Bengals Update Fan Code Of Conduct

A lot of people have heard of articles like this.

I have a unique point-of-view of those among La Revolucion: I am both a rabid Bengals fan and a dad.  I have already taken the time and imagination to figure out that my son's seventh birthday will be on a Sunday a few years from now, and if that is the date of a Bengals home game, then his present will be a ticket to his first game. 

However, I'm also guilty of the following things as well (some before, and some after I became a father)...

1) Giving the finger to a father-of-the-bride at a rehearsal dinner in Pittsburgh 45 minutes after I met him.  Why?  Dude mentioned the 2005 playoff game. 

2) Been the victim of mistaken identity for The Jerk Hotline (the cops wanted a guy one section over).

3) Taunting fans of the opposing team.  Even a 12-year-old in Pittsburgh with a perpetual head-twitch holding signs up so he makes it on TV. 

4) Taunting fans of the Bengals.  Especially if they can't figure out if the whole section is sitting that they should sit too. 

5) Heckling Eli Manning, Ben Roethlisberger, Kellen Winslow II, Corey Dillon, and Ray Lewis.

6) Heckling fans in college team gear at a Bengals game (Ohio State, Kentucky, and UC played yesterday folks, that will be a post eventually). 

7) Spewing obscenities for poor play by the Bengals, lousy calls by the refs, or a combination of the two.

8) Thought about hitting Joey Porter with a barstool when I saw him shooting craps in a Vegas casino (Pros: I'd make SportsCenter, It's take the Bengals-Steelers rivalry to an all new level.  Cons: Getting arrested.  Joey Porter kicking my ass.) 

Now, most of these sound like stuff normal Bengals fans would do.  And I was hammered for all of them (save #2).  I have a few tasty adult beverages at our tailgate (and I don't apologize for it, nor do I regret it.  To root for this team, it is damn near a requirement.  And there is something about firing open a beer before 10am on a Sunday morning.  There just is.).  Nor do I intend on stopping. 

The fans buy the tickets, the gear, the beer, the food, and live and die by ever snap, hand-off, pass, and comment by Dave Lapham.  It's our right to be drunken idiots at the Bengals game!!!

But on the flip side...

I've seen mortified parents with kids at the game.  And some of them should know better, because they are the same drunk idiots every single week that they didn't bring their kid.  Suddenly, they are embarrassed PUH-LEASE!

And I don't really want to bring my son to a game on the day when the drunk idiot next to me pukes in his seat (happened), or when the cops pull two guys fighting five rows behind me out of the stands with one guy with his nose all over his face (happened, more than twice), or when to fans start jawing at each other and more than a few obscenities and threats start flying (happens, weekly). 

The occasional F-Bomb out of frustration, I get!  The razzing of opposing fans, I get!  This is where the long talk with The Son needs to happen. 

But when it gets out-of-control and hostile is what the Bengals are trying to prevent. 

And while it sucks, and it seems like a move against the freedoms guaranteed by The Constitution.  Others have the same freedoms not to witness fights, hear a fountain of obscenities, or see the drunken all-star be drunken all-stars. 

I don't believe the team is saying, "THOU SHALL BE SOBER AND CLAP POLITELY AND NOTHING MORE!" 

I believe the team is saying, "THOU SHALL NOT BE AN ASSHOLE!"

I believe the team is saying, "THOU SHALL NOT LET A PARENT REGRET BRINGING THEIR SEVEN-YEAR-OLD TO A GAME!" 

As for the tailgating piece of this.  Tailgate-land is not-unlike Willy Wonka's candy room.  But again you see the same stuff.  Even people peeing against walls while so drunk that didn't really think too hard about the fact that their pants and boxers are around their ankles (a weekly train-wreck-like occurrence). 

A final thought, here's what the Bengals are against (the official list), and here's how frequently I see these things at games.  And whether or not they are understandable...

*Interference with the progress of the game (including throwing objects onto the field). 

-- The 2005 Packer game jumps to mind.  Understandable.

*Intoxication or other signs of impairment related to alcohol consumption that results in rude or irresponsible behavior.

-- Dude puking in the seat next to me.  Or the weekly occurrence of fans not being able to walk down the steps of their seats.  Understandable.

*Behavior that is unruly, disruptive, or illegal in nature.

-- THIS IS A BLANKET STATEMENT TO COVER ASSHOLES!  Semi-Understandable.

*Fighting, taunting or threatening remarks or gestures.

-- Happens every week.  Semi-Understandable.

*Foul or abusive language or gestures.

-- One or two F-bombs is OK, I'm sure.  But be aware if any kids are around you.  Semi-Understandable.

*Sitting in a location other than the Guest's ticketed seat.

-- I've had 5 people standing in the area of two seats next to me.  It SUCKS!  Understandable.

*Standing, sitting or loitering in aisles.

-- Understandable.

*Standing on seats or chairs.

-- Understandable.

*Smoking in any area of Paul Brown Stadium.

-- Understandable.

*Displays of affection not appropriate in a public setting.

-- I've never seen this, but it doesn't surprise me that it would happen.  Understandable.

*Public indecency.

-- I've never seen this, but it doesn't surprise me that it would happen.  Understandable.

*Possession and/or use of illegal drugs or firearms.

-- Understandable.

*Obscene, indecent or offensive clothing.

-- I've worn Bengals gear to work (because I was leaving early for a Monday night game; my Munoz jersey, wristbands, hat, towels off my belt, the full deal), but I would never wear a shirt to work that said, "Fuck Pittsburgh" to work.  Think of that.  Understandable.

*Failing to comply with instructions from ushers, parking attendants, security or law enforcement.

-- Understandable.

Comments

[Cornelius, Supporter of Bengals, Loser Maximus!]

Bengal Nation (Jungle Members Internationally):

I suggest we all make an effort to give the Bengals a “golf clap” for every good play and every awesome play during the O8-09 season (and later seasons if necessary) to match the level of negative excitement and forced frustration that I personally have witnessed in my 30 years of support of the Bengals.

I feel as though the greater cause of the mischief that has come to be addressed in the efforts to enforce "FAN CONDUCT POLICIES" is the substandard product offered by Katie and the other Brown flim-flam artists. Being wedded to the idea of being a life long (though transplanted) Cincinnatian and Bengals fan, I find it maddening that the front office is trying to take corrective action. In Los Angeles, there is a section where all the rowdiness is more or less allowed, The Pavilion. In Cleveland it’s the Dog Pound. In Pittsburg...well it’s the whole city; but there must be an outlet for fans when their team doesn't cut the mustard. Sure, in Philly there is a Magistrate on site for the rowdiest of fans...but look at the Eagles. It is understandable! There must be some sort of outlet!

So ladies and gentlemen...what do you say? Golf claps for all plays! Show disgust and distain for efforts to enforce conduct. OH! AND WHY ARE THEY TRYING TO INFORCE CONDUCT OF FANS WHEN THE DAMN PLAYERS ARE "THUGGING" WORSE THAN "T.I." AT A B.E.T. AWARDS SHOW?! Again I digress...GOLF CLAPS! Let’s show the Katie Blackburn crew that the rabid fans of Southwest Ohio are no longer "fanatical" about a team that doesn't win, doesn't uphold player conduct policy and tries to enforce conduct on frustrated people that spend their hard earned money on a substandard product. Give us a team that really competes, or give us a "RUBBER" section so we can bounce off the walls and each other so aggression can be exhausted. Give us something!