The controversy surrounding Philadelphia Eagles fan Ryan Caldwell for berating a Packers fan during a game is just the latest incident of shockingly unruly fan behavior in sports.
Other disturbed fans have engaged in physical altercations with athletes, with one incident even resulting in the stabbing of an athlete.
PK Press Club Digital chronicles the five most infamous fan moments in sports history.
5. A Cubs fan sabotages his own team and extends the most infamous curse in MLB history
During Game 6 of the 2003 National League Division Series against the then-Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman reached out and grabbed a catchable ball.
At the time, Chicago led 3-0 and could have clinched a trip to the World Series with a win. Bartman interfered with a foul ball hit by Marlins batter Luis Castillo that Cubs outfielder Moisés Alou was attempting to catch for an out. But by catching the ball before Alou could catch it, Bartman cost his own team a chance at a valuable takedown. That would have been the second out of the inning.
But instead, the next pitch to Castillo was wild and the Cubs defense suffered a collapse that resulted in eight runs. The Cubs then lost the series in Game 7, and the franchise’s nearly century-long World Series title drought extended. The Bartman incident became an infamous moment in what is considered one of the greatest curses in sports history.
The franchise’s lack of championships from 1909 to 2016 was associated with the superstition known as “The Curse of the Goat”, which stems from a 1945 incident in which a fan was denied the entered a match because he had a goat with him.
Bartman’s actions were not rooted in malice, but the aftermath, aftermath, and images of him during that match are what made the incident so infamous.
Details of Bartman’s personal life were made public, and he actively avoided any public attention for years after the incident. He declined several offers of interviews and opportunities to appear in documentaries.
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4. An Eagles fan shoots a flare at other spectators during the game, sparking a rash of fights and arson.
Caldwell is far from the first Eagles fan to exhibit questionable behavior during a game.
In 1997, during a Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers, a mischievous Eagles fan fired a flare gun into the stands filled with other fans, endangering several lives.
After the flare was fired, several fist fights broke out around the stadium, with most of the violence directed at 49ers fans by Eagles fans.
“There were a large number of fights and acts of intimidation, many directed at fans wearing 49ers jerseys,” the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote at the time.
After the game, Eagles owner Jeffrie Lurie was forced to condemn his own fans.
“While we believe we have made significant progress in recent years regarding fan behavior at Veterans Stadium, what we witnessed last Monday was undoubtedly a step backwards,” Lurie told reporters at the time.
The franchise’s former home, Veterans Stadium, had a courthouse and jail cells on site to deal with fans breaking the law.
3. Ron Artest fights Detroit Pistons fans in incident dubbed ‘Malice at the Palace’
A 2004 game between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers turned into one of the ugliest moments in NBA history when a player began attacking fans.
There were only seconds left in the game when the fight began, but conditions became so hostile that the game was never finished.
The fights all started with a mistake. After the players began fighting each other on the field, the fight soon escalated to the stands as spectators began throwing drinks and trash at the players. Pacers forward Ron Artest was at the center of the chaos as the image of him shaking his fists at Detroit fans became a disturbing part of NBA lore.
As the Pacers returned to the locker room, they had to cover their heads to protect themselves from the liquid and trash being thrown at them.
Several fans were banned for life from Pistons games due to the incident. Nine players were suspended without pay for a total of 146 games, according to the source. All five players were charged with assault.
EAGLES FAN WHO REPREDITED WOMEN’S PACKERS FAN EXPOSES HIMSELF AFTER LOSSING JOB AS FANS CELEBRATE HIS FIRING
2. The Cleveland Indians sell beers for $0.10 apiece, giving way to a violent and drunken crowd.
A drunk fan is helped off the field after suffering a minor injury during a game between the Texas Rangers and the Cleveland Indians on June 4, 1974, at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. (Paul Tepley Collection/Diamond Images/Getty Images)
In 1974, the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians) hosted an event known today as “10-Cent Beer Night.” The team sold beers for $0.10 apiece for a game against the Texas Rangers on
The promotion drew a crowd of 25,134 fans to Cleveland Stadium, and many of those fans ended up on the field during a ninth-inning riot.
After eight previous innings in which drunken fans set off firecrackers and ran onto the field naked, a game-tying Cleveland rally in the final inning sparked chaos. After the game was tied, a fan ran onto the field in an attempt to steal Rangers player Jeff Burroughs’ cap off his head.
In response, Texas manager Billy Martin and his players ran onto the field to protect Burroughs, but this only prompted even more drunken Cleveland fans to get involved. A horde of participants armed with knives, chains and clubs made from torn pieces of seats rushed at the Texan players.
Some fans even threw steel folding chairs at players, and Cleveland relief pitcher Tom Hilgendorf was hit in the head by one.
Cleveland Indians pitcher Tom Hilgendorf is helped off the field after suffering a minor injury during a game against the Texas Rangers on June 4, 1974 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. (Paul Tepley Collection/Diamond Images/Getty Images)
Cleveland players brandished their bats to help defend the Texas players against their own drunken fans.
The teams fled the field in groups through the dugouts, then holed up in their clubhouses. But rioting on the ground continued for at least 20 minutes as police and security forces tried to subdue the rioters. Only nine fans ended up being arrested.
Head referee Nestor Chylak ultimately declared the game lost by Cleveland, awarding the victory to Texas.
1. Women’s tennis star Monica Seles stabbed by a fan of her rival after a big victory
Yugoslav women’s tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed by a fan of one of her biggest rivals during the 1993 Citizen Cup in Hamburg, Germany. (Norbert Schmidt/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Yugoslav women’s tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed by a fan of one of her biggest rivals during the 1993 Citizen Cup in Hamburg, Germany.
During a break after winning a quarterfinal match against Magdalena Maleeva, who was then world number 1, a fan of German player Steffi Graf ran onto the court and stabbed Seles in the back as she sat at the court. edge of the field.
The man’s name was Günter Parche, and police determined he intended to injure Seles so Graf could reclaim first place. Parche was ultimately sentenced to two years of probation and psychological treatment.
Front page of the Daily News, May 1, 1993 (Y Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Seles, meanwhile, was rushed to hospital and took several weeks for her injuries to heal. However, it would be two years before he returned to tennis. She also vowed to never play in Germany again as Parche received minimal punishment.
“What people seem to forget is that this man intentionally stabbed me and he served no punishment for it. … I wouldn’t feel comfortable going back there .I don’t foresee that happening,” she told the newspaper. BBC.
