Please let me clarify. My original post has nothing to do with common courtesy at track meets like standing at inappropriate times. The issue is that people who wanted to stand and cheer during an exciting race or whenever they wanted to show appreciation to an athlete were told by security to sit or be ejected. This is not a policy at ANY sporting event I've attended other than the US Olympic Trials and it is completely ridiculous.
-Ray -----Original Message----- From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of Marko Velikonja Sent: Sunday, August 08, 2004 1:15 PM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: t-and-f: Mistreatment of Fans at Olympic Trials I'll make the same point I did when this debate raged after the 2000 Trials (note that I didn't attend either one): "Down in Front" is not a term unique to track and field spectators. I don't attend many baseball, basketball or football games, so I can't say for sure, but I'm sure spectators there would be annoyed by people who stand the entire game. I do recall a Women's World Cup match in 1999 where an obnoxious young man was standing in the front row, and it didn't go over very well with the spectators behind him. This seems like a matter of simple courtesy; if you're sitting toward the front, you should realize you're blocking the view of those behind you and refrain from standing unless you see the people behind you doing so. If you know you want to stand and cheer the whole time, get a seat in the back row. Granted, at most track meets this really isn't such a problem. Perhaps its unfortunate this debate turns up only every four years. Marko Velikonja __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? New and Improved Yahoo! Mail - Send 10MB messages! http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail
