Rule Number 5

I'm at the point in my life where I am still deemed as young but, still I am old enough to have seen some things that still boggle my mind. At my age I have seen enough to view trends (short-term obviously) and some trends shock the hell out of me. I work in the sports industry and the trend that shouldn't make me wonder about people in this world but, still does is the idiot fan. Fans that make total asses out of themselves on a consistent basis not because they want to entertain and be fun or even comical but, the ones that are complete morons.

To clarify, I'm all for a guy who cheers FOR his team and does it respectfully and tastefully. A witty comment now and again is all fine and good too. The fan that pumps up the crowd and gets everyone else excited and engaged is great too. Those passionate fans, are fantastic in my book. In fact, they make my job easier.

I'm talking about the ones that kick and stomp, get blackout wasted on a consistent basis with their kids there, and just yell and scream a bunch of bull that no one understands. I'm talking about the middle-aged man who shows up to a Friday night game smelling like booze already and then pounding at least 8 more through the night.

There is a season ticket holder where I work who does this all the time. He kicks the boards and has been approached multiple times by security and arena personnel to tone it down. He makes a scene because his BAC is flirting with a fatal .35. He then insists that he is being singled out and feels second rate. He feels that he should be able to do whatever he wants because he spends his hard-earned money to come to all these games.

Wrong. You are a man in your 50's who needs to understand that maturity is reality and that at that age you should have some sense of respect for rules and regulations. Where are these people's minds? What portion of their brain says "its ok to get wasted in public but, I don't want everyone staring at me." You act like a drunken moron but, you think it's weird that people stare at you in disgust? Get a clue. Be the responsible adult that you claim to be.

In closing, I'm sure people have problems behind closed doors that can have a tendency to spill into public. However, there is a line. Don't cross that line. Be normal and be fun but whatever you do, don't be an idiot. People, like myself, label you because you are stupid and make everyone else look bad. (Wedding Crashers reference alert) Rule number 5.