sports

Just when Alan was starting to make some headway, too

Posted on May 4th, 2010 by Jeff McDonald

A couple weeks back, regular WFTC contributor Alan Spoll offered up this post about the image we may have, regarding the behavior of sports fans in the City of Brotherly Love. He’s right on most, if not all of the points he made in that post. But, just when Alan was starting to make some headway, along comes this story of the ‘Tasered Teen’ at a recent Phillies game. Reportedly, the teen’s father said his son called him from the park to ask permission to run onto the field … dad suggested he not do it … son did it anyway.

As the father of a couple of teenage boys, I’m hardly surprised.

I wish Alan nothing but luck in his effort on behalf of fans in Philly. But I’m afraid it may be an uphill struggle. In the meantime, I get to experience Philly soccer fans first-hand this summer, when my family takes in a Union game. I suspect even the “handful of idiots” Alan mentioned in his previous post would be hard-pressed to match the violence one sometimes sees from English futbol ‘firms.’

Jeff McDonald

There's a saying around here, something like, "I wasn't born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could!" That's me. I'm a 'dang Yankee from back-east' who settled in the Lone Star State after some extended stays in the eastern U.S., and New Mexico. I worked as an archaeologist for a few years before dusting off my second major in English, and embarking on a 25-year career in journalism. Since then, I've embraced the dark side of the force, and now work in PR for a community college in Midland, Texas.

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2 Responses to “Just when Alan was starting to make some headway, too”

  1. Alan Spoll // May 4, 2010 at 5:18 pm

    Hey Jeff – my favorite part of the story was when the kid told his father “This would be a once in a lifetime experience!”

    Idiots run onto the field in many cities outside of Philadelphia. I don’t know that they get tased regularly, so I figured the backlash I would hear about would involve the seemingly over-zealous police.

    The kid’s just another dope. To compound matters, he is not just a Phillies fan…he is also headed up to my beloved Penn State in the fall. If he runs on the field at Beaver Stadium, I hope the Nittany Lion decks him.

  2. Jeff // May 4, 2010 at 9:09 pm

    Alan, thanks for reading! Well, I guess the boy was right, it WAS a “once in a lifetime experience” … or so it is hoped.

    And he’s headed for PSU. huh? Every college football season, my heart resides in Happy Valley. If the Nittany Lion doesn’t deck him, Joe Pa might!

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