By now, most of you have seen the video of the fight involving the Detroit Pistons, Indiana Pacers and the fans at The Palace of Auburn Hills. I am disappointed and disturbed by last night's mess, but I am far from shocked. I've been to far too many games to be shocked.
Boorish behavior is now the norm at most sporting events. In fact, it is cool amongst far too many fans to make an obnoxious spectacle of themselves. We have all seen the profane outbursts, fights, taunts, hurling of objects onto the field and occasional fires (yes, actual fires) in the stands. It's nothing new. Last night's fight was just the next logical step in that continuing process.
While not shocking, I'm still disheartened to see the community I live in get run-over, again, by bad publicity. Detroit has regained the reputation it's been trying to shake since the 1984 World Series riots. The morons impersonating fans at The Palace last night have one-upped the '84 disaster by escalating the violence to a new level.
I'm also saddened to see fans in this country make a slow, steady descent into the same class as European soccer hooligans. In light of the numerous post-championship riots from coast-to-coast, to the attack on a Kansas City Royals coach by a father and son duo, to Friday night's rumble in Auburn Hills, how can anyone deny we aren't heading down the same road?
While I'm sure I will be offering more on this subject as the days pass, I would refer you to Ray Ratto's piece at ESPN.com. It's the best work I've seen done on the matter to this point.
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