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Is Angel Stadium turning into Dodgertown?

2 violent episodes raise questions about safety at Angel Stadium

After two violent incidents at Angel Stadium this season, one in which a man died while in a fight, and now an off-duty cop shot two people who were allegedly attacking him with bottles, there is a growing perception that the slimebag criminal and thug element that infests Dodger Stadium like a cancer is spreading to games in Anaheim.

Is this true?

Too soon to tell, and probably not. The fight that occurred earlier this season where a man died, was not between fans of different teams. It was, "Angel on Angel" violence so to speak, and the death was a freak accident that was not intended. The man hit his head on the concrete and died as a result. He was not stabbed nor shot, and while being punched in the face doesn't make things better, it's not quite the same thing.

The incident that occurred on Wednesday night is tragic, but still unclear as to what was going on. It is not believed to be a matter of Rockies fans attacking an Angels fan or vice versa. But what exactly happened, we only have the cop's version of. His story is that he was being attacked by two men with bottles, and he shot them to protect himself and his family. Both men are in the hospital, so it should be interesting to see what their side of the story is.

But these are extremely isolated incidents.

Violent events are not isolated at Dodger Stadium, and it is well-known that if you go to Dodger games rooting for the opposition, you are taking your safety into your own hands. Especially if you're a Giants fan.

America saw what kind of fans the Lakers had the night the team won the NBA Championship as they rioted and destroyed downtown Los Angeles. If you saw footage from the victory parade at the Los Angeles Coliseum 3 days later, you could see a lot of those same "people," just better-behaved due to the overwhelming police presence and "zero tolerance" criminal behavior policy they had in effect for the parade.

The Dodgers share that same element of fans and if they ever won the World Series, Los Angeles would be decimated.

The Angels do not typically attract the same type of fan because most Angel fans have class. There will always be people who are the exception to that, but the organization has a well-deserved reputation for being family-friendly and having a fanbase that is primarily well-behaved. The same cannot be said for Dodger fans.

Longtime Angel fans quoted in the L.A. Times article above may fear that things are getting worse at the Stadium, but that doesn't seem to be a valid fear at this stage. Hopefully it never will become legitimate.



Post a comment Tags: baseball, mlb, nba, los angeles lakers, san francisco giants, dodger stadium, angel stadium, los angeles dodgers …

Nothing good ever comes of Lakers or Dodgers victories in Los Angeles.

UPDATED 6/15/09 12:36pm:

Videos of the rioting and other assorted criminal behavior (or just pure criminals) is making its way to YouTube:
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Face it.


Los Angeles sports fans aren't really sports fans. Some are, but most aren't. They're a criminal element. They're gang members. They're thugs and wannabe thugs. They get tattoos of the LA Dodgers logo on their bald heads, the Lakers logos on their biceps.

They don't really want World Series wins or World Championships of any sort. They want an excuse to cause trouble with 1,000 of their closest scumbag friends. A reason to join together and cause a ruckus. People who think destruction of property is cool. People who think setting fires to trees and news vans is a positive for society. People who believe that "celebrating" is causing havoc and shaking cars. People who blatantly break the law, knowing that they will get away with it. 

Back in 2000, when the area around Staples Center wasn't as built up, and the LAPD wasn't prepared, there was a ton of damage caused by people "celebrating" the Lakers' first NBA Championship since 1988. They destroyed a news van, caused over $500K in damage to local businesses, and burned several police cars and trees in the area.

The LAPD learned quickly what most sane people already knew. A sports championship was going to be an ugly excuse for violence and misbehavior for this rather large group of slime.

In the two years after where the Lakers also won NBA titles, the LAPD learned their lesson and made sure there wouldn't be the same level of problems there was in 2000. Well see, that's the trick. While the police presence around Staples Center definitely quelled the crowds those years, there was still trouble. After all, troublemakers and people incapable of behaving like humans, instead of apes on crack, are going to "celebrate" in their own fucked up ways.

Had the LAPD not stepped up their presence during those years, the amount of damage would've been unfathomable.

Now we jump ahead to 2009, the Lakers' first NBA championship since 2002, after being in the postseason every year but one (2005), and the criminal element is back. So is the LAPD, and it seems that they were still surprised by the amount of trouble they had to face this time around.

Fans set small fires in the area around Staples Center. Uprooted trees, set those on fire. Groups of "fans" tried to tip a cop car. One person took a flaming trash can and threw it at the cop car, destroying the windshield. Other groups tried to tip other cars before LAPD made them disperse, or the drivers of the vehicles driving through the war zone were able to drive away.

5 people have been arrested so far tonight and those numbers will certainly climb high as the night goes on. A bunch of police barricades were set on fire. An MTA bus has been attacked and destroyed by Laker "fans" right under the 10 freeway. Graffiti taggers. Rocks and bottles throwing. And let's be honest about the situation, a lot of these people are Mexican. How do I know this? Mexican flags being displayed proudly alongside Laker flags as they continue to destroy signposts, "Walk/Don't Walk" signs and other public property.  

The city has shut down all Metro trains into the downtown area because the piece of shit "fans" threw trash cans and other debris onto the tracks. Plus they probably didn't want their trains getting destroyed.

Local news footage has shown a Shell gas station suffering damage. There's a news report that a shoe store downtown was looted already. Must be because the bangers need new Kobe sneakers so they could pedal their stolen bikes home back to East L.A.

Just imagine had the Lakers won the finals at Staples Center? Holy shit... They'd have to call in the military.

And now the city of Los Angeles, along with the Lakers, are going to have a victory parade on Wednesday, June 17 that starts at Staples Center downtown and ends at the Los Angeles Coliseum. Who is footing the bill for this? The Lakers will be paying 50%, and so will the city. But how much money did the city spend on law enforcement just tonight? Why should the city have to pay a single dime to celebrate a basketball team whose fanbase is clearly more interested in causing trouble and violence than actually partying without hurting people? Your tax dollars at work, folks. 

Anyone in the city of Los Angeles should be outraged that their tax dollars are supporting this useless bullshit.

I may hate the New York Yankees with every fiber of my being, but when they win World Series Championships, their fans don't riot. They celebrate and party CIVILLY, and they act like they've been there before.  

Laker fans only act like they've been in jail before, which is where they should ultimately be, permanently.

7 comments Tags: basketball, nba, thugs, riots, trash, los angeles lakers, criminals, los angeles dodgers …