Storm Tracker is a regular feature of the Daily Wildcat, in which perspectives editor Storm Byrd analyzes a timely topic and gauges how upset you should be.
At the beginning of Major League Baseball’s 2011 season, violence among fans resulted in a brutal attack on a San Francisco Giants fan at the hands of a pair of Los Angeles Dodgers fans. Now with the National Football League’s season nearing its kick-off, violence has made its presence known as a multi-sport terror.
During a preseason game between bitter regional rivals, the Oakland Raiders and San Francisco 49ers, multiple brawls were witnessed in the stands and outside the stadium after the game’s conclusion. Matters escalated to the point that two men were left seriously injured after gun shots were fired in the parking lot.
Sports have always been a source of entertainment ripe for confrontation. Who can honestly say that at one point during a sporting event they too didn’t let their emotions get the best of them resulting in, at the very least, an outcry of rage? Sports just bleed emotions, but that doesn’t mean you have to make someone else bleed out.
Sporting events are a source of entertainment, and entertainment of any kind is aimed at promoting relaxation and an escape from the pangs of everyday life. As “touchy-feely” as it may seem, it’s about having a good time. Whether it’s a game, a movie, a nice dinner or whatever public entertainment one seeks out, nobody wants to end the night with bloody fists and a bashed-in skull. There is usually some form of security present at all entertainment locations, and that should be your cue that class, restraint and common decency should be in full effect.
While acts of unnecessary violence are on the rise, let them be the exception, and not the standard. This holds especially true at the UA. There are few worse ways to derail your college education than going to prison for knocking an Arizona State University fan’s teeth out, or clocking some clown because he said something to make you mad. Let it go, and remember that you’re there to enjoy yourself.
While you shouldn’t let your emotions control you, you can’t help but feel torrents of tension about thug like behavior in leisurely environments. The moral of the day is to check your aggression at the door.
