U.S. Department of Justice Informs Fans What to Expect

http://www.cops.usdoj.gov/files/RIC/Publications/e080828167.pdf

This is a very in depth article and I want to only analyze pages 3-4 of the document because they outline what fans should expect and be prepared for when attending a game. It is shocking that the Department of Justice and the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing had to create this document in order to be prepared for policing fans. This is not a document explaining how to change fan behavior or how to prevent fan violence, just how to control it. If the police and security of stadiums during games just want to know how to control fans, not prevent them from engaging in behaviors that lead to violence, then it is abundantly clear that the security and police find nothing wrong with the majority of fan behavior. If police are only concerned with major incidents then why should the majority of NFL fans feel compelled to change, or even view their culture and their behaviors as out of control? The list of the six most common forms of fan aggression is very telling about what to expect from fans. The list states just about everything that a fan can and could do within a stadium, from aggressive singing to shootings. Reading this list just one time is enough to make someone who has never attended an NFL game think twice before purchasing a ticket. Reading this list makes one realize that every time you enter an NFL stadium you are putting yourself at risk to endure “verbal aggression, gesturing, missile throwing, warming, property destruction, and physical assault”, even possibly death. That is quite a lot to put up with for a three and a half hour game, and it is interesting that the police just want to inform, not prevent. I also find the outline of whom and what the fans target their aggression towards very interesting, because just like the types of violence fans will engage in, there is an endless amount of targets for fans to focus their aggression on. Fans will act out on anybody and anything, from other fans, to security, players and coaches, and any and all physical structures. “Spectator Violence in Stadiums” reveals that NFL fans are aggressive in a variety of ways, they will vent their aggression on anything and anyone, and the police are not trying to change or prevent these acts from happening, they only want to be informed and prepared. Clearly the behaviors outlined are accepted and expected by fans and the police, and there is no need for change, NFL fans are normal.