Predators Fans Finally Reap What They Sow
Adam J Locascio
Wednesday November 1, 2006
A firestorm of controversy has erupted in the town of Orlando, but it did not start with the AFL. The skirmish came to light after a fan named Hooman Hamzehloui was thrown out of an Orlando Magic NBA game for calling Houston Rockets center Dikembe Mutombo a "monkey." Mutombo is an African-American.
Hamzehloui was subsequently banned for the season from attending NBA games for his actions. He has said he "won’t be coming back to the NBA anymore."
In response to Hamzehloui’s predicament, Orlando Sentinel columnist Jamele Hill wrote an opinion article about the ordeal in which she closed the column with the statement, "If that’s his attitude, he won’t be missed. He would make a great Predators fan."
The reaction out of Orlando was deafening. Immediately, Predators fans e-mail-bombed the Sentinel editors with angry letters denouncing Hill’s statement.
"All Predator fans are racist? How could she say that! Fire her! Throw her out in the street! Write to the editor! Get the torches!"
The backlash forced Hill to print a clarification of her article in Monday’s edition of the paper. The clarification basically uses logical reasoning to further explain her position in which she states that she certainly does not believe all Predators fans are racists.
My question is why are Predators fans so surprised? Further, why is anyone surprised?
These are the same fans that pass blow-up sex dolls around the stands; the same fans who, during a fight in the stands, a woman was thrown over the rail and onto the field; the same fans who have a 5-year old wearing a t-shirt in the stands with a giant middle finger on it and a slogan that says, "F*** TAMPA."
And it goes beyond the fans. The Predators marketing department has been fined by the AFL for their overtly sexual marketing campaigns in a league that has bent over backwards to be an affordable, family-oriented product.
They say "a few bad apples, spoil the bunch." Well, what about 4,000?
Point being, is anyone completely shocked that this slippery slope of anti-social behavior has led to alleged racism? Predators fans are shocked and chagrined by the (gasp!) explosive and diminutive accusations of racism and that’s flat-out ridiculous. Predators fans have reveled in – even embraced- their brash, destructive, hostile behavior since the dawn of the franchise.
Well, it seems like the national media has latched on to the stereotype, and now they’re angry and offended. Let’s be honest, Predators fans, you reap what you sow. Your track record is pretty God-awful.
It would be different if the Predators organization and their fans went out of their way to curb, or even attempt to curb, their offensive behavior. If sex dolls were popped and fans were removed on a regular basis, maybe the Predators fans would have a leg to stand on. Maybe if a Predators fan was thrown out of the arena for using swear words in front of children and season tickets were revoked, would we have some sympathy for Orlando’s fans.
But this doesn’t happen. If anything, it’s encouraged.
Opposing fans are taunted, heckled, and in some instances attacked (that’s right, attacked. I’ve seen it happen with my own two eyes) when they come to Orlando for a game. And don’t throw around the euphemisms like "proud," "loud," and "passionate" to mask the discontent for the opposition. It’s an insult to anyone’s intelligence.
And now the frightening and scary Predators organization and their fans are holding their hands up with this pathetic, "Who? US?" glove-don’t-fit defense. Hey, tough luck, Predators fans. A reputation, justly or unjustly earned, is a hard thing to shed. Just ask Terrell Owens.
Was Hill calling "all" Predators fans a bunch of cross-burning Klansmen in her article? No, absolutely not. But because of the past indiscretions that have occurred in the stands in Orlando, Predators fans have no right to act horrified when their name starts showing up in the same breath as some rather nasty terms.
Maybe Predators fans aren’t as tough and scary as we thought.
Adam J. Locascio is a financial advisor in the Tampa Bay area and a Board Member of the Tampa Bay Storm Surge Fan Club. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Phoenix and is a six-year season ticket holder for the Tampa Bay Storm.
