The controversy surrounding Philadelphia Eagles fan Ryan Caldwell for taunting a female Packers fan during a game is just the latest incident of outrageously unruly fan behavior in sports.
Other deranged fans have engaged in physical altercations with athletes, with one incident even resulting in the stabbing of an athlete.
Pakinomist Digital talks about the five most infamous fan moments in sports history.
5. Cubs Fan Sabotages His Own Team, Extends Most Infamous Curse In MLB History
During Game 6 of the 2003 National League Division vs. the then-Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman reached out and grabbed a ball that might have been caught.
At the time, Chicago had a 3-0 lead and could have clinched a trip to the World Series with a win. Bartman interfered with a foul ball hit by Marlins hitter Luis Castillo that Cubs outfielder Moisés Alou was trying to catch. But by grabbing the ball out of the air before Alou could catch it, Bartman cost his own team a chance at a precious out. That would have been the second out of the inning.
But instead, the very next pitch to Castillo was wild, and the Cubs defense suffered a breakdown that resulted in eight runs. The Cubs then lost the series in Game 7, extending the franchise’s nearly century-long World Series drought. Bartman’s incident became an infamous moment in what is considered one of the great curses in sports history.
The franchise’s lack of championships from 1909 up to 2016 was linked to the superstition known as “The Curse of the Billy Goat”, which originated from an incident in 1945 in which a fan was denied entry to a game because he had a goat with him.
Bartman’s actions were not rooted in malice, but the consequences, aftermath and images of him at that game are what have made the incident so infamous.
Details of Bartman’s personal life were made public, and he actively avoided public attention for years after the incident. He turned down several offers for interviews and opportunities to appear in documentaries.
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4. Eagles fan fires flare gun at other spectators during game, igniting flurry of fisticuffs and arson accusations
Caldwell is far from the first Eagles fan to exhibit questionable behavior at a game.
In 1997, during a Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers, a mischievous Eagles fan fired a flare gun into the stands filled with other fans, endangering several lives.
After the flare was shot, several fistfights broke out around the stadium, with most of the violence directed at 49ers fans by Eagles fans.
“There was a large number of fights and intimidation, many directed at fans wearing 49ers jerseys,” the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote at the time.
After the game, Eagles owner Jeffrie Lurie was forced to denounce his own fans.
“Despite the fact that we feel we’ve made significant progress in recent years in terms of fan behavior at Veterans Stadium, what we saw last Monday was undoubtedly a step backwards,” Lurie told reporters at the time.
The franchise’s former home, Veterans Stadium, had an on-site court and jail cells to deal with delinquent fans.
3. Ron Artest fights Detroit Pistons fans in incident called ‘Malice at the Palace’
A 2004 game between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers turned into one of the ugliest moments in NBA history when a player began attacking fans.
There were only seconds left in the match when the match began, but conditions became so hostile that the match was never finished.
The matches all started with a mistake. After the players started fighting on the pitch, it wasn’t long before the fight escalated into the stands as spectators started throwing drinks and rubbish at the players. Pacers forward Ron Artest was at the center of the chaos as images of him swinging his fists at Detroit fans became a disturbing part of NBA history.
When the Pacers got back to the locker room, they had to cover their heads to protect themselves from the liquid and debris thrown their way.
Several fans were banned from Pistons games for life because of the incident. According to the source, nine players were suspended without pay for a total of 146 games. The five players were charged with violence.
EAGLES FAN WHO ADVISED FEMALE PACKERS FAN SPEAKS OUT AFTER LOSING JOB AS FANS JOY HIS FIRING
2. The Cleveland Indians sell beer for $0.10 each and give way to a violent drunken crowd
An intoxicated fan is helped off the field after suffering a minor injury during a game between the Texas Rangers and the Cleveland Indians on June 4, 1974 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. (Paul Tepley Collection/Diamond Images/Getty Images)
In 1974, the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians) held an event known only now as “10-Cent Beer Night”. The team sold beer for $0.10 each for a game against the Texas Rangers that day
The campaign drew a crowd of 25,134 fans to Cleveland Stadium, and many of those fans ended up on the field in a ninth-inning riot.
After eight previous innings in which drunken fans set off fireworks and swiped naked across the field, a game-tying rally by Cleveland in the final inning sparked chaos. After the game was tied, a fan ran onto the field to try and steal Rangers player Jeff Burroughs’ cap right off his head.
In response, Texas manager Billy Martin and his players ran onto the field to protect Burroughs, but that only got more drunk Cleveland fans involved. A horde of attendees armed with knives, chains and clubs made from torn pieces of seats rushed the Texas players.
Some fans even threw steel folding chairs at the players, and Cleveland relief pitcher Tom Hilgendorf was hit in the head by one.
Pitcher Tom Hilgendorf of the Cleveland Indians is helped off the field after suffering a minor injury during a game against the Texas Rangers on June 4, 1974 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. (Paul Tepley Collection/Diamond Images/Getty Images)
The Cleveland players used their bats to help defend the Texas players from their own drunken fans.
The teams fled the field through the dugouts in groups and then locked themselves inside their clubhouses. But the rioting on the pitch continued for at least another 20 minutes as police and security tried to quell the rioting. Only nine fans ended up being arrested.
Head referee Nestor Chylak eventually ruled the game a foreclosure by Cleveland, giving Texas the win.
1. Women’s tennis star Monica Seles stabbed by rival’s fan after big win
Yugoslavian women’s tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed by a fan of one of her biggest rivals at the 1993 Citizen Cup in Hamburg, Germany. (Norbert Schmidt/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Yugoslavian women’s tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed by a fan of one of her biggest rivals at the 1993 Citizen Cup in Hamburg, Germany.
During a break after winning a game in the quarter-final match against then world No. 1 Magdalena Maleeva, a fan of German player Steffi Graf ran onto the court and stabbed Seles in the back as she sat courtside.
The man’s name was Günter Parche, and the police determined that he intended to injure Seles so that Graf could regain the No. 1. Parche was eventually sentenced to two years of probation and psychological treatment.
Front page of the Daily News from May 1, 1993 (Y Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Seles, meanwhile, was rushed to the hospital and required several weeks for her injuries to heal. However, it would be two years before she returned to tennis. She also vowed never to play in Germany again due to the fact that Parche received minimal punishment.
“What people seem to forget is that this man stabbed me on purpose and he didn’t serve any kind of sentence for it. . . . I wouldn’t feel comfortable going back. I don’t foresee that happen,” she said. BBC.
