemed to have noticed a problem at Dodger Stadium. See for yourself.

I thought these reviews were silly when I had first read them but how safe are you at the stadium anymore? With the cost of NFL tickets at an all-time high, why even go to the stadium anymore?

Is there any way we could take sports a little less seriously? Is it worth getting slapped with assault charges just because someone insults your team? A San Francisco Giants fan put it best when he said "It's just a game guys. Even the players shake hands after the game". The again, some fans find enjoyment out of this type of behavior. They can see a game, drink and party, be loud and watch fights; all for the price of an NFL ticket.

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Violence At Professional Sporting Events