david@fisher.UUCP (David Rubin) (05/20/85)
Some time ago, I read that the bleachers at Tiger stadium had been
closed by management, as the denizens had taken to screaming
obscenities in unison during games. Could some Tiger fan tell me
whether the bleachers have been reopened, and how the problem was
resolved (or is hoped to be resolved)?
David Rubin
{allegra|astrovax|princeton}!fisher!davidmlt@mb2c.UUCP (Mark L. Tompkins) (05/21/85)
/* */ > Some time ago, I read that the bleachers at Tiger Stadium had been > closed by management... As of this posting (5/21), the bleachers at Tiger Stadium are still closed. Tiger president Jim Campbell has publicly stated that he has no intentions of re-opening the bleachers anytime soon. With the crowds the Tigers have been drawing ( around 30,000 per ), Mr. Campbell seems willing to sacrifice the revenue generated by the bleachers ( about 3,000-4,000 fans per game X 3.50 per ticket ) in order to eliminate the problem. The bleachers have been closed since May 12, which was the only game affected so far - the team is currently on a West Coast road trip, and will not be back in town until May 31, I believe. In the meantime, there are groups working to get the bleachers re-opened; WRIF-FM is asking its listeners to send a postcard to the station with "We're Sorry" written on the back, along with their signa- ture. They have read some on the air, and most people seem very sincere. The station planns on taking these cards to Mr. Campbell's office before the Tigers return home. So far, they have received about 3,000 responses. This whole issue raises a question - are sports fans getting more out of hand than in the past? There seems to be a lot more publicity recently (eg. the "riot" after the World Series). My opinions follow. As far as Tiger Stadium is concerned, I do not blame management at all. The fans in the bleachers have been notoriously rowdy for years, and this year seems worse than ever. Anyone who would throw bottles onto the play- ing field is obviously not there to watch the game. Other dumb things they have done include tossing beach balls on the field, delaying the game, and chanting obscenities (usually the "B.S." chant to protest a bad call, but a variation on the Lite Beer "Less filling-Tastes great" is what got them shut down). Right now, I am listening to WRIF, and they are playing a hilarious spoof of the Paul McCartney hit "Uncle Albert" called "We're So Sorry, Mr. Camp- bell", sung by a DJ who impersonates Tiger broadcasters George Kell and Al Kaline. Great stuff!! I also just heard that the team will be in town on May 29, and so far the station has only collected 100 responses from its listeners. One final point: they only serve LA beer at Tiger Stadium now (1.90 for an 8 oz. glass!!); this is encouraging fans to sneak in booze, and hence the bottle throwing. Catch-22. Mark Tompkins MBT Co. epsilon!mb2c!mlt