The controversy surrounding Philadelphia Eagles fan Ryan Caldwell for berating a female Packers fan during a game is just the latest incident of outrageously unruly fan behavior in sports.
Other deranged fans have engaged in physical altercations with athletes, and one incident even resulted in the stabbing of an athlete.
Pak Gazette Digital chronicles the five most infamous fan moments in sports history.
5. Cubs fan sabotages his own team and spreads the most infamous curse in MLB history
During Game 6 of the 2003 National League Division One against the then-Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman reached out and grabbed a ball that could have been caught.
At the time, Chicago held a 3-0 lead and could have clinched a trip to the World Series with a win. Bartman interfered with a foul ball hit by Marlins batter Luis Castillo, which Cubs outfielder Moisés Alou was trying to catch for an out. But by catching the ball out of the air before Alou could catch it, Bartman cost his own team a chance to get a precious start. It would have been the second out of the inning.
But instead, the next pitch to Castillo was wild and the Cubs defense suffered a collapse that resulted in eight runs. Then the Cubs lost the series in Game 7, and the franchise’s nearly century-long World Series title drought was extended. The Bartman incident became an infamous moment in what is considered one of the great curses in sports history.
The franchise’s lack of championships from 1909 to 2016 was associated with the superstition known as “The Curse of the Goat”, which stems from a 1945 incident when a fan was denied entry to a game because he had a goat with him. .
Bartman’s actions were not based on malice, but the consequences, aftermath, and footage of him in that game are what made the incident so infamous.
Details of Bartman’s personal life became public and he actively avoided any public attention for years after the incident. He turned down multiple interview offers and opportunities to appear in documentaries.
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4. An Eagles fan fires a flare gun at other spectators during the game, sparking a rash of fistfights and arson charges.
Caldwell is far from the first Eagles fan to exhibit questionable behavior at a game.
In 1997, during a Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers, a mischievous Eagles fan fired a flare gun into stands full of other fans, endangering several lives.
After the flare was fired, multiple fistfights broke out around the stadium, as most of the violence was directed at 49ers fans by Eagles fans.
“There were a large number of fights and acts of intimidation, many of them directed at fans wearing 49ers jerseys,” the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote at the time.
After the game, Eagles owner Jeffrie Lurie was forced to condemn his own fans.
“While we feel we have made significant progress in recent years regarding fan conduct at Veterans Stadium, what we witnessed last Monday was certainly a step backwards,” Lurie told reporters at the time. .
The franchise’s former home, Veterans Stadium, had a judicial court and cells to deal with fans who broke the law.
3. Ron Artest fights with Detroit Pistons fans in an incident called ‘Malice in the Palace’
A 2004 game between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers became one of the ugliest moments in NBA history when a player began attacking fans.
There were just seconds left in the game when the fight began, but conditions became so hostile that the game never ended.
The entire confrontation started with a foul. After the players began fighting on the court, it wasn’t long before the fight escalated into the stands as spectators began throwing drinks and trash at the players. Pacers forward Ron Artest was at the center of the chaos when images of him punching Detroit fans with his fists became a disturbing staple of NBA lore.
As the Pacers returned to the locker room, they had to cover their heads to protect themselves from the liquid and trash being thrown at them.
Several fans were banned for life from Pistons games due to the incident. Nine players were suspended without pay for a total of 146 games, according to the source. All five players were charged with assault.
EAGLES FAN WHO SCORED WOMEN PACKERS FAN TALKS AFTER LOSING JOB AS FANS CELEBRATE HER FIRE
2. The Cleveland Indians sell beers for $0.10 each, leading to a violent drunk mob
A drunk fan is helped off the field after suffering a minor injury during a game between the Texas Rangers and the Cleveland Indians on June 4, 1974 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. (Paul Tepley Collection/Diamond Images/Getty Images)
In 1974, the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians) held an event now known as “10 Cent Beer Night.” The team sold beers for $0.10 each for a game against the Texas Rangers on
The promotion drew a crowd of 25,134 fans to Cleveland Stadium, and many of those fans ended up on the field in a riot in the ninth inning.
After eight previous innings in which drunk fans set off firecrackers and ran naked across the field, a Cleveland comeback that tied the game in the final inning unleashed chaos. After the game was tied, a fan ran onto the field to try to steal the cap from Rangers player Jeff Burroughs’ head.
In response, Texas manager Billy Martin and his players ran onto the field to protect Burroughs, but that only caused more drunk Cleveland fans to get involved. A horde of attendees armed with knives, chains and clubs made from pieces of seats pounced on the Texas players.
Some fans even threw steel folding chairs at players, and Cleveland relief pitcher Tom Hilgendorf was hit in the head by one.
Cleveland Indians pitcher Tom Hilgendorf is helped off the field after suffering a minor injury during a game against the Texas Rangers on June 4, 1974 at Cleveland Municipal Stadium. (Paul Tepley Collection/Diamond Images/Getty Images)
The Cleveland players brandished their bats to help defend the Texas players from their own drunken fans.
The teams fled the field through the dugouts in groups and then locked themselves in their clubhouses. But unrest in the countryside continued for at least another 20 minutes as police and security tried to subdue the rioters. Only nine fans ended up being arrested.
The head referee, Néstor Chylak, finally declared that Cleveland had lost the game, giving the victory to Texas.
1. Women’s tennis star Monica Seles stabbed by rival fan after big win
Yugoslavian women’s tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed by a fan of one of her biggest rivals at the 1993 Citizens Cup in Hamburg, Germany. (Norbert Schmidt/Sports Illustrated via Getty Images)
Yugoslavian women’s tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed by a fan of one of her biggest rivals at the 1993 Citizens Cup in Hamburg, Germany.
During a break after winning a match in the quarterfinal match against Magdalena Maleeva, who was world No. 1 at the time, a fan of German player Steffi Graf ran onto the court and stabbed Seles in the back. while she was sitting on the court.
The man’s name was Günter Parche, and police determined that he intended to hurt Seles so Graf could regain the number one spot. Parche was ultimately sentenced to two years of probation and psychological treatment.
Daily News front page of May 1, 1993 (And Daily News Archive via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, Seles was rushed to the hospital and her injuries took several weeks to heal. However, it would be two years before he returned to tennis. He also vowed not to play in Germany again because Parche received a minimal punishment.
“What people seem to be forgetting is that this man intentionally stabbed me and received no punishment for it… I wouldn’t feel comfortable going back. I don’t foresee that happening,” she told the newspaper. BBC.
