Heckling more risky than before
Can’t we all just get along?
Apparently, if we’re in the athletic world lately, the answer is no.
Turn on the TV or radio, or pick up a paper over the past few days, and all you’ll hear about is athletes fighting fans, or athletes fighting each other.
It all started on Friday night, when the Pacers and Pistons sparked a near riot at the Palace at Auburn Hills.
Of course, we’re talking about an arena where several years ago a strung-out Dennis Rodman was found in the middle of the night, wandering the lower levels and practice gyms with a loaded shotgun. So the Palace is no stranger to weirdness.
But what went on during the Pacers-Pistons contest was weirdness of the highest level — so strange, in fact, suspensions are still coming down as of this writing, and even with all the rest of the “real” news going on in the world, the fight was dominating the airwaves days after it all went down.
Since it is Thanksgiving — or at least the day after Thanksgiving — last weekend’s NBA fracas gave me one thing to be especially thankful for.
So before digging into all the goodies yesterday afternoon, I said a silent thanks that this sort of action, where players go after hecklers with a vengeance, wasn’t the norm back in the mid-1990s.
You might not know it, since nowadays I’m recognized far and wide as the mature, easy-going, friendly neighborhood sports editor you’ve all come to know and tolerate. But back in the good-old college days, I was a heckler of almost legendary status.
In fact, although he might hesitate to admit it, another local media personality used to join me in the stands at colleges all around the southeast, supporting our Blue Raiders while throwing every possible barb and jab we could at the opposing team’s players.
We never got overly nasty, at least not often, but sometimes we were known to ruffle a few feathers. On one occasion, I do remember an assistant football coach having to actually restrain one of his players from making a trip from the sidelines to the student section. But that was a rare occurance back in those days.
And boy, am I grateful that it was so rare. Because I can still remember one night at Tennessee Tech, when my old radio buddy got so far under the skin of Golden Eagle 7-foot center Lorenzo Coleman, he was threatened with a parking-lot whipping.
And believe me, Coleman could’ve done the job, and then some. If he’d come into the stands like Ron Artest, they’d still be picking pieces of Bryan and me out of corners of the Hooper-Eblen Center. But fortunately for all of us, Coleman was big, slow and a hacker, but he was smart enough to know any violent act would get him in trouble.
Too bad the football players from Clemson and South Carolina didn’t realize that. They might still have a chance at a bowl invitation.
As if on cue, college sports were quick to pick up on the latest pro trend after the Pacers and Pistons mixed it up. First it was merchandising, then instant replay, and now on-field violence.
And if you parents out there don’t believe what your kids see on television influences their behavior, check out the post-donnybrook quote of one Clemson player, when asked about their fight with the Gamecocks.
“Well, at least it wasn’t as bad as the Pistons and Pacers last night,” he said — with a smile. “At least we kept it on the field.”