What should have been a celebration between two teams with the worst quarterbacks in the NFL turned into a day of utter embarrassment to the league, the teams, and sports fans in general. On Saturday, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Oakland Raiders 17-3, thanks to two running backs that we’ve never heard of and some field goals. Both Alex Smith and Jason Campbell were as underwhelming as we’ve grown to know them, and their backups were also terribly unimpressive. Thankfully, nobody in the stands noticed, because they were busy beating the crap out of each other.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, there were multiple assaults reported at the game, including but not limited to:
- A man wearing a “F*ck the 49ers” shirt was shot “two to four times” in the stomach in the parking lot and was only discovered after he fell out of his truck as he tried to drive away. San Francisco police have a suspect in custody, and it was reported that he was wearing a Raiders shirt. That means that Raiders fans were attacking Raiders fans, either over something unrelated or, quite possibly, through a misinterpretation of apparel.
- Another man was found shot in a parking lot after the game, and he also had some wounds on his face. It wasn’t reported if he was wearing any specific team apparel and it shouldn’t matter.
- A 26-year old man was found beaten and unconscious in a Candlestick Park bathroom, with “life-threatening injuries.”
After the jump, we have a video of another fight in the stands, including fans of both teams fighting each other.
I have two thoughts on this:
1) First, the superficial approach. “California sports fans are ridiculous, they make Philadelphia sports fans look quiet and polite.” That’s the general comment that has been posted on just about every blog and sports website regarding this story. And it’s stupid, because this is getting out of hand. There are fights in every stadium during every game in every sport, so your fans are no different than another guy’s fans (FACT: I won’t attend Miami Dolphins games anymore). But to play devil’s advocate – four fights with two shootings? Just months after Bryan Stow was beaten into a coma by gang members, too. California sports fans should just prepare themselves for the generalizations now, whether it’s fair or not.
2) Fans are never going change, and they’ll probably only get worse until examples are made and a figurative head is posted on a stake outside every stadium in America. Teams seriously need to step up their stadium crews and start yanking these jackasses out once the first punch is thrown. That also means that other fans need to start texting those snitch lines as soon as they see an issue. This isn’t prison, you’re not going to be stabbed in the yard because you reported people fighting or even just exhibiting obnoxious behavior. All you’re doing is making it safe for us to go to games again.
