Jeff's Commentary - 4/26 - Fighting at Hockey Games

I went to a fight the other night and there might have been some hockey played on the side. And the fight(s) were not on the ice. A friend got me tickets to the Coyote playoff game Friday night. We sat in a section that several Detroit fans also sat in. The game started innocently enough with the typical jawing and bantering between fans of both cities. But by the second period, the degree of animosity started to show. The friendly “Detroit Sucks” chants changed to include more non tactful words. One row down from us, finger pointing led to shoving which then led to punching. Normally you would think it’s just the game, but in this case one of the combatants was a woman. She took the first shot by throwing a punch in the startled Red Wing male’s face. Of course that was all it took and he walloped her back. Ejection. Then below us, taunting followed by beer tossing and again, Ejection. Across the ice, two Coyote fans took a Red Wing fan and held him down in a headlock while the other Coyote fan pummeled his face. Ejection.
In the third period, another fight by us. The Coyotes were on a power play but all heads in my area were directed to a shoving match that escalated to punching. Ejection.

All in all, there were over 7 plus fights we witnessed. I’m sure there were more we were not even aware of around the stadium.

I’m not sure what to think of all this. Return of the Roman Empire days is one thought. I felt a bit sad. For one, you should be able to attend a game as a fan of any team without the fear of being pummeled. I think that the old excuse of “its part of hockey” doesn’t play in this scenario. Drunken out of control human beings paying a lot of money to be morons. I don’t know. If the Coyotes want to change their image, they need to start with teaching some form of sanity classes when you walk in the gates. Maybe a card we get when we get to our seats.

Ten Commandments of attending a Coyote Hockey Game:
1. Watch the game.
2. Don’t drink until you are obliterated.
3. Try not to chant “F..K You Red Wings” every time you open your mouth.
4. Watch the game.
5. Pretend you are not the only person in the universe.
6. Keep the beer you do buy in your mouth and resist the urge to throw it at
other patrons.
7. Don’t hit women in the stands even if they hit you first.
8. Watch the game.
9. Keep your hands to yourself.
10. Don’t sucker punch your fellow patron rooting for the other team.

Maybe those would help. But I fear this is the new society we are in…where rules of civility don’t matter any more. Maybe the reason “bullying” has become a bigger concern out there is that people are becoming more destructive with their behavior and expose it wherever they please. I hope the Coyotes realize this before their fans become the Philadelphia Eagles fans of the West where jail cells are put in place within the stadium to take care of the volume of drunks. I would have liked something like that Friday.

Jeff