Poisoning the Opponent: How Far Would You Take Your Fandom?
Published by Joe Gerrity on November 19, 2009
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
After the Bears beat the Steelers on Sunday, a group of Steeler fans got into a bit of an altercation with a group of Bears fans at a local bar.
After heated words were exchanged, the group of Bears fans offered to buy drinks for the Steelers fans as a “peacemaker.” This is when things quickly got ugly.
The Bears had apparently put something in one of the drinks in an attempt to injure (we hope) a Steelers fan. Forty-six-year-old Zack Eddinger was rushed to the hospital where his heart stopped beating a total of four times.
His family was told to come immediately because the doctors didn’t think he would survive.
Originally the doctors thought that antifreeze was added to the drink because the effects were so strong.
Fortunately, Zack survived.
Anyway, this brings up a few interesting points of discussion.
How far are you willing to take your fandom?
I’ve seen people willing to paint their bodies and go shirtless for four hours in the snow and stadiums packed to watch teams with no chance at postseason glory. Tatoos and cars, devoted entirely to a certain team.
Fandom for some of us goes back generations. We root for the Bears because our dad rooted for the Bears, because his dad rooted for the Bears. For many of us, that’s all the reason we need to act like a group of rowdy, drunken frat boys every Sunday afternoon (and who can blame us?).
But to what extent would you really take things?
Say you were a Saints fan and happened to own a hotel in Miami. Now let’s assume that the Saints made it all the way to the Super Bowl and the opposing team happened to be staying in your hotel. How far would you take things in order for your team to get that elusive victory?
Would you be willing to set off the fire alarm a few times the night before? Or maybe bring in a new chef whose specialty is undercooking chicken? It wouldn’t be the first time something like this has been done.
It’s tough to say how far people will take it. You know they are willing to go to crazy lengths for things that will almost certainly have no real impact in the game (one guy dressing up shirtless out of 70,000 fans), but if their actions had real consequences would people take things much further or are they content to let things be settled on the field?
The answer undoubtedly is personal and unique, and I am interested to hear any and all opinions on this matter.
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