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changes in society

jacksonpt

Turbo Monkey
Jul 22, 2002
6,791
59
Vestal, NY
So the other day on ESPN radio, they were talking about how going to a game wasn't really a family event anymore because of how unruly fans are. They went on to talk about why that is, and seemed the general consensus was that it's because society in general is so much more politically correct, that the ball park/statium/arena/whatever is really the only place people can go nuts and say whatever they want about the players.

They did say that alcohol plays a role as well, and they were focusing more on the REALLY explicit/demeaning things that are said, not your typical booing and heckling.

So that got me thinking... while I do generally agree that society has changed in some regard, I also think that people are generally more abusive and less responsible. It's not so much that people need an outlet, and the game is now the only one, it's that people are just bigger asses now than they used to be.

I'm only 31, so I don't know what life was like 30 or 40 or 50 years ago, but that's my thought/impression.

What say you?
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
I think most people are just pvssys and can't handle a few 4 letter words.

I'm sure if you went to any ball park in the 20's I bet the men didn't refrain from cursing and yelling. The girls weren't flashing their baby feeders back then though.
 

Sherpa

Basking in fail.
Jan 28, 2004
2,240
0
Arkansaw
I think most people are just pvssys and can't handle a few 4 letter words.
I'm sure if you went to any ball park in the 20's I bet the men didn't refrain from cursing and yelling. The girls weren't flashing their baby feeders back then though.
:stupid: But more importantly, where are these ball games where you see the chesticles?
 

moff_quigley

Why don't you have a seat over there?
Jan 27, 2005
4,402
2
Poseurville
I'd probably still take my daughter to the ballpark and watch a ball game if it wasn't so god awful boring. Having been to a few KC Chiefs games I'd never take her to Arrowhead. Absolutely insane amount of drunkenness and whatnot that I would not want to expose her to.
 

vtjim

Beware of Milo & Otis
Jan 6, 2006
1,346
0
North Andover MA
I think most people are just pvssys and can't handle a few 4 letter words.
I agree with this to a point. The exception would be when there are small children around. I would like to make the choice of when my child is going to start hearing certain things.

I would rather the sweaty 300 pound asshat behind me at the stadium didn't take that choice away from me.
 

I Are Baboon

The Full Dopey
Aug 6, 2001
32,383
9,290
MTB New England
In my many visits to Fenway Park (arguably some of the most obnoxious fans in all of sports), it seems that maybe 1 out of 100 people are assholes. Everyone else behaves themselves and acts civil. Problem is, 1% of 35,000 means you've got 350 people acting like tards, or a handful in every section. I haven't seen that behavior change too much in the 20 years I've been going to games.

That ratio goes way up in the bleacher seats though. :monkey:
 

mogulskr

Monkey
Aug 28, 2002
642
1
NH
:stupid: But more importantly, where are these ball games where you see the chesticles?
The point was it is no longer family friendly, not whether adults could handle 4 letter words. If you were at a game with your kids you wouldn't want some drunk motherf'n this and that the whole game.
 

valve bouncer

Master Dildoist
Feb 11, 2002
7,843
114
Japan
Major sporting events have always had an overabundance of morons. Not an especially American phenomenom ime, even true here in law abiding Japan, really really really true in Australia.
 

dan-o

Turbo Monkey
Jun 30, 2004
6,499
2,805
My 5yo goes to fenway 10x a season, mostly with his grandparents. Apparently some guy was cursing out Ortiz, Luca's favorite player, and he turned around and told the guy to "shut your mouth, you sound like an idiot". And the torch is passed to another generation......

Asshats provide plenty of opportunity to show your kids how not to act. I don't shelter my kids so much as guide them through the filth of society as it presents itself.
 

BMXman

I wish I was Canadian
Sep 8, 2001
13,827
0
Victoria, BC
hmm...I'll go with a quote...."never underestimate the stupidity of people in large groups"...my days of going to live sporting events are over...same for rap concerts...to many people use it as an excuse to release all their pent up emotions...D
 

vtjim

Beware of Milo & Otis
Jan 6, 2006
1,346
0
North Andover MA
My 5yo goes to fenway 10x a season, mostly with his grandparents. Apparently some guy was cursing out Ortiz, Luca's favorite player, and he turned around and told the guy to "shut your mouth, you sound like an idiot". And the torch is passed to another generation......

Asshats provide plenty of opportunity to show your kids how not to act. I don't shelter my kids so much as guide them through the filth of society as it presents itself.
Interesting, and well said.
 

stosh

Darth Bailer
Jul 20, 2001
22,238
393
NY
So you think that fan comments haven't changed, only people's reaction to them? Interesting...
It's probably a mix.

I mean look at babe ruth he was a drunk. What the difference now, our athletes are dog fitting and doing drugs.
 

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
Since this thread is strictly anecdotal, I'll agree with Jackson with mine...

My dad took me to lots NFL and minor league baseball games in Miami 30 years ago and I fans were a lot more respectful back then.
 

DirtyDog

Gang probed by the Golden Banana
Aug 2, 2005
6,598
0
So the other day on ESPN radio, they were talking about how going to a game wasn't really a family event anymore because of how unruly fans are. They went on to talk about why that is, and seemed the general consensus was that it's because society in general is so much more politically correct, that the ball park/statium/arena/whatever is really the only place people can go nuts and say whatever they want about the players.
That is the dumbest thing I have ever heard. Sportscasters have no business analyzing society - they are morons.

it's that people are just bigger asses now than they used to be.
Now that sounds like a better analysis. :clue:
 

sanjuro

Tube Smuggler
Sep 13, 2004
17,373
0
SF
So the other day on ESPN radio, they were talking about how going to a game wasn't really a family event anymore because of how unruly fans are. They went on to talk about why that is, and seemed the general consensus was that it's because society in general is so much more politically correct, that the ball park/statium/arena/whatever is really the only place people can go nuts and say whatever they want about the players.

They did say that alcohol plays a role as well, and they were focusing more on the REALLY explicit/demeaning things that are said, not your typical booing and heckling.

So that got me thinking... while I do generally agree that society has changed in some regard, I also think that people are generally more abusive and less responsible. It's not so much that people need an outlet, and the game is now the only one, it's that people are just bigger asses now than they used to be.

I'm only 31, so I don't know what life was like 30 or 40 or 50 years ago, but that's my thought/impression.

What say you?
Is society more polite than it was in the 50's? Sure, I bet post WWII and before, people expected a certain level of decorum.

I also think it was a much more repressed society, particularly in the area of racism.

Would I prefer fair minded loudmouths, or very polite bigots?
 

I Are Baboon

The Full Dopey
Aug 6, 2001
32,383
9,290
MTB New England
Is society more polite than it was in the 50's? Sure, I bet post WWII and before, people expected a certain level of decorum.

I also think it was a much more repressed society, particularly in the area of racism.

Would I prefer fair minded loudmouths, or very polite bigots?
Society could do without your kind.....friggin Yankee fans. :disgust1:
 

laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
OOOOOOOO theories,

I love theories, here is my theory as to why less families go to baseball games.


People used to go to the game as a family because that's what there was to do. Now families have other things to do together including children's museums, zoos, movies ( and don't even get me started on the amount of time TV and video games suck up). Things that will keep a child entertained far better than a baseball game. Not to mention the cost of doing things as a family with 5 dollar sodas and hotdogs. Now that less families come out for games, the ratio of fans to spectators is "unbalanced". Fans have opinions, loud not family friendly ones.

That's my theory.
 

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
Laura makes great points about having other activities available -and- the cost of going to games, ugh.

Maybe it's also that TV is better? 30 years ago, you were lucky to have a 20" color TV with distortion and two camera angles.

How many cameras do they use now to broadcast games?

And I bet most sports fans have 40+ inch HDTVs.
 

DirtyDog

Gang probed by the Golden Banana
Aug 2, 2005
6,598
0
Here's a mathematical theory: Put a bunch of idiots in a a stadium and idiots squared is exponentially more idiots.
 

laura

DH_Laura
Jul 16, 2002
6,259
15
Glitter Gulch
Not to mention the fact that people are rude to each other now more than ever because they can be. If I see some jackass at a game and I decide I want to cuss him and pour my beverage out of his girl's head i can do that. I'll never have to see them again. My mom doesn't know them, I don't shop at their drug store. I won't be carpooling to school with their kids. We don't go to the same church, live in the same neighborhood, have the same doctor, play in the same bowling league. Everything we need we can get from walmart so we don't depend on anyone for anything.
 

reflux

Turbo Monkey
Mar 18, 2002
4,617
2
G14 Classified
Even just 5 years ago, there was an unwritten rule that you don't do 3 things at a ballpark: throw things onto the field, throw up, and throw out curse words. Heckling used to be a clean and funny activity: now people can't make fun of someone without using f****e or s****e. Lame.
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
America has become a nation of over indulged pvssys. Everyone thinks they're entitled to things, such as not being offended, and in my opinion that's total bull****.

Sometimes unpopular things need to be said that might offend the minivan driving sets. Their kids aren't special, they're not the most wonderful snowflake, and goddamnit they need to stop being treated as such.

The world is a violent and unruly place, and the more we try to force people to conform to this whole myth we've created where children are the most important things, and you'd better pray to Allah before you dare offend them or the milk puke stained mommies they come with.

I find people like that, and I go all the way out of my way to offend them. Their rights end where my fist begins.
 

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
America has become a nation of over indulged pvssys. Everyone thinks they're entitled to things, such as not being offended, and in my opinion that's total bull****.

Sometimes unpopular things need to be said that might offend the minivan driving sets. Their kids aren't special, they're not the most wonderful snowflake, and goddamnit they need to stop being treated as such.

The world is a violent and unruly place, and the more we try to force people to conform to this whole myth we've created where children are the most important things, and you'd better pray to Allah before you dare offend them or the milk puke stained mommies they come with.

I find people like that, and I go all the way out of my way to offend them. Their rights end where my fist begins.
:disgust:
 
OOOOOOOO theories,

I love theories, here is my theory as to why less families go to baseball games.

People used to go to the game as a family because that's what there was to do. Now families have other things to do together including children's museums, zoos, movies ( and don't even get me started on the amount of time TV and video games suck up). Things that will keep a child entertained far better than a baseball game. Not to mention the cost of doing things as a family with 5 dollar sodas and hotdogs. Now that less families come out for games, the ratio of fans to spectators is "unbalanced". Fans have opinions, loud not family friendly ones.

That's my theory.
Let's try another hypothesis. Dial it back fifty years and games were more like games and not the overproduced commercial whore shows they are now.
 

valve bouncer

Master Dildoist
Feb 11, 2002
7,843
114
Japan
America has become a nation of over indulged pvssys. Everyone thinks they're entitled to things, such as not being offended, and in my opinion that's total bull****.

Sometimes unpopular things need to be said that might offend the minivan driving sets. Their kids aren't special, they're not the most wonderful snowflake, and goddamnit they need to stop being treated as such.

The world is a violent and unruly place, and the more we try to force people to conform to this whole myth we've created where children are the most important things, and you'd better pray to Allah before you dare offend them or the milk puke stained mommies they come with.

I find people like that, and I go all the way out of my way to offend them. Their rights end where my fist begins.
Yeah sorry Dirt, gotta go with Loopie here, your right to call some player a worthless c*nt at a baseball game ends at the ears of my young bloke. He's not hurting you by being there but you will most definitely be affecting him with your display of wankerdom.
 

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
Yeah sorry Dirt, gotta go with Loopie here, your right to call some player a worthless c*nt at a baseball game ends at the ears of my young bloke. He's not hurting you by being there but you will most definitely be affecting him with your display of wankerdom.
More and more stadiums are creating family only sections heavily guarded by internet moderators.
 

DirtMcGirk

<b>WAY</b> Dumber than N8 (to the power of ten alm
Feb 21, 2008
6,379
1
Oz
Did I ask you to have kids?
Did I suggest taking them to every event possible?

The reality is that this whole nation, due to some reasoning I can't understand, has reverted to thinking that kids are the end all be all of what's most important.

Guess what: For those of us without kids, we for the most part couldn't give a **** less about your offspring. It offends me on principal that you think due to a choice you made that I should have to curb or restrain myself.

Children are the future, unless we stop them now.
 

narlus

Eastcoast Softcore
Staff member
Nov 7, 2001
24,658
63
behind the viewfinder
I'd probably still take my daughter to the ballpark and watch a ball game if it wasn't so god awful boring. Having been to a few KC Chiefs games I'd never take her to Arrowhead. Absolutely insane amount of drunkenness and whatnot that I would not want to expose her to.
i would tend to think that attending a baseball game was traditionally more of a family event (think jr w/ his glove, awaiting a foul ball) than a football game (older males downing beers before, during, and after games).
 

DirtyDog

Gang probed by the Golden Banana
Aug 2, 2005
6,598
0
Did I ask you to have kids?
Did I suggest taking them to every event possible?

The reality is that this whole nation, due to some reasoning I can't understand, has reverted to thinking that kids are the end all be all of what's most important.

Guess what: For those of us without kids, we for the most part couldn't give a **** less about your offspring. It offends me on principal that you think due to a choice you made that I should have to curb or restrain myself.

Children are the future, unless we stop them now.
I think N8 just lost a title here at RM.
 

LordOpie

MOTHER HEN
Oct 17, 2002
21,022
3
Denver
Did I ask you to have kids?
So you can't be courteous to others?

Let's assume you're homophobic, bet ya are... by your logic, if a flaming homo stood too close to you while waiting in line to buy tickets to that event, you'd have to suck it up as personal space is the same concept.
 

valve bouncer

Master Dildoist
Feb 11, 2002
7,843
114
Japan
Did I ask you to have kids?
Did I suggest taking them to every event possible?

The reality is that this whole nation, due to some reasoning I can't understand, has reverted to thinking that kids are the end all be all of what's most important.

Guess what: For those of us without kids, we for the most part couldn't give a **** less about your offspring. It offends me on principal that you think due to a choice you made that I should have to curb or restrain myself.

Children are the future, unless we stop them now.
Well I don't take my kids to every event possible but the few times I do I don't think it unreasonable for them to be able to avoid drunken morons screaming obscenities and generally making life uncomfortable for people there to enjoy the game. Have a drink, scream for your team but don't be an arsehole about it. It is possible to do.