During last Friday's competition, we had several members of our group
escorted from the meet by the local police for standing when the
distance runners ran by our section. Mark Schilling was taken by 5
police officers from the stadium. Joe Fabris, Jim Howarth, Bryan Tracy
and Jeff Shaver were taken from the area as well. Joe actually said he
viewed it as being voted off the island. Dave Frank was pulled from his
seat for a "talk". When asked by Dave why he was being taken from the
meet even though he was in a seat he paid for, the police officer
responded "your yelling and screaming does not help the athletes
perform". How do you argue with that?
Joe
Ed & Dana Parrot wrote:
>
> > If you stand up to get a better view because the guy in front of you has
> > stood up, it would be better if everyone remained seated. In Europe we are
> > usually able to remain sitting, no matter how exciting the events are.
> > Perhaps we are just too conservative.
> > Do you also stand up at home when watching the finish of an exciting
> > race on TV? Just wondered.
>
> Occasionally I do, but the events do not seem as exciting on TV as they do
> in person. And most of the things that excited me (and the rest of the
> crowd) in Sacramento we do not get to see on TV anyway.
>
> If the majority of track fans and meet organizers want to keep people
> seated, then obviously I'll have to live with it or not go to track meets.
> But if we want to attract the U.S. sports fan, this will have a negative
> impact.
>
> It's not really that big a deal - I understand that every sport has its own
> etiquette. It's probably just because I come from a culture where standing
> and screaming at a sporting event is the highest form of appreciation.
>
> - Ed Parrot
> [EMAIL PROTECTED]
