Fans in section 549- Patriots at Ravens

[EricH]

I have owned 4 seats in section 549 since 1997 and have never had a problem with this section other than some fowl language, occasional spilled beer, etc.
Well, for the Pats game I sold these four tickets to friends in which two were Patriots fans, one a Michigan fan, and one a husband of the said Patriots fan.

Anyway, the stories I heard after the game in how they were treated were just horrid!
Evidently they were sworn at the entire first quarter. It in fact got so bad the elderly couple in front of our seats had to stand up to ask these 'die hard Ravens fans' to be quiet because there were young children crying because of the tension they were causing.
Then the elderly couple along with other fans were also sworn at by these 'fans' which prompted a section clearing fight.

The husband of the Patriots fan suffered a ripped sweatshirt and a bruised forehead from being tackled down the steps. The Balt City police then came up and cleared the area.
After all was said and done, my friends were allowed to return to their seats (towards the end of the third quarter) and the antagonists were thrown out of the game.

I hope someone from section 549 reads this and want to thank those that stood up for my friends and state that I am disgusted with the 'gung ho fans' that stated to my friends that "We own this stadium and you are not welcome here!" What a bunch of BS.

I am still proud of how great our fans are but these guys are an embarrassment and acting like an (jerk) to other fans does not make one a great, gung ho fan. It makes one a (jerk).

[runamuk]

That's sad . I have seen steeler fans being verbally attacked at games  esp if we are losing but there's never an excuse to become violent . I am sorry you had this experience . I have sold my tickets and have never had a problem .

[Moderator 3]

Late game = more drinking before game. Not an excuse, but a sad reality.

[Stephenjr]

Hope you learned not to sell your tickets to the other teams fans!!!! Do you sell your O's tickets to Red sox and Yankees fans? Dumb question!

[cursona pirate]

Hate people like that. 

[ninpiggy]

That is horrible. I'm sorry your friends had such a miserable time. People can be scary and unpredictable, unfortunately.

[The Mom Gene]

Completely unacceptable...  I think you'll find that most of the time the crowd at the stadium is very manageable...  SMH.

[H8R]

I would NEVER sell tickets to anyone other then a Ravens fans...
When you walk into a stadium that isn't yours, you're probably going to get harassed by someone, out of the 70k+ people you could encounter .
It's generally how the opposition handles the situation that either keeps it low key or blows up. I get tired of people crying about kids in the stands... I'm a firm believer that if you put your kids in these environments , you should realize the chances of what they WILL see/hear.

[EricH]

H8R, I used to feel that way too.
When we sat in those seats we would boo fans from opposing teams as they walked to the top rows.
Most of the time they would laugh and it would all be in fun.
However, we noticed that our last year in that section (2010) things we really starting to get nasty. A lot of fans were starting to make it personal. Comments were starting to become racist, making fun of weight issues, etc.
I'm not sure why they kept getting worse, perhaps anger over being shut out in the playoffs each year. ???
One would also get called out if they didn't stand on third down. No biggie...

When we moved to our new seats we immediately noticed people were more civil than in the upper levels. At first we thought it was weird not to see a section of middle fingers when the Steelers ran onto the field. lol Then we realized one can still be a die hard fan without acting like an idiot.

But to say I can't sell my tickets to friends who have never gone to an NFL game is ridiculous. And I know those 4 as well as anyone and can assure everyone they are not boast-ful people. When they said they clapped during Patriots scores, I know that is all it was. Unfortunately, they did a lot of clapping last Sunday. :(

(oh, and I did NOT neg you)

[K-Dog]

I think many times the ravens fan jerk level is directly proportional to the amount of alcohol consumed and the level of butt whoopin' we are receiving.

Pats fans last week really didn't stand a chance.

[Jokerraven]

Last year we travelled to the afccg in foxborough. the patriot fans were horrible, name calling , middle finger you name it . so its not just raven fans . oddly enough I have never been bothered in Heinz field, or when I went to the game in Cleveland.

[Moderator 2]

I think many times the ravens fan jerk level is directly proportional to the amount of alcohol consumed and the level of butt whoopin' we are receiving.
Pats fans last week really didn't stand a chance.

Agreed! Some friendly smack, no throwing stuff or getting in someone's face, makes it fun. My husband walked in 3 Rivers in a Woodson purple jersey in 2000 and one lady said I don't know if I should buy you a beer or dump it on you-- she bought him a beer lol. That's how it SHOULD be, but it isn't a lot.