NFL: KC Chiefs Ban Fans from Standing At Home Games

[Tarrant220]

Fans are asked to treat Chiefs games like bowling matches - Shutdown Corner... - NFL - Yahoo! Sports

Holy shit they even set up a texting service to nark out people who are violating the rule during games.....

Spoiler Alert, click show to read:

Fans are asked to treat Chiefs games like bowling matches

By MJD

See all those fans in that picture? They are dirty, filthy people who are running afoul of Arrowhead Stadium law and should be ejected and beaten with a railroad spike.

The Kansas City Chiefs have a "Fan Code of Conduct," which is essentially a list of rules that fans have to follow when they're attending a game at Arrowhead. In theory, it's not a bad idea, as you'd like your stadium to provide a friendly atmosphere for families and people who aren't drunken hooligans.

In practice, though, it might not be such a great idea, especially if the person responsible for coming up with the rules is an 85-year-old woman who teaches the 2nd grade and regards standing up as one of the evil things that young whippersnappers often do. Seriously, standing erect is the No. 2 item on the list of things that are prohibited:

• Standing and/or obstructing the view of other fans

Not only that, Pro Football Talk points out how seated fans can anonymously tattle on their upright counterparts:

The Chiefs also have set up a text-messaging system that allows fans who might be offended by behaviors like standing to report the situation to the powers-that-be.

Awesome. I hear they're even taking the extra step and including bed pans with every seat, so no one has to get up to use the bathroom. They're going to make the beer and peanut vendors crawl through the stadium on all fours. Also, as soon as you get to your seat and sit down, an usher's going to come by and inject you with a temporary paralytic.

Maybe I'm overreacting. The anti-standing policy might only be temporary. Maybe they'll lift the ban when the Chiefs can field an offense that might actually score a touchdown every now and then and might give fans a reason to stand. Maybe this is only the policy until Brodie Croyle improved or is replaced.

Still, it seems like an asinine, joyless, and dangerous policy. If standing is banned, we can't be far away from banning yelling, too, can we? I'm all for a friendly fan experience, but I'd also rather not turn Arrowhead into the All England Lawn Tennis and Croquet Club.

Gracias, KC Chiefs Football

[Regime]

fuck this bullshit

Arrowhead is the loudest and most rowdy stadium in the NFL. This shit is a offense to all who wear red.

[kcxiv]

Like they are going to be able to ban 80,000 fans. Shit wont ever happen all they will do is laugh at this stupid rule. Its nothing really. I have searched through other Chiefs website that i frequent alot, and i dont see shit about this there.

*edit*
I see it on 1 Chiefs site, but alot of them are season ticket holders and they are just laughing it off. Some say, yeah, thats like banning tailgating at Arrowhead. lol.

[Nailius]

It was already dying down at the end of last season. Hell, a few more years of us getting our asses kicked and it'll be as relaxing as a Royals game.

[Kreugen]

They'd probably only enforce it in the cheap seats with the casual fans that think they should be treated as guests in the living room. They call it the 12th man for a reason. It's hard to get whipped into a frenzy while sitting down, and loud frantic crowd is a proven factor in winning games. Shit they even cheat and use the PA to add "crowd noise." Defenses even have their own cheerleader out on the field ffs. Football is the one sport where I really believe home field and its fans should be a major contributor.

The worst experience I've ever had a sporting event was actually a baseball game. I was stuck behind a half man, half ape. This was the hairiest and sweatiest man-beast I have ever encountered in my life. He had a PELT. And yeah, he went shirtless. And stood a lot. And knocked a foul ball fifty feet away from us by leaping into the air like a giant fucking whale monkey reaching for a hanging banana. Nice fucking catch Yeti, way to fuck up the closest I've ever been to a foul ball.

[Ham n Cheese]

+internets for yeti reference

[Akileese]

There are a few Soccer teams in England who have the same policy and they do actually enforce it well. Not defending it because i think it's fucking retarded, but it's not like this is the first case of this happening.

[Kreugen]

Haha oh wait, I get it, they only enforce this on opposing team fans that show up. In most stadiums they are expected to sit down and shut the fuck up or security will be all over them - and that's for their own safety. An opposing fan getting rowdy = a fan about to get punched.

[Hannibal]

Originally Posted by Akileese

There are a few Soccer teams in England who have the same policy and they do actually enforce it well. Not defending it because i think it's fucking retarded, but it's not like this is the first case of this happening.

After Hillsborough they abolished terraces and forced everyone to have all seater stadiums. No one is allowed to stand during EPL games. The only time people stand at Anfield is during European Cup games, everyone stands for 90 minutes in those games and the atmosphere is so much better.

Too many Day tripper/tourist fuckers for EPL games since they can plan their games in advance where as European Cup games you only have a small window to get tickets.

[Dis]

Originally Posted by Kreugen

They'd probably only enforce it in the cheap seats with the casual fans that think they should be treated as guests in the living room. They call it the 12th man for a reason. It's hard to get whipped into a frenzy while sitting down, and loud frantic crowd is a proven factor in winning games. Shit they even cheat and use the PA to add "crowd noise." Defenses even have their own cheerleader out on the field ffs. Football is the one sport where I really believe home field and its fans should be a major contributor.

The worst experience I've ever had a sporting event was actually a baseball game. I was stuck behind a half man, half ape. This was the hairiest and sweatiest man-beast I have ever encountered in my life. He had a PELT. And yeah, he went shirtless. And stood a lot. And knocked a foul ball fifty feet away from us by leaping into the air like a giant fucking whale monkey reaching for a hanging banana. Nice fucking catch Yeti, way to fuck up the closest I've ever been to a foul ball.

This is + internets, good story

[Utne^_^]

Dear god, all-seater stadiums makes me nauseous. That's just modern football when it's worst!

A real terrace isn't a place where the club should have any say about what's legal, and what isn't; it's a place where fans show off their passion, and love for their club through tifos, songs and flares. Fans rule the terraces, and that's how it should always be.

And forcing fans to sit down? That's just downright disgusting! A club is nothing without its fans, and forcing shit like this on them just isn't right.

[Akileese]

I'm amazed Baseball hasn't banned standing in 2nd and 3rd decks at stadiums yet. Haven't two people died from falls this year? Either that or eliminate the sale of alcohol to people in high decks. Both have a part.

Back to the football thing. I have a friend who lives in North London and goes to every Arsenal home game. For the big games, people always stand and sign and it's never an issue. I know they don't allow standing room areas for safety reasons, but it seems like they don't mind the fans standing and chanting from what he tells me.

[Twobit Whore]

This will never work.

Your team picks off a pass and runs it in for a TD to tie the game late in the 4th and everyone is supposed to stay seated? Maybe pour a spot of tea and have a crumpet?

Seriously wtf? People are going to leap from their seats and 50 thousand people are supposed to be arrested? Fined? Escorted out of the game? You'll need more cops than fans to pull that shit off.

[Braen]

I know my experience wasn't baseball but when the Dallas Stars won the Stanley Cup in 99, I just happened to have bought Season Tickets that year. It first time I had ever had season tickets to any sport.

I am a guy that tends to stand at a sporting event so I made sure to purchase the very top row in the upper deck (least expensive ticket to). We had seats that also were on the stairs so there weren't any seats in front of us, so if we did sit down we could stretch out our legs. The point being, no one could tell me to sit down cause there wasn't anyone behind me.

Anyone who remembers a hockey game at old Reunion Arena (going to be torn down soon) can remember that upper deck seats like that were great seats. You weren't too far from the action, like in some modern arenas.

[Kreugen]

Reading some of the replies to the article is a good laugh too. Seriously, if you need to sit that badly, you probably have one of those Sam Da Man hospital bed contraptions at home. How fucking fat and lazy are you that you can't stand up? Football has constant breaks in the action anyways.

Of course there are some arguments with merit, namely people with children. After choking back the bile that instinctively rises up whenever I read "BUT THE CHILDRENS!!1" I can only say that if they are so young they can't see over the lardass in front of them even if they stand on their seat, you just wasted your goddamn money on a kid way too young to appreciate what they are watching. But there are sections of the stadium for more casual fans that are more likely to stay seated while stuffing their face with hot dogs and $7 bottled waters and you should try to get tickets for those. Of course, this is a football game, so you still might be the only boring stick in the mud sitting down during plays in the whole fuckin stadium unless the home team is getting slaughtered.

Actually, this reminds me of another experience: Nascar. I had free tickets to the Richmond race one year and since I'd do anything once, I went with a friend. Oh. My. God. If you haven't gone, please do. Not to watch the race, but for the spectacle of one hundred thousand drunks. But once the race starts, the fun stops. Everyone stands. And I mean the entire fucking time. Now this just makes no goddamn sense. For one, there are very few breaks over the entire four hour race. But also that small fact that there's no audience participation whatsoever. The stands could be completely empty and the race would go on in the exact same way. They can't hear you, they can't see you, they really don't give a fuck about you. Fucking mind boggling. I abandoned my seat much of the race and hung out near the beer trucks, because being ground level with cars zipping by at 150ish was actually pretty awesome. I admit, yellow flag restarts are exciting and the last dozen laps with two cars dueling back and forth on every single turn was pretty damn cool. Its the other 300ish miles that sucked ass.