Is This What It Has Come To?

Ben Margot/AP

Welcome one, welcome all to another rousing edition of Tha Weatha Report. Today, we will address the recent violence that occurred during the San Fransisco 49ers vs Oakland Raiders game. I'll vent my thoughts and suggest some ways to prevent travesties such as this event from occurring again. A lot has transpired in the world of sports since we last sat down and talked, so let's jump straight into the Hail Storm!

Hail Storm

1. Pat Summitt is one of my favorite sports personalities ever. She is a helluva coach, and is the one female coach that I always thought could coach a NBA team and be successful. Prayers and thoughts go out to her and her family and I'm sure she will fight her recent diagnosis of dementia head on. Don't bet against her, she usually comes out on top. 

2. Seems like the Miami Hurricanes need to clean up shop really quickly. I don't know if the NCAA is going to come down hard on them, but the potential is there for that program to be crippled for a long time. 

Pathetic Lack of Common Sense

So, fans of San Fransisco teams are displaying their complete ignorance. Not all fans mind you, I'm a 49ers fan myself. I've been a die hard San Fran fan for as long as I can remember. I can fondly think back to watching the twilight years of Joe Montana, watching Jerry Rice and John Taylor terrorize secondaries, Tom Rathman, Roger Craig, and Ken Norton Jr. Anybody that knows me knows that I'm a glutton for punishment because I have never abandoned my team. See, that's what makes a fan....a fan. Someone who will side with their team through thick and thin. Through the good and the bad. You see, being a fan is like a marriage. You are committed. A true fan takes an internal vow to support their teams no matter how dumb their decision making is or how much a transaction is disliked. That is what makes a true fan a fan. 

However, there are always a few idiots (make no bones about it, because that is exactly what these thugs are) who take being a "fan" to a totally different and negative level. I'm not sure when being a "fan" consisted of shooting or beating people into unconsciousness, I must have missed that email or team meeting. Let's get one thing clear and straight: Being a man or even a fan does not mean that you can beat up a person who likes or supports a team that is your team's rivals. Being a man and fan means that you can appreciate someone's opposing point of view and respect that person's opinion. Is it any wonder why people are choosing to stay home and enjoy baseball, basketball, and football games from the comfort of their own couches, homes, and HD televisions? Would you go to a stadium if you couldn't even take your children? Or if you feared being shot, stabbed, or pummeled because you happen to be a fan of the visiting team? Or home team even?

The thugs that engage in this activity need to be caught, arrested, and locked away. There is no excuse, no viable reason to buy a $70 ticket to a preseason game and leave with bullets piercing your organs and on a stretcher or laid out in a bathroom because idiots decided to jump you in the bathroom to send a message. What message are they sending? The message that we, as true fans, receive is that these thugs are cowards and are willing to give all fans a bad name because they don't have the common sense to realize that it is just a game. A GAME! At the end of the day, we are all human beings. All apart of the human race. We all have the same blood, sweat, and tears inside of us. We are all someone's brother, sister, father, mother, cousin, uncle, and aunts. We should be able to go and enjoy a game in peace and return to our homes in the same conditions that we left. 

So, how do we fix this issue? The owner of the 49ers, Jed York, is going to recommend suspending the 49ers vs Raiders annual preseason game. In my opinion the thugs win in that scenario. Maybe it will do some good to suspend it for a year or two. However, more security is needed. Better alcohol distribution is needed. Let's not keep feeding individuals with alcohol during the game. Let's police these individuals while their tailgating. Have plenty of security patrolling the parking lots before the game to ensure that fans are not out of hand. Have plenty of security cameras in the parking lots to hopefully deter thuggish activities. Increase the police presence inside of the stadium before, during, and after games. Don't tell me that it will cost money to accomplish all of this, all NFL teams are bringing in millions upon millions of dollars. They can afford to spend a little change to ensure the safety of their fans. After all, the fans are the ones who enable those teams to make their money in the first place. 

What do I know though? I'm just a concerned fan. However, I'm not just a fan I am a man. I am a human being. Someone who values human life. Someone who realizes that while I am a passionate fan, that it is just a game. At the end of the day we all go home to our families and resume our lives. It is NOT a life or death situation. We, as a race...the human race, needs to wake up. We need to start valuing not just other's lives, but our own lives as well. A 3 hour game is not enough to throw your life away. Someone saying that your team sucks is not enough to take another human's life. In essence, we need common sense to prevail. That right there, is the greatest team that we all can put our support behind. 

End of the Storm

  Thank you for taking the time to read this edition of Tha Weatha Report. Stay tuned because the rest of this week will be devoted to previewing each division in the NFL. Who I pick to win each division might surprise you. Remember to pass the word along and to go to Facebook and "like" the page "Tha Weatha Report". All support is appreciated and will never be forgotten. Until next time, stay blessed, keep living life, and keep enjoying sports!