yall Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 So whenever the topic of fan behavior comes up, the local news (I'm thinking WGR in many cases) there is generally an assertion that its far worse than what it was in the good ol' days when we were winning. Example; Both the morning and afternoon crews often cite anecdotal evidence of increased poor fan behavior as reasons why they no longer attend games. I can't debate their personal reasons or experience, and it certainly isn't a huge leap to conclude that a poorly performing team will attract miscreants or at least people more interested in getting drunk than watching the game (personally, I do both with no problem). What I would like to know is this; beyond anecdotes, is there any fact/statistical based evidence to support this notion? Number of fan injuries reported, 911 calls, arrests, etc. Granted even some of those stats might be skewed. In 1994, how many people had a cell phone to report an incident? Have police become less lenient with pressure from the league, which in turn could impact arrest rates? It's easy to throw your hands up in frustration and exclaim that the sky is falling, but I'm not convinced. However, with some supporting data, I could be. Discuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bladiebla Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Society as a whole has gotten way more asocial in the last decades so naturally that translates to fan behaviour as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Not at the table Karlos Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I havent noticed a difference in fan behavior in the 20 years ive attended games. I have noticed a difference in security, They seem power hungry. Ive seen people thrown out for high fiving after touchdowns. Cheering as they are walking to and from the bathroom. A guy was arrested after security accused him of smoking when he was chewing on a straw. A bunch of people were thrown out after defending him. A fan was slammed into the wallafter saying heyyy ayy ayy ayy while he was being escorted out. Dont get me wrong there are drunk people swearing and spilling beer all over people, fights and things I wouldnt want my kids to see. But security has been over the top the last few years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 (edited) I'd guess it's the same. Add instant social media, a bunch of Twits and the interwebs and you have instant info. 20 years ago, who really cared who pissed in who's beer? Edited June 12, 2014 by BillsFan-4-Ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stuckinny Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 i think it is..i am a kid of the 80's and 90's, and when they were winnging and they had so many stars, you couldn't wait to get to your seat to watch them warm up and just be there. the parking lot was for eating and throwing the football, but again i was just a kid. Now that they suck, well you want the NFL experience but no rush to see the teams assembled in the last 15 years anyway! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PromoTheRobot Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I think behavior has been steady. Mostly okay but pockets of drunken idiots. It's a double edged sword. Bad behavior sucks to put up with but that energy and passion is what drives the RWS experience. That Dallas Monday Night game in 2007, probably the loudest, most over-the-top I've ever seen a Bills crowd be, was fueled by alcohol. I wouldn't trade that experience of being a part of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordio Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 (edited) i think it is..i am a kid of the 80's and 90's, and when they were winnging and they had so many stars, you couldn't wait to get to your seat to watch them warm up and just be there. the parking lot was for eating and throwing the football, but again i was just a kid. Now that they suck, well you want the NFL experience but no rush to see the teams assembled in the last 15 years anyway! I got to agree with this if the product is better people are more eager to get into the stadium watch the team. Back in the early 90's when I first started going regularly to games it just seem the whole day was centered around the football game, now there is no doubt for a lot of people the whole day is centered around tailgating & oh yeah there is a game at 1 o'clock if anybody is interested. Edited June 12, 2014 by Gordio Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zonabb Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Response should come with a caveat.... where are you sitting? I would argue, having been on the seating fringes as a season ticket holder, it's is steady devolving into a joke. I've had seats everywhere from my first ones the end zones when I was a senior in high school during the super bowl years, to the Rockpile to the upper deck. And I've sat 10 rows behind the bench for a MNF game, club seats, and on the visitors side half way up last year. My most recent seasons were in 2012 but I went to nearly all games last year, mostly sitting in the upper deck, visitors side. Without question, the idiots who come to a few games or in large group populate the upper reaches of the upper deck and lower bowl and it's gone way down hill. Had a kid passed on in front of us who pizzed his pants and had to be carried out. Fights and arguments are common. I had a guy turn around and tell me to shut up one year because a group of us were complaining about Jason Peters. I told him to settle, he spit in my face and then called security and had me thrown out! Turns out, security was his brother. And yes, the constant, idiot, arrogant, power hungry, rent-a-cops make it unfriendly and unenjoyable. I mentioned it here a few weeks ago... clean it up and charge more and you'll get better fan behavior. I used the Sabres analogy.... if they can sell out every game and meaningless ones in November mid-week for higher prices, the Bills game too. There is this culture in WNY where we're supposed to just accept this scene. If you can't take a kid to a game because of fear of all hell breaking loose, that tells you all you need to know about this circus. It's no longer fun (I'm no longer that young!) and I bailed on seasons last year because of the crowd problems and am unlikely to return this year for the same reason. I would if I get get acceptable, better seats away from the upper deck but I didn't find what I wanted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BillsFan-4-Ever Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 (edited) i think it is..i am a kid of the 80's and 90's, and when they were winnging and they had so many stars, you couldn't wait to get to your seat to watch them warm up and just be there. the parking lot was for eating and throwing the football, but again i was just a kid. Now that they suck, well you want the NFL experience but no rush to see the teams assembled in the last 15 years anyway! I went to a few games in the 80's and 90's no matter what some drunk idiots would start a fight whether it was verbal or verbal and then physical. one game the Bills were getting whooped and the other teams fans sitting behind me were getting cocky. I blew the jibes off and talked the physics of the game. some would converse others stayed the idiots. THEN when the Bills took the lead, oh how the Bills fans laid into the loud mouths ..... Edited June 12, 2014 by BillsFan-4-Ever Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardinalScotts Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I like beer as much as the next guy, but the..lets get hammered at the Bills game crap is pathetic. Tickets are not cheap and you won't remember the game, of course you will have an opinion of what went wrong though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FluffHead Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I like beer as much as the next guy, but the..lets get hammered at the Bills game crap is pathetic. Tickets are not cheap and you won't remember the game, of course you will have an opinion of what went wrong though. There's a difference between getting drunk and blacking out. I'm all for getting drunk. Blacking out is bad practice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bmur66 Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I'd love to take my kid to a Bills game......but won't. Too many drunken idiots with no respect for anyone. It' always been a tough crowd but this is another level. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountryCletus Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 I'm in 132, and have taken my kids once or twice every year... Generally there is no one in my area acts like a fool, thank goodness, because I don't deal well with stupid! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Metal Man Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 (edited) My family has had season tickets for almost 50 years. My earliest child hood memories from going to Bills games come from about 10 years old or so and I distinctly remember that watching a few fights with my binoculars each trip was always part of the tradition. With that said it's probably safe to see drunken idiocy has always had a strong presence at the games. I was too young to really remember the severity of the drunkenness going on around me back then so I couldn't say for sure if people were passing out, puking, or pissing themselves with the same frequency. I'd like to think that this aspect has gotten significantly worse just because kids these days can't hold their booze like us old timers could back in the day, or still can, but there had to have been sloppy drunks around since booze was invented. Can't speak to the security because I haven't noticed a difference there personally but seems pretty standard that authority breeds a-holes. Like someone else said before it is probably just a lot more in the limelight these days with everyone carrying cameras, video recorders, and blogging about everything real-time. Edited June 12, 2014 by Metal Man Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbb Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 It was way worse in the mid 80s. Anybody who remembers the Jets MNF game in 83, the Dolphins MNF in 84, the Patriots game in 86 (I saw an entire section in the tunnel end zone get thrown out!) can attest to this. It was mayhem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campy Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 The OP is looking for statistics and facts. What part of "beyond anecdotes" confused you guys? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yall Posted June 12, 2014 Author Share Posted June 12, 2014 The OP is looking for statistics and facts. What part of "beyond anecdotes" confused you guys? Ha! To be fair, I'm bascailly asking other people to do my research. I should have been a professor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CountryCletus Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 The OP is looking for statistics and facts. What part of "beyond anecdotes" confused you guys? Someone woke up on the wrong side of OBD today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campy Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Someone woke up on the wrong side of OBD today! Probably looks that way but I typed it with a smile on my face. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Campy Posted June 12, 2014 Share Posted June 12, 2014 Ha! To be fair, I'm bascailly asking other people to do my research. I should have been a professor. A couple of things I stumbled upon that I found interesting: SUNY Albany's Center for Problem-Oriented Policing describes the types of, and factors that contribute to, spectator violence. http://www.popcenter.org/problems/spectator_violence/ And then there's this Wiki page that, starting in 1879, lists incidents of spectator violence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_violent_spectator_incidents_in_sports Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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