With the NFL and MLB in full season, and the NHL pre season beginning, sports are a big topic among many fans in America. Sports bring many together, from friends throwing parties to watch their favorite teams, to families turning on a game during dinner. But with fights breaking out during sporting events across the country, the question arises: are fans worth having at games?
Within the U.S. major league sports are a major source of entertainment. Many will find a team close to their home and follow along. Some fans take it as far as decorating their cars and houses on game day. It is known that fans make up a sporting event, and players used to a packed stadium wouldn’t play as well if they were in an empty stand. However, I would argue that sporting events can only continue if fans stay civil with others, even if they are supporting opposing teams.
Fans are a part of any game they go to. With the morale, noise, and energy they bring, fans help excite the players and other spectators around them. Fans are known to bring confidence to a team. When a team sees that all of the people in a stand are there and cheering to watch them, it is perceived as a confidence booster, or an initiative to play well.
Many people go to these events to cheer on their favorite team and have a good time, but now violence is becoming more and more common on and off the field. At the 2022 World Cup, some countries had to split up fans due to potential fights that would have happened. Not only is it happening off the field, but on the field as well.
Coach East, Athletic Director at Millbrook, said, “I’ve seen many fights while working athletics. It’s usually from a parent or athlete not liking a call the referee gives. This starts fights with the players, but also starts fights in the stands. Parents get mad, start yelling at the refs and other parents. I think fans are important, but not if they make a situation worse.”
Now when going to sporting events, some fans are afraid to support the team that they want. This is taking away from the entertainment that sporting events bring. In a recent NFL game, the New England Patriots faced the Miami Dolphins. During the fourth quarter, a Dolphins fan got mad at a Patriots fan and started to hit him. The Patriots fan fell unconscious after the beating, and couldn’t be revived. Fan altercations went from yelling matches to death. Junior Colson Griffin said, “I love going to football games, and I love being in the stands. I don’t want to go if a crazy fan might start beating people up. It takes away from what the game is about.”
From fights to screaming matches, violent fans will make it hard for sporting events to continue. If everyone continues to attend with the mindset of having fun, and cheering on the team you love, we can go back to having games that everyone can enjoy.
