The Day The Streamers Died…. Killed By An Idiot
I was never a really big fan of throwing streamers at players during the run of play at BMO Field as I thought it would become in and of itself, a slippery slope. You know the argument… Today a streamer, tomorrow a D-Cell battery!
However I must confess I have indulged myself a few times in the first couple of seasons of Toronto FC tossing streamers at opposing players during corner kicks. Not now though I saw the light long ago. And today TFC announced the following in response to the idiot that threw a beer at Seattle Sounder Freddy Ljundberg during the last MLS home game.
OBJECTS THROWN ONTO THE FIELD
…(going) forward, there will be tightened security with regards to objects being thrown onto the pitch at BMO Field. Unfortunately, a bottle was thrown at one of the opposing players during our home match against Seattle Sounders and stadium officials will be strictly enforcing a policy that anyone seen throwing an object onto the pitch will be ejected from the stadium (streamers can still be thrown in celebration as long as they don’t impact the play). We want to keep the great atmosphere at BMO Field but also need to ensure the safety of other supporters and players during matches.
I lost my real taste for the streamers when some idiot behind me in section 113 hit me in the back of the head with a quarter back in 2008, reinforcing my earlier point about the slippery slope. In a subsequent match a lit road flare thrown by another Einstein in section 111 landed a few feet in front of my and my girlfriend burning a hole in the plastic pitch and coming really close to hitting her.
Well now that party is officially over. And if the cost of not throwing a few streamers during a corner is all that we collectively have to pay in order to have the real idiots taken care of then I say well done Toronto FC! And for those of you who have never been in, or seen, what a streamer shower looks like then check out this video I shot from the Puerto Rico Islanders Champions League game last season.
Hopefully we will see a few more of these eh?
It had to come. We have seen all sorts of s#%^ thrown onto the field by “fans” over the last few seasons so it comes as no surprise.
TFC could/would be in trouble if they didn’t act so no complaints there, in fact I am surprised they took so long. If we want/need someone to rail on it has to be the asshole who threw the bottle, I fact any and every asshole who has thrown anything other than streamers
Flares are awesome. They belong in football stadiums, hundreds of them, totally unsupervised supported by a gaggle of smoke bombs, roman candles and giant firecrackers.
I know that in DC the team tacitly supports “responsible” use of flares. There are designated flare users and buckets of sand supplied by the club to safely dispose of them.
I love flares too but in the North American sports context you will never see them the way they are used in Europe.
Check out that URL –.. thats from Red Star vs Bayern 91
i remember being @ that game too
http://www.videoajans.net/video/dY-YUfzHJY0__CrvenaZvezdaBayernMuchen1991MarakanaBakljada.html
that’s what i want !!