The thrill of live sports is awe-inspiring. Anxious anticipation is palpable as soon as you step foot inside the arena or stadium. People are all over, and the noise is so loud you can hardly hear yourself think. The smell of fair food wafts through the air and is so familiar and comforting.
The best part is that there is a kind of kinship with everyone around you adorned in the same colors. At that moment, all other feelings of division are set aside as you have a common goal.
But what happens when fandom goes too far? Instead of beating an opposing team on the field of play, you make it personal?
On Sept. 17, a man attending the Sunday night Miami Dolphins-New England Patriots game died following what officials have called an “incident” with the opposing team’s fans.
Dale Mooney, a 53-year-old from Newmarket, was pronounced dead at the hospital later that night.
An eyewitness, Joey Kilmartin, told multiple news outlets what he saw happen that night, according to ESPN.
“He [Mooney] went over to Section 311, and he basically engaged in mutual combat with another fan,” Kilmartin said. “A lot of people started trying to pull them apart. … It looked like somebody was in the middle of them. And then a man in the Dolphins jersey reached over, and he connected with two punches to the victim’s head. It wasn’t something crazy or out of the ordinary until, 30 seconds later, the guy wasn’t getting up.”
The Massachusetts State Police are currently investigating what happened and, following an autopsy, have a lead to the cause of death.
According to CBS Sports and CBS News Boston, the autopsy showed that Mooney suffered a “medical issue” which could have been a contributing factor in his death. The autopsy also “did not suggest traumatic injury” played a role in Mooney’s passing.
“We are heartbroken to learn of the tragic passing of Dale Mooney, a lifelong Patriots fans and 30-year season ticket member, who died while attending last Sunday night’s Patriots game,” said Kraft Group, owners of Gillette Stadium, in a statement released last week.
While an investigation is still determining what exactly happened to Mooney, I think one thing is clear. That fight should never have happened in the first place. While we don’t know if it was the exact reason for his death, its contribution has not been dismissed.
This is not the first and, unfortunately, not the last case of violence ensuing at a sports game.
“Spectator violence in stadiums has been a longstanding tradition. Documentation of such events is found in texts from ancient Greece and the Roman Empire,” Tamara D. Madensen and John E. Eck said in a report for Arizona State University looking at problem-oriented policing.
According to Science Direct, now, the sports with the most prevalence of violence include soccer, ice hockey and motorcycle racing.
The pattern of shoving, punching and tackling fans is not uncommon, and cases more serious like Mooney’s are somewhat less frequent but still occur.
Back in 2011, “Brian Stow was brutally attacked and beaten by Dodgers fans while leaving a Los Angeles Dodgers game. As a result of the attack, Stow suffered severe brain damage, and it was reported that 72 Dodgers fans were arrested on that day,” Dr. Anthony Rosselli from Texas A&M University said in an article on sports violence.
While there is no justified reason for these attacks, the Liberator found a common cause that multiple studies identified.
“According to the Washington Post, intense fan identification with a team is the main reason sports fans feel the need to riot after a game, whether it’s in commemoration or anger. Once a fan becomes loyal to a team, researchers from Harvard University and other acclaimed colleges have found that fans tend to feel as if it’s their duty to celebrate or protest on the team’s behalf after an intense game, similar to how one feels the need to defend their own family,” the Liberator said.
As a die-hard sports fan, I can understand the loyalty to one’s team. I will defend my team and intensely debate their merit until I am blue in the face. But to strike someone else for simply doing the same? The hypocrisy is insane and shows a dark side to sports.
A sporting event is meant to be a good and bonding experience. Fans need to calm down because they not only corrupting the experience for everyone involved, but they are actively hurting people in the process.
No person should go to a game and worry about their safety. Animosity needs to be de-escalated now, and grown men watching sports should learn to use their words to make peace and not initiate violence.
Sports fans, you need to calm down
The thrill of live sports is awe-inspiring. Anxious anticipation is palpable as soon as you step foot inside the arena or stadium. People are all over, and the noise is so loud you can hardly hear yourself think. The smell of fair food wafts through the air and is so familiar and comforting.
The best part is that there is a kind of kinship with everyone around you adorned in the same colors. At that moment, all other feelings of division are set aside as you have a common goal.
But what happens when fandom goes too far? Instead of beating an opposing team on the field of play, you make it personal?
On Sept. 17, a man attending the Sunday night Miami Dolphins-New England Patriots game died following what officials have called an “incident” with the opposing team’s fans.
Dale Mooney, a 53-year-old from Newmarket, was pronounced dead at the hospital later that night.
An eyewitness, Joey Kilmartin, told multiple news outlets what he saw happen that night, according to ESPN.
“He [Mooney] went over to Section 311, and he basically engaged in mutual combat with another fan,” Kilmartin said. “A lot of people started trying to pull them apart. … It looked like somebody was in the middle of them. And then a man in the Dolphins jersey reached over, and he connected with two punches to the victim’s head. It wasn’t something crazy or out of the ordinary until, 30 seconds later, the guy wasn’t getting up.”
The Massachusetts State Police are currently investigating what happened and, following an autopsy, have a lead to the cause of death.
According to CBS Sports and CBS News Boston, the autopsy showed that Mooney suffered a “medical issue” which could have been a contributing factor in his death. The autopsy also “did not suggest traumatic injury” played a role in Mooney’s passing.
“We are heartbroken to learn of the tragic passing of Dale Mooney, a lifelong Patriots fans and 30-year season ticket member, who died while attending last Sunday night’s Patriots game,” said Kraft Group, owners of Gillette Stadium, in a statement released last week.
While an investigation is still determining what exactly happened to Mooney, I think one thing is clear. That fight should never have happened in the first place. While we don’t know if it was the exact reason for his death, its contribution has not been dismissed.
This is not the first and, unfortunately, not the last case of violence ensuing at a sports game.
“Spectator violence in stadiums has been a longstanding tradition. Documentation of such events is found in texts from ancient Greece and the Roman Empire,” Tamara D. Madensen and John E. Eck said in a report for Arizona State University looking at problem-oriented policing.
According to Science Direct, now, the sports with the most prevalence of violence include soccer, ice hockey and motorcycle racing.
The pattern of shoving, punching and tackling fans is not uncommon, and cases more serious like Mooney’s are somewhat less frequent but still occur.
Back in 2011, “Brian Stow was brutally attacked and beaten by Dodgers fans while leaving a Los Angeles Dodgers game. As a result of the attack, Stow suffered severe brain damage, and it was reported that 72 Dodgers fans were arrested on that day,” Dr. Anthony Rosselli from Texas A&M University said in an article on sports violence.
While there is no justified reason for these attacks, the Liberator found a common cause that multiple studies identified.
“According to the Washington Post, intense fan identification with a team is the main reason sports fans feel the need to riot after a game, whether it’s in commemoration or anger. Once a fan becomes loyal to a team, researchers from Harvard University and other acclaimed colleges have found that fans tend to feel as if it’s their duty to celebrate or protest on the team’s behalf after an intense game, similar to how one feels the need to defend their own family,” the Liberator said.
As a die-hard sports fan, I can understand the loyalty to one’s team. I will defend my team and intensely debate their merit until I am blue in the face. But to strike someone else for simply doing the same? The hypocrisy is insane and shows a dark side to sports.
A sporting event is meant to be a good and bonding experience. Fans need to calm down because they not only corrupting the experience for everyone involved, but they are actively hurting people in the process.
No person should go to a game and worry about their safety. Animosity needs to be de-escalated now, and grown men watching sports should learn to use their words to make peace and not initiate violence.