Media Savvy
Turnstile Idiots
By Stan Savran

There's a maxim that's been used for years suggesting that sports are a microcosm of society. And while I have always—and still do—believe that to be true, I'm beginning to wonder if it's also true the other way around.

After the recent horrifying, and I do mean horrifying events at Comiskey Park in Chicago where two scums of the earth attacked Kansas City Royals coach Tom Gamboa, I'm wondering what else is possible. And that is a completely rhetorical question because you and I can easily imagine what can be next. More frighteningly, what may be next.

What possessed these two horrible excuses for human beings to do this is unfathomable. The fact that they are a father-son tag team makes the entire episode all the more disgusting. This is hardly the model for the great American family. There's never been a sitcom depicting this particular type of familial unit. Somewhere the creators of Father Knows Best, Family Ties, and even All in the Family are vomiting violently.

I tried with all my will to avoid stereo-typing, but one look at these particular samples of the worst mankind has to offer, and its hard. More tattoos than un-damaged skin, dirty jeans with the underwear showing. Daddy with his greasy locks flowing, junior looking like a Skinheads recruiting poster. Beautiful, man just beautiful. Wonder what they exchange around their family tree on Christmas morning, rusty razor blades?

It is my fervent hope that these two dregs of society are dealt with harshly. Severely, with no leniency. It's my further wish that neither see the light of day for many years to come. Given their apparent upside potential for a contribution to society, they are best left to rot.

But their temporary removal from society does not mean that the threat being posed at sporting venus is dismissed. The behavior at stadia, arenas, whatever, is horrible. And what happened in Chicago will only serve to further embolden morons who can afford the price of a ticket. And of course, have enough money left over to purchase and consume alcoholic beverages.

I stop short of suggesting beery behavior is caused by the beverages themselves. People make themselves drunk. But I wonder if the cessation of alcohol sales at sporting events would result in a reduction of at worst the violent behavior, and at best, behavior in the stands which annoys people who actually come to the game for the game itself. Not like these two dregs who seemed to believe that going to a game is license to leave human decency at the turnstile.

The biggest culprit is the general loss of civility. Hate to sound like my grandfather, but going to the game for the enjoyment of it has gone the way of typewriters, vinyl recordings and please and thank you. Now, these louts seem to think I bought a ticket to watch THEM, not the game.

The second significant reason for this boorish behavior is tailgating. Now before you get your roasted pigs in a spit, I'm not saying everyone who tailgates is a lout. I am suggesting that too many people get way too drunk before the teams even take the field for warm-ups. By the time the game begins, these people, fortified by additional consumption inside the building, don't even know who's playing let alone what's happening.

It now seems to me that airport-like screening needs to take place at stadiums. How long before someone tries to sneak in a firearm? I also believe it's time for security personnel, whether they're bouncers or trained weapons experts, to stand at the railings all around the stadium, backs to the field, staring at the fans, looking for trouble before it boils over on to the field.

Tennis has this at all their tournaments, the direct result of the Monica Seles stabbing incident. Now, two bruisers escort the players on and off the court, and stand guard, facing the crowd, during changeovers. I'm suggesting the same now be true at every athletic venue.

Of course, the sports teams themselves could help by no longer selling alcoholic beverages at the games, but we all know the profit motive and profit margin are way too big for that to happen.

So I won't be terribly surprised when, not if, this happens again. Nor will I be terribly shocked when the knife the one lunatic was carrying is opened and used. But we will all be terribly saddened by the result.

Stan Savran is co-host of SportsBeat and works with FOX Sports Pittsburgh.