Posted on 01/24/2002 7:36:46 AM PST by DaveyLittle
Md. official unhappy with Steelers fans Legislator calls game, visit to city 'frightening'
Thursday, January 24, 2002
By Jan Ackerman, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
It's unlikely that a high-ranking Maryland legislator will be touting Pittsburgh as a great place to visit anytime soon.
In fact, Thomas E. Dewberry, speaker pro tem of the Maryland House of Delegates, vows to never set foot in Steelers land again, not after the way he and his 16-year-old son were treated at Sunday's playoff game between Pittsburgh and the Baltimore Ravens.
"No experience in the world could have ever prepared my son and I for the horrific treatment we received from an overwhelming number of football fans in your city," an irritated Dewberry, who represents Baltimore County, wrote in a letter, on House of Delegates stationery, to Mayor Tom Murphy this week.
"Shortly after disembarking from our car, the so-called fans began harassing, embarrassing, abusing and intimidating us. ... They used disgusting and vile language that would have made even the most hardened sailor blush (or gag)," wrote Dewberry, who also faxed the letter to Steelers President Dan Rooney, NFL Commissioner Paul Tagliabue, and the editors of newspapers in Pittsburgh and Baltimore.
Such rowdy behavior was news to Nathan Harper, assistant chief of operations for the Pittsburgh police. He said fan behavior at Sunday's game was good, "a little bit milder than say, the Cleveland game."
"There were no arrests. The crowd went in orderly and went out orderly," said Harper, who had plainclothes officers stationed around Heinz Field and uniformed police on bridges and around town.
Steelers spokesman Ron Wahl termed Dewberry's experience "an isolated incident. We were told by all law enforcement officials that the fans were on excellent behavior."
After the Steelers beat the Ravens at Baltimore's PSINet Stadium last month, Wahl said, "We got several letters complimenting how well behaved our fans were."
And that was after Ravens' defensive lineman Tony Siragusa had challenged Steelers fans to follow him into the bathroom after the game.
Dewberry said Siragusa was only joking. But he doesn't agree with Wahl's assessment of Pittsburgh fans.
"People were getting into our faces, staring at us, provoking us," said Dewberry. "My son was absolutely frightened. It was a hopeless feeling to see fear in his face and know that I could do nothing about it."
Dewberry said he had been to playoff games in Baltimore and regular-season games in Washington, D.C., and Tampa, Fla., and had never seen such poor behavior.
Dewberry said in a telephone interview that he and his son, Steven, drove to Pittsburgh Saturday with William H. Cole IV, a legislator from Baltimore City, and Cole's father, William Cole Jr., and stayed at a hotel in Monroeville. After breakfast, they drove into the city, parked Downtown and walked across the Roberto Clemente Bridge to the stadium.
Wearing purple Ravens jackets, Dewberry and his party were harassed during their walk to Heinz Field, inside the stadium and on the return trip, "even after your team had pummeled the Ravens."
Harper said Dewberry should have reported the harassment to police.
Dewberry said he didn't see any police.
Driving back to Baltimore, Dewberry said he commiserated with other Ravens fans at a fast-food place in Breezewood.
"Everyone was exchanging stories of the same nature: How frightening the whole experience was," he said.
Murphy is at the Conference of Mayors in Washington, D.C.,, but his spokesman, Craig Kwiecinski, said, "Pittsburgh is a wonderful and friendly city, and we hope he will consider returning in the future to enjoy Pittsburgh's true hospitality."
Dewberry said he wasn't looking for an apology. He said he wanted to tell Murphy, as one politician to another, that the NFL playoffs are "a time and opportunity when the whole country is focusing on your city."
"I know, in elected office, how hard we work to put a positive face on our community. I just wanted him to know that he somehow has to get across to some of these football fans that it was totally inappropriate behavior."
A friendly hello?
I love the Cop's statement,
He said fan behavior at Sunday's game was good, "a little bit milder than say, the Cleveland game."
Then he wasn't paying attention.
Let's face it, some cities are known for their rowdy fans. Good thing Dewberry didn't go to a hockey game. Coming out of what was then the Capital Center in Maryland, my wife and I were verbally attacked by a woman who said my wife hit her car (she did not). This woman threw every foul word in the book at us (right in front of the 5 and 6 year old kids in the back of her car).
Fans get carried away. It ain't pretty. But being shocked by it is a little naive.
It could have been worse. You and your son could have run into Ray Lewis
and his pals outside a nightclub after the game.
I went to the Ravens preseason game in Balt against GB when Balt was playing in Memorial. Those fans were horrible, yelling about Favre and his vicodin problem. Well, we won the whole enchilada that year, so I can't be too upset.
Don't ever go to a Philly game unarmed.
DC
I believe it says more about this man, Dewberry, that he "feared for his safety", when the fact is he readily admits no harm came to him or his son. I've been an Oriole fan in Cleveland during the playoffs, a Raven fan in Pittsburgh, and even endured a Bengals/Browns game as a young man years ago. Fans are fans, but it is a rare day when they actually harm you. Dewberry would probably fear for his life in a crab house in Elkton.
This guys a wimp. And he doesn't know sports etiquette. If you're going into a stadium wearing opposing colors in a group smaller than 20 you are effectively asking the fans to harrass you. One of the best ways to keep tensions low is to buy the ring leader a beer, this shows that you know we're all sports fans at heart. And if you don't want to get harrassed at all don't wear colors; it's generally assumed that anybody in the stands wearing no colors is chearing for the visiting team, but they don't want to deal with the guff so they're usually left alone. And when going to someplace like Pitt or Philly never forget that you're entering a blue collar town: this means the people a little larger than you're used to, drink more and swear a lot; it also means they're basically good folks and the backbone of our nation... you do own something made out of steel don't you?
As it should be. ;-)
In the immortal words of Hank Hill, I don't know whether to laugh or vomit.
Considering that the Ravens are actually the ex-Cleveland Browns, this is not surprising at all.
Pittsburgher's have no love for the Cleveland Browns, but even Brown's fans didn't deserve the way Art Modell snaked his way to Baltimore.
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