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January 24, 2012

With fans like these, maybe the 49s deserved to lose

Yesterday, on my Facebook page I posted a link to a story about 49ers Kyle Williams getting threats via social media following his fumbles in the NFC championship game against the New York Giants.  I said there should be a place in hell for fans who would go so far as to threaten a player and his family over mistakes he made in what is just a game.

A friend followed up my Facebook post to tell me that her son, a Giants fans, was harassed on Facebook, with one kid even threatening to cut his throat

In the week leading up to Sunday's game, New Orleans Saints fans, who traveled to San Francisco for the playoff game on January 15, wrote letters to the San Francisco Chronicle and told New Orleans media about boorish, harassing behavior by 49ers fans. One Saints fans told a New Orleans TV station: 

The menacing 49ers fans taunted her family before, during and after Saturday's game.
"People were just screaming at us, getting in our face. Somebody put a paper bag over my dad's head, he had to rip it off and throw it on the ground,” she said. “When my mom went to the restroom people were cursing at her."
Apparently, the San Francisco 49ers and the NFL adopted extraordinary security measures for Sunday's NFC Championship Game after New Orleans Saints fans complained of harassment by unruly 49ers faithful last week, according to NFLnews.com.

It appears that some 49ers fans didn't get the message. I watched the game and heard loud boos erupt from the crowd when the Giants made a good play. And, now we get news of these threats against Kyle William. And far from Candlestick Park, there are 49ers fans amongst area middle schoolers making threats against kids who have a different loyalty.

I'm not a big football fan. I don't dislike it. I'm generally indifferent. I could understand the excitement of people in the Bay Ara about their local football team enjoying a winning year. And, the vast majority of 49ers fans were not being jerks about their enthusiasm.

I also don't really understand what karma is, so I don't know if I believe in it. But the sort of extreme behavior from 49ers fans, making news and coming from a distorted sense of fan loyalty, sounds a bit like people creating bad karma. Maybe the 49ers will truly deserve to have a winning team when the bad apples in their fan barrel learn to be more gracious about winning -- and losing.

5 comments:

Martha Ross said...

There's a Facebook page now: 49ers fans for Kyle Williams.
http://www.facebook.com/groups/330687093632774/

Thud said...

You don't want to go down the English road, fan rivalry here is extremely vicious and a blight on many peoples lives.

iceman said...

the head coach also sets a bad example with his lack of professionalism when he refused to be interviewed after their biggest game in 10 years,and his biggest game EVER

Anonymous said...

I saw the interview...

jessica freels said...

Maybe I am the only one this has happened to, but when I was a kid watching an NFL game was about spending time with my dad in the living room. The games I have been to were about spending time with my family. Games seem to be now more of a chance to party thing, and I think thats sometimes where the problems can start. Plus people have a kind of road rage...Game rage maybe? They get furious over unforeseen circumstance, and decide to act homicidal, then claiming they never meant to be THAT crazy...just felt so passionately etc... All I can say is, Calm down,take up chess. Do Yoga. Dont ruin it for every one else.