04/23/24
November 24, 2004
Follow the bouncing brawl: John Saunders and other ESPN studio analysts are apologizing for their immediate reaction to Friday's Pistons-Pacers fracas. "It was like I was there, and it was happening to me," said John Saunders, reminded of being pelted by debris as a hockey player.
posted by rcade to basketball at 08:03 AM - 10 comments
John Saunders played hockey in Canada? huh.
posted by garfield at 08:41 AM on November 24, 2004
broader perspective vs. instant-opinion culture Its a shame and a testament that this contrast is drawn only in relation to a sporting-event riot.
posted by garfield at 09:12 AM on November 24, 2004
Yeah well, benefit of the doubt - when you're in the middle of the fracas and hells all breaking loose, perspective is not yours to wield. That slow fan is probably the best off. Great story to tell the kids and a fat out of court settlement to sooth a bruised ego.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 10:43 AM on November 24, 2004
It pays to be stupid.
posted by chicobangs at 10:48 AM on November 24, 2004
Hey 86 that was nice especially the NBC microphone on the floor . . . Talking about abstract art, well this is an example well done.
posted by LROD at 11:23 AM on November 24, 2004
Arcade just wait for the ABA wanna b's to see this threard
posted by LROD at 11:31 AM on November 24, 2004
This just arrived in an email from a friend. Nice. Brilliant!
posted by lil_brown_bat at 12:20 PM on November 24, 2004
My god ... I want a signed print of that! Amazing!
posted by wfrazerjr at 11:06 PM on November 24, 2004
Beyond the arguments over where to assess blame, I think it's interesting to see the gut-level responses in the sports world that also played out here on SportsFilter. My response was largely a reaction to Saunders and the other in-studio analysts who bent over backwards to defend the players who charged into the stands, a viewpoint I regarded as patently ridiculous. From their perspective, these jocks and professional jock sniffers know what it's like to be the recipient of fan abuse. They know that in an arena like that, they'd be extremely vulnerable if a riot broke out. Charles Barkley said it's like being an animal in a zoo. So they saw the footage and reacted to Artest and the other players being surrounded by angry, out-of-control fans. From mine, as a fan who has never thrown things or abusively heckled a player, I saw athletes turning a dicey-but-normal on-court fight into a riot. The people I identified with were the shellshocked father, sitting afterwards with his daughter in utter disbelief, and the slow fan who was assaulted by Artest for having the misfortune of standing next to the beer tosser.