Dunlap: NFL Fan Behavior Is So Out Of Line
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PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) -- I rattled about this some over the weekend on Twitter.
And watching the footage more and more, I just get more and more puzzled.
What is it with this BillsMafia stuff?
What is it with NFL fan behavior?
What's the romanticism or draw with people — generally fueled by a mixture of alcohol, testosterone and a chance to be on someone's Instagram and/or Twitter account — acting like total idiots and doing things such as jumping off trucks and breaking tables.
Or setting themselves on fire.
Or jumping off a truck to have a table break your fall while on fire.
I don't get it, any of it.
What I do get is that it isn't just behavior displayed by the fans of the Buffalo Bills. No, videos seem to surface every week from teams all over the NFL. No fanbase seems to be immune from ridiculous behavior.
Perhaps the most disheartening part of this is that, if you don't find the humor in it or feel as if the actions are ridiculous, there are an increasing number of people ready to call you "soft" or a "snowflake" or something of that ilk. OK, guess I'm just "soft" because I actually opt for human decency and don't see a lot of humor in this Barstool culture wherein people feel the need to do asinine (and often dangerous things) for the sake of getting some laughs on the Internet.
Case in point, a video surfaced from the parking lot before the Jacksonville/Buffalo game on Sunday. It offered a view of two men in Jacksonville jerseys, minding their own business and carrying a large cooler — one man by each of the handles.
Unbeknownst to them, a man in Bills gear ran up behind them and threw his weight onto the cooler, forcing the two men — again, minding their business and just walking along — to lose their grip.
Chuckles all around.
Hahaha.
Celebrate good times!
Some huge accomplishment by the Bills fans!
Guess I missed the joke. Whatever. Guess I'm a snowflake because I'd opt to just allow those men (who weren't bothering anyone) to walk along in peace.
What comes as troubling is how CBS got in on the act, too. As their pregame show did a small skit where Bill Cowher smashed through a table.
Was it funny? I don't know.
Was it his idea? Most likely not; probably hatched by the production staff.
What it was to me was a clear and defined measure by CBS to not necessarily condone such actions, but they didn't distance themselves from the buffoonery of fans acting like idiots, either. In my opinion, that would be best.
Why would they embrace such a thing? There's nothing to be gained, at all.
I'll tell you what, the day is coming. The day is coming where someone in one of these stunts in a parking lot is paralyzed — or worse — all for the sake of getting some laughs.
Will they stop then? Who knows.
Or, you know what, maybe I'm just a snowflake or whatever. Maybe I have it all wrong and decency and respect are a thing of the past and I should just live with it.
