agustina prigoshin

Last week Carlos Miller posted a Letter to the Editor of the Miami Herald on Facebook that read:

“Horrible UM fans

I attended the Miami-Oklahoma football game at Landshark Stadium. Never have I attended a sporting event with fans as rowdy, rude and disrespectful. There where six people in my party in two cars. All of us were wearing Oklahoma shirts.

When it was noticed we were Sooner fans both of our cars were surrounded by Miami fans who were shouting obscene remarks, shooting the “bird” while at the same time making the “U” symbol.

Our car was pelted with trash and beer. Some of the fans pounded on it with their hands and fist and rocked the car. One fan kicked the car’s rear quarter panel. My daughter was frightened to the point that she cried.

BILLY WEBB,
Pace, Okla.”

This post sparked a conversation between me and Nelson Taracido, one of Carlos’ friends, about fans’ behavior at sporting events. The more we talked about it, the angrier I became towards the topic.

I just can’t believe that with all the struggles going on in the word and with all the people fighting for some sort of freedom or voice, sports fans feel that it’s OK to terrorize opposing fans. I wonder if the “bully” fans got upset after the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center – after all, that’s terrorism too. Granted, these “bully” fans didn’t hit anyone, but they hit the car. Who told these “bully” fans that it’s OK to cross that line and not respect an opposing fans’ personal space and much more, their own opinion?!

If the “bully” fans want to scream out “Oklahoma sucks,” that’s fine. I’m a Cowboys fan and went to Tampa a few weeks ago to watch the two teams play and I was hesitant of wearing my Cowboys jersey for fear of getting attacked. Luckily, the worst reactions my group and I got were Bucs fans yelling “Cowboys suck!”

Although that behavior is annoying, it’s expected. I never really understood what the point is though. What do the “bully” fans get out of terrorizing opposing fans? Is that going to make your team win?

And the absolute worst part is when “bully” fans drink. Maybe that’s what causes them to overstep their boundaries and actually fight people because they’re wearing different jerseys. Regardless, intoxication is not an excuse.

Some people made fun of  Billy Webb for complaining to the editor, but he has every right to bring this disgusting incident to everyone’s attention. And it’s barbaric behavior like that that dissuades me from attending too many sporting events.