IS TAKING DOC TO SEE THE DOC
We figured this was one that could go right at the heart of the most passionate and hearty of Eagles fans.
The NFL today announced a new code of conduct for fans in an effort to ban behavior that "detracts from the gameday experience," according to NFL commisioner Roger Goodell.
According to an NFL press release and the Associated Press, the new policy bans:
• Behavior that is unruly, disruptive, or illegal.
• Drunkenness and signs of alcohol impairment that result in irresponsible behavior.
• Foul or abusive language or obscene gestures.
• Interference with the progress of the game, including throwing objects onto the field.
• Failing to follow instructions of stadium personnel.
• Verbal or physical harassment of fans from the opposing team.
Teams also can add provisions based on circumstances in and around their particular stadiums.
On paper, it is hard to argue with any of these. The intent is admirable by the league, as anyone who has taken his kid to a game and been surrounded by drunken louts constantly cursing knows.
The problem is, how these rules are applied. "Unruly" beahvior might be defined one way by a particular stadium, or even particular stadium security personnel, and another way in another venue or by another stadium employee.
The terms are so broad and vague that in many ways they provide protections for teams to impose them in whatever fashion they choose. Bottom line, people should behave more respectfully to fellow fans, and they should know that, without an official code of conduct.
Les
Bowen has covered the Eagles for the Daily News
since 2002.
Before that, he spent nearly 13 years covering the Flyers. It took Les
only a few seasons after the switch to figure out that there was no
penalty box at the Linc, and that the time really wasn't his, despite
what Andy Reid kept saying. Les came to Philadelphia and the Daily News
from Charlotte in 1983. In the intervening years, he has pretty much
lost track of NASCAR, and his accent. He, his wife Barbara, and their
two sons live in Haddon Township, New Jersey.
E-mail Les at bowenl@phillynews.com
and follow
him on Twitter.
Paul
Domowitch has been with the Daily News since 1982.
He has spent most of his nearly 3 decades with the paper covering the
Eagles and pro football. For the last 10 years, he’s been a
selector for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. A native of Wilkes-Barre
and a graduate of Wilkes University, Domo started his career in Texas,
working first for the Midland Reporter-Telegram (1976-78), and then for
the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where he covered some god-awful Texas
Ranger baseball teams. His first beat at the Daily News actually was
boxing, which he covered just long enough to lose 2 sports coats to
blood spatter before moving on to football. Domo and his wife Shelley,
a University of Oklahoma grad who still hasn’t gotten over
that Fiesta Bowl loss to Boise State 5 years ago, have 2 terrific
daughters -- Allison, 28, who is an attorney in South Jersey, and Amy,
25, who works in administration for a professional baseball team.
E-mail Domo at PDomo@aol.com and follow
him on Twitter.
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