This is why I'm happy to see old-media sportswriters go...

[jredmo2]

http://www.observer-reporter.com/or/...11-Steigerwald

Maybe someone can ask Stow, if he ever comes out of his coma, why he thought it was a good idea to wear Giants' gear to a Dodgers' home opener when there was a history of out-of-control drunkenness and arrests at that event going back several years.

Remember when it was the kids who were wearing the team jerseys to games? It was a common sight to see an adult male coming through the turnstile dressed as a regular human being with a kid dressed in a "real" jersey holding his hand.

Cute.

Are the 42-year-olds who find it necessary to wear their replica jerseys to a road game, those kids who are now fathers who haven't grown up?

Are there really 40-something men who think that wearing the jersey makes them part of the team? It was cute when a 10-year-old kid got that feeling by showing up at Three Rivers Stadium in a Pirates jersey, but when did little boys stop growing out of that?

Ah, nothing like taking the case study of an innocent man brutally beaten into a coma and suffering brain damage to make a completely irrelevant, incomprehensibly inane argument about laundry.

Now, you may mistake this article as pointlessly contrarian and self-aggrandizing. But clearly, this guy who makes a living writing about sporting events is in a position of such hefty importance that he can, nay, MUST take to task those horrible overgrown man-children who dare wear professional sports jerseys to sporting events. I mean they don't even PLAY for those teams, but they still wear the jerseys! Luckily, this urbane sportswriter isn't fooled -- that 40-something guy sitting in the stands wearing a jersey is actually NOT Tim Lincecum, despite what his deceitful attire (which, apparently due to some MLB oversight, was mass-produced for and marketed ad-infinitum to adult males) may suggest.

I'm so glad somebody had the guts to tell that coma-ridden, brain-damaged slacker to act age-appropriately. Act like adult, for pete's sake! Do something like, say, whine about how a bunch of internet rapscallions (who have probably never even been on "the beat") can do your job better than you.

Listen, we all feel bad that this man was mercilessly and, perhaps undeservedly, beaten. On the other hand, though, at least it did give one of our wise sports philosophers a chance to address this laundry issue that has so terrorized our nation.

[RedsBaron]

Steigerwald obviously hasn't "grown up". While it may be "cute" for "little boys" to follow sports why would any "adult male" care about what occurs at a baseball game, or, even worse, earn income by writing about athletic matters? He should "grow out of this" and get a real adult job writing about important, adult matters--and he should wear a suit and tie like an adult rather than causal attire as shown by his photograph.

[redsfanmia]

I actually kind of agree with the guy. I know it will not be very popular but why would you wear a jersey to a road game of your most bitter rival?

[Chip R]

I guess he was dressed like he wanted it.

[westofyou]

I actually kind of agree with the guy. I know it will not be very popular but why would you wear a jersey to a road game of your most bitter rival?

I agree with the notion about jerseys.

But no man deserves a beating for being a fan of any team.

And no quality writer, or human being needs to deflect from the beating with a useless devils advocate stance created in the spirit of generating clickable ad revenue and internet notoriety

[Hoosier Red]

I actually kind of agree with the guy. I know it will not be very popular but why would you wear a jersey to a road game of your most bitter rival?

For the same reason you would if you were attending a home game. To support your team. It's not as if he would have expected to be beaten into a coma.
If the fan was complaining because he was given a hard time, but no one physically confronted him, that's one thing. But I think any fan should expect to feel safe enough to go to any stadium/arena and not be a victim of physical assault.

If I wore a Bengals jersey to a Bengals/Steelers game, I'd expect to get laughed at, but I wouldn't expect to be beaten up.

[Razor Shines]

For the same reason you would if you were attending a home game. To support your team. It's not as if he would have expected to be beaten into a coma.
If the fan was complaining because he was given a hard time, but no one physically confronted him, that's one thing. But I think any fan should expect to feel safe enough to go to any stadium/arena and not be a victim of physical assault.

If I wore a Bengals jersey to a Bengals/Steelers game, I'd expect to get laughed at, but I wouldn't expect to be beaten up.

Yes. I stopped wearing jerseys when I was 13 but this article is ridiculous.

I mean what if Stowe was only wearing a Giants t-shirt and hat? Would the writer say he was off limits to beatings since he didn't have a jersey on? Or is the equation: Jersey or t-shirt + hat = beating. Hat or shirt only = no coma.??

[redsfanmia]

I agree with the notion about jerseys.

But no man deserves a beating for being a fan of any team.

And no quality writer, or human being needs to deflect from the beating with a useless devils advocate stance created in the spirit of generating clickable ad revenue and internet notoriety

I agree with everything you say here and did not to seem like the guy deserved the beating because he most certainly did not.

[redsfanmia]

I actually long for the days when people dressed when they went out, when pajama pants and slippers were not socially acceptable attire, but that is for another thread. I have been to road games of my favorite teams and choose to dress not to bring attention to myself and conduct myself the same way.

[Caveat Emperor]

Wearing a jersey to a game is a generation-gap thing -- I stopped trying to justify myself or explain it to people my parents age years ago.

[LoganBuck]

I actually long for the days when people dressed when they went out, when pajama pants and slippers were not socially acceptable attire, but that is for another thread. I have been to road games of my favorite teams and choose to dress not to bring attention to myself and conduct myself the same way.

+1

The best case of this I can think of was back in 1998 for the Ohio State/Michigan game. A Michigan fan had bought a ticket and was seated next to me, seven rows from the field, at the forty five yard line, behind the Ohio State bench. It was cold so he wore a coat, but had a Michigan hat on. Stuff would randomly fly over at him all game. When it became obvious that Ohio State was going to win, I saw him reach into his coat pocket and pull out a cheap Ohio State hat and put it on. That guy was thinking ahead.

I don't understand why people have to treat other fans like they are subhuman refuse. Get over it people it is just a game.

[bucksfan2]

I agree with the notion about jerseys.

But no man deserves a beating for being a fan of any team.

And no quality writer, or human being needs to deflect from the beating with a useless devils advocate stance created in the spirit of generating clickable ad revenue and internet notoriety

I have a few jerseys, I don't wear them a whole lot, mostly on gamedays of OSU football. My Carson Palmer jersey will probably be a dust collector for as long as I own it. I don't mind someone wearing a jersey. I really don't care one way or the other.

The man was not beaten because he was wearing a Giants jersey. The man was beaten by a someone who you can consider scum of the earth. There are those people out there and there really isn't anything you can do. He was attacked from behind and beaten to into a coma. The Giants jersey may have provoked the man but if it wasn't this poor guy it would have been another guy. I had a high school history teacher who would have aptly described the attacker as whale dung, the lowest of the low on earth.

[Kingspoint]

That was very tasteless.

[NJReds]

This type of violence ... from youth sports on up to professional sports ... has really turned me off of sports in general. It's become an excuse to act like an idiot. It's just a game.

And as a former reporter, I'd be embarrassed to work with a columnist that wrote a piece of trash like this. It's tasteless, lazy, shock journalism with the sole intent of drawing attention to the author through the number of e-mails and letters he'll get. He's no better than a troll on a message board.

Edit: I see this columnist is from Pennsylvania. I guess he's never seen a crowd at a Steelers game or an Eagles game ... no adults wearing jerseys there.

[jredmo2]

This type of violence ... from youth sports on up to professional sports ... has really turned me off of sports in general. It's become an excuse to act like an idiot. It's just a game.

I agree. If you go on youtube you can find an endless array of stadium fights. I don't have kids but it's a shame that a guy can't take his kids to a game without worrying about the drunks fighting each other.