The Dolphins Make Me Cry.com - Forums

After reading about the shootings at the Raiders-49ers game, I was wondering if anyone had experienced any dangerous situations at any other NFL events.  I personally have not.  However, I have only been to games in Cincinnati, New Orleans, Indianapolis, and Tampa Bay.  In addition, the only stadium I've visited which has not been replaced is the Superdome, so I am definitely not current on the stadiums or their security.  Would anyone like to make some security tips, or was this event just an extremely rare, once-in-a-lifetime type of fluke?

I've been to several stadiums, usually with a crowd, but have never felt threatened except once in our own stadium.  After playing the Eagles, I was confronted waiting against the wall by a drunk Eagles fan that repeatedly pointed in my face chanting "asshole".  I kinda laughed it off, uncomfortably, but if I was a different person, I would've knocked his ass out.  He was most certainly crossing the line into my personal space.

Props to Dallas, especially, where I've seen two games (one big win, one big loss) and both times, the fans taunted us in a fun way, but were very courteous and never anything but two fans of different teams having a good time jabbing at the other one.

I think that 99 percent of fans are good fans.  It just takes one mentally unstable / drunk idiot.  It's places like Oakland and Philly, where that group attitude is worn as a badge of honor, where these people seem to act out more.

Thanks, for the update.  I haven't been to a game in about a decade.  I keep hearing that Philadelphia, Oakland, and San Francisco are the most dangerous venues, and Green Bay is the best/safest/classiest.  I'd love to see a game there, but the Wisconsin weather and scarcity of tickets probably will prevent this from happening.

Been to a few Bills-Dolphins games at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Saw disgusting behavior. Saw a group of grown men rip a Dolphins jacket off a 8-10 year old kid and throw it in a bonfire after a game once. Miami won so the bills fans were pissed. Mind you it was December and maybe 10 degrees outside at the time. The kids mom was distracted for a few seconds and missed it then turned around and was in tears.

Saw one bills fan buy a giant pretzel with mustard once and just break off pieces of the pretzel, dip it in mustard and throw it at the back of a guy wearing a Fins jersey 2 rows in front of him. Security comes....removes the Dolphins fan and not the trouble-maker.

Went to a Browns-Bengals game a bunch of years back, one guy was so drunk prior to kickoff in the row behind us prior to kickoff  he vomitted about 4 times in his lap and on the ground and passed out sitting in his seat. Security was told and they just let him sit like that for 4 quarters sleeping. Everyone had to sit around this guys vomit the entire game.

Going to NFL games is no longer a fun or family enviorment. I will only go these days when I have access to a luxery box, Club Level Seats, or access to a press box which I have been lucky enough to get a few times over the years. Other than that DIRECTV Sunday Ticket is the way to go!

There are bad fans everywhere.I went to Vanderbilt stadium in Nasville some years back to see the then Tennessee Oilers play my Bears.We had good seats(its a small venue) and I noticed alot of people had smuggled their own beer/alcohol in(inluding me)but it was cool.Most of the fans around us were courteous,they cheered for their team but gave props when we made a good play,you know,good natured razzing back and forth.Until about the 3rd qtr. when the guy next to my buddy just got totally bombed and spilled beer all over this couple in front of him.You all know what happened next.Security got them out of there pretty fast but still....a guy I worked with went to the new stadium down there after it opened and told me a horror story about a guy with his young son who asked the guys behind him if they could please tone down their language in front of his kid......so these 3 drunk idiots beat the guy up in front of his 8 year old...nice.BTW,they were Patroits fans,lol

I had a guy sitting next to me passed out prior to kickoff, slumping over on to me.  He slept through the jet flyover and then about halfway through the first quarter fell onto the ground at my feet.  I thought he was with the people to the other side of him, those people thought he was with me.  He was alone.  Within 15 seconds on laying on the ground, he vomited all over the ground and it ran down the stadium seats.  Then he got up and stumbled out. 

I ended up watching the whole game sitting on the aisle steps, because there was puke all over the place.

I am a season ticket holder here in AZ and I have also been to San Diego and New Orleans to catch games. There are fights in the stands almost every game I have been to in the last 10 years but I have never heard of or seen a stabbing or shooting at an NFL event. Security is pretty quick to break up the fights and honestly I do not see them as a big deal really, as it is no different than going to the local watering hole on the weekend. Some drunk schmuck always wants to start a fist fight. I was treated with nothing but repsect in San Diego and New Orleans one of which was a playoff game. Outside of the friendly ribbing back and forth which was all in good fun, it was in no way uncomfortable.

There's really nothing that security or law enforcement can do, other than have a zero tolerance policy for violence and harassment.  If a fan of a team is shown harassing an opposing fan, where it crosses the line -- throwing stuff, etc.  -- they gotta go.  Season tickets revoked.  There is always another fan to fill the seat. 

It's a culture problem.  The culture of football celebrates the idea that some places are hard to go for opposing fans (Philly, for example).  Just crack down, expels a few lifers from places and make an example.  The problem will go away, because the fans won't support that behavior anymore.

The solution to this problem is easy. No beer and liquor sold in the stadium. No beer and liquor in stadium parking lots. Have your tailgates, no booze!!

Get rid of the booze all the problems go away. Problem is Coors/Bud/Miller..etc are HUGE sponsors of the NFL and pay the NFL billions to advertise on TV and in these stadiums. So the NFL is a slave to the $$$$$$$$$ that these companies pour in to them.

I think Syracuse was the only college stadium to sell booze. Well until this year and now West Virginia is selling it at their gamesn too. But thats it, only 2 college teams sell booze.   Ivan Masiel did a podcast on this a few weeks back.

There are more, but it is a minority. I'm pretty sure USF sells beer at games. UCF did until they built a stadium on campus.

It might have been on campus stadiums that sell beer then. But I know SU and WV were in a group of 2 though

I went to Paul Brown Stadium once. That was the only road game I attended excepting when the Dolphins came here.  No one gave us any trouble at all.

I have been going to Jets/Fins games in Jersey for over 20 years.  The fans are BRUTAL.  They will start fights with and harass you without end.  I have had grown men talk shit to me when I was a little kid.  People try to start fights all the time. 

I went to the Giants/Fins game 8 years ago without having a Giants fan so much as make eye contact with me. 

I went to the Eagles/Fins game in Philly with Philly a few years ago and the Eagles fans were quiet and lame.

This year I'm going to Foxboro and I'm sure the Pats fans will give me shit (no one talks more shit that they cannot back up than New Englanders).

NCAA will not allow alcohol sales at on campus stadiums.  The off campus stadiums are not subject to this.  Therefore, teams like South Florida and Miami can sell beer at games, while teams like Florida, Florida State and Central Florida cannot. 

Syracuse is on campus and they have sold beer there since the day it opened in 1980

Incorrect. WVU has an on campus stadium.

Booze is not the problem. It has been sold at stadiums for decades and this problem has gotten worse in the last few years. The problem is that the fans are buying into the "bad boy" hype surrounding teams like the Raiders and acting it out in the stands.
Raiders stadium has been dangerous for opposing fans for years, and you do not wear your jersey to a home game there. The NFL should put the teams with the most dangerous fan bases on the road, and no home games until the owners can com up with a workable solution.

And has been a problem of its own for decades. There is no single problem. It is a combination of factors.

Booze is the biggest factor, but I'm unwilling to give that up.  It's too much money.

Whenever you have 60,000 people doing anything while they're drinking, they're going to fight.  The problem that I see needs fixing is that we can't stand there and laugh at it when it's happened to an opposing fan.  As fans, we need to protect the opposing fans.  Now, there's a push to get rid of the opposing team's fans by the crowd, regardless of what happens.

To be perfectly honest just from what I have seen most of the fights are started by the gang bangers and the wanna be gang bangers and Arizona has a fuckton of them. Alcohol or not these worthless pieces of society would still cause problems.

The main thing is to make sure it doesn't escalate into "organized" violence like in South America (or even Europe, to some degree). There are people in society who are drawn to that sort of thing (and its very gang-like nature) and if it starts to take hold, getting rid of it will be next to impossible.

the best way to stop this stuff is for these teams to STOP letting people drink in their parking lots. They are walking into the stadium already drunk and then they drink some more for two quarters.

The teams won't stop beer sales at games, cost them too much money. unrealistic. FINE! But go to an electronic stamp on your hand system where no person can buy more than two. And don't let people DRINK in your parking lot prior to games. It would go a long way into solving this problem.

Yeah, because nobody will smuggle in alcohol where it's not allowed. ::)

But nowhere near the levels of violence against other fans, and attacks against players and coaches( i.e. batteries from the upper levels, etc.) It has been lucky that no fans have been killed so far, but the way things are going it is inevitable.
Alcohol is not the problem, the change in fans mentality is the problem

every NFL stadium has security at the gates. And its up to the teams to add security to its parking lots. It worth the effort. Better than having drive by shootings for pete sakes at NFL games

Never gonna stop people from drinking in the lots if thats what they want to do.  Not to mention places like Buffalo have many parking areas that are not owned by Rich Stadium.  You can stop visibly intoxicated people from entering the stadium, and this is done to some degree, but you can't give a breathalizer to 60,000 people entering a stadium.

You can stop people from drinking in TEAM owned parking lots though. That cuts down on the problem. And if someone is visibly drunk don't let them in the stadium. Doesn't solve the problem, but it goes a long way in fixing it

THOUSANDS of cars in the lots and you think you can stop them??  You've got to be kidding!

You aren't going to STOP the problem.  But you can greatly reduce it.  In general, people follow the rules.  Even if it doesn't stop people from drinking, they won't drink as much or as easily.  Also, in many cases, it takes two drunk people to fight (and a crowd of drunks to egg them on).  If you can stop of them, you might stop the fight.  And if the crowd isn't drunk, they might stop it before it escalates.

^^^I see your points, but I think the people that you are going to stop are the resposible drinkers.  The trouble makers will still drink, and perhaps they switch over to liquor, instead of beer, and become even more of a pain in the butt.  As for breaking up a fight, I'm not stepping in between two A-holes and taking a header down a flight of stairs.  I'm all for denying drunk people entrance, and perhaps instituting a drink maximum inside (although there are ways around that).  In my experience there is no reasoning with angry drunk people.

who said Stop. Did I say STOP? Don't put words in my mouth. Nobody said stop. But you would greatly reduce the problem. Have security walk through the lots and just keep an eye out. Anyone who is caught drinking booze in a team owned lot, gets their parking pass revoked and possible loss of season tickets. Of course some people will beat the system and cheat it and get around it. BUT ON A WHOLE it reduces the number of drunks at least on "team owned" property prior to the game by a lot. Goes a long way in getting the problem under control.

And not EVERY ONE of those "thousands of cars" tailgate...another silly leap you made

^^^^
Actually you did!!!!!  ;)

Where did I say that thousands of cars "tailgate", your the one making silly leaps, and the one that can't remember what they said in their own posts.

thanks AZ

I fell down like 50 stairs at the Patriots game.. well thought I could jump down them..didnt make it! Busted my knee up pretty good.

(http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_bnwpYu2YZcw/TM1Z2rIIm_I/AAAAAAAABFQ/9PQSvu-SlcQ/s1600/P1080561.JPG)

Most people can have a few drinks,beers whatever and still be good fans.But there is a small segment of our society that just shouldn't drink no matter where they go.We all know that guy at the company Christmas party that,while everyone else is having a few beers and some laughs,gets wasted asks someones wife to sleep with him,starts a fight,then throws up on the buffet table.We all know someone like that and there is no way for security at a stadium to weed them out before game time.As much $$$ as the NFL is making they should just hire more security in the stands and if you act out(throw a punch or physically threaten) you are out-period.