June 16, 2004

Hooligans I

When I was getting ready to go to the Twins/Yankees playoff game in the Bronx last October, I was debating whether or not to wear any Twins stuff to the Stadium. I was leaning against it but my then-co-workers demurred, especially two British guys who kept pointing out that nothing the Yankee fans could do would be nearly as bad as what they had regularly experienced at the hands of soccer hooligans.

I had that in mind when I read this month’s Vanity Fair cover story about David Beckham. The story, by Steven Daly got into the various rituals in Spanish soccer, where Beckham currently plays for Real Madrid. To wit:

"In 2002, Real’s Luis Figo, a former Barcelona star returning to the city for the first time, was greeted with a shower of objects that included a full bottle of whiskey and the head of a suckling pig."
What’s the point of Shea Stadium fans throwing beers at John Rocker, when they could have been tossing whole bottles of hard liquor? Rocker might have even stopped to drink it. Then there’s the signage:
"After Real suffered its first home defeat of the season, 3-0 to a middling Osasuna club, fans showed up at a training session with a banner that read, FOR YOU, WHORES AND MONEY. FOR US, INDIGNATION AND REPRESSION."
Wow, that’s wordy. Too bad the wittiest sign American fans can come up with is “JETER SUCKS.” Posted by Stephen Silver at June 16, 2004 12:10 AM
Comments

That sign is great! I think I'm going to wave that the next time I see Roger Clemens play. Or, more likely, JD Drew.

Posted by: LilB at June 16, 2004 04:49 PM
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