49er “Waldo” Brings Seahawk and 49er Fans Together

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49er Waldo

Normally a fan attending a championship parade wearing the gear of a rival team would be less than welcome.  Initially this was the case of 49er fan “Waldo” (as he has come to be called), but this is far from the case with this brave young man now.  “Waldo” has quite the story to tell that shows how large fan bases can come together in times of need.

Turns out “Waldo” is 15 years old and is a ward of the state.  So that essentially means that this young man is homeless.  “Waldo” lives in shelters and has endured a very difficult life so far.  King 5 news in Seattle reports that “Waldo” does go to school everyday and that his teachers speak very highly of this brave young man. Ladies of the Empire In an interview with the Ladies of the Empire, an all female club for the San Francisco 49ers, and we’re proud to say one of Fans Against Violence’s partner clubs, “Waldo” explained his reasoning for going to the Seahawks Championship Parade in his 49ers gear “Just being a Niner fan and getting all the crap at school for being one.  I wanted everyone in Seattle and all around the world to know that I was a niner fan and I was no bandwagon!”

Word has spread really quickly about this young man’s unfortunate situation.  Longtime 49er fan and president of the Ladies of the Empire,  Catherine Tate was so impressed with what the bravery “Waldo” showed that she initially wanted to give him front row tickets to a 49ers game next season.  That is when this brave 15 year olds story came to the forefront.  Catherine worked very hard to get in contact with the right people and is raising money for “Waldo”.

Catherine and the Ladies of the Empire initially started a fundraiser on GoFundMe.com for “Waldo” to help get him to San Francisco for a game.  However, after learning of “Waldo’s” situation this go fund me is raising funds to help with all of “Waldo’s” everyday basic needs.  As of this writing $11,365!

Here is what is even more amazing when you see that number its not just 49ers fans contributing, Seahawks fans are also helping this young man.  Along with donations on go fund me you can leave a comment.  Some of the cool comments from the Seahawks fans are: “12th Man wants to help too”, 12th man Wilson style”, “Several 12 fans offering him shelter in their homes if he needs.

This story just goes to show how no matter what team you are a fan of, we are all humans in the end.  For all of the bad things you hear these days when it comes to rivalries in sports, there is more good than bad.  Here you have two fan bases that make one of the most heated rivalries in the NFL today bonding together to help a young man in need.  For as brave as “Waldo” was to go to the Seahawks championship parade in his 49ers gear, it is nothing compared to the courage he shows every day living his difficult life.

To contribute to Waldo’s go fund me please go here: www.gofundme.com/Get-Niner-Waldo-to-SF

For more information on the Ladies of the Empire: ladiesoftheempire.com

For more information on Fans Against Violence: www.fansagainstviolence.org

Fans Against Violence – FanShake PSA – Brought to You by TheMadFanatic

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We are so thrilled to release our first Public Service Announcement for our FanShake Program.  The FanShake program and the FanShake Cam was built on the premise that the smallest of gestures can sometimes have the most impact.  With the simple act of shaking an opposing fans hand and welcoming them to “your house” you can change the entire mood of your section.

The FanShake Cam first made its debut at the Oakland Raiders season opener versus the San Diego Chargers and was a huge hit! Our hope is that by encouraging fans to welcome each other through the FanShake, we can start to help reduce the number of incidents at sports venue nationwide.

So Next time you are at a game..make sure and do the FanShake!!

How Assumptions Lead to Fan Violence

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We see and hear about it at nearly every sporting event around the world: Two or more fans get into a shouting match about their favorite teams. “My team is better than yours. Your team sucks. You guys are going down!”

If it remained simply a war of words, that would be fine. In fact, that’s the whole point of fandom; supporting your team regardless of how bad they are, or what’s happening on the field.

Unfortunately, it almost never ends with verbal exchanges. Invariably, a fight breaks out and someone gets hurt.

What are the reasons behind this? Why does “trash talk” almost always end in hurt feelings and emergency room visits? The answer is multi-faceted.

Perhaps the biggest contributor to these incidences is passion. Passion for the game, passion for the team and a passion for being able to call your team a “winner.” Passion is great, but only if it’s restrained and directed in a positive manner.

The next time you hear a fan of the opposing team spouting off about this or that, just remember…that person is just as passionate as you are and they are simply looking to cheer their team on…just like you.

Don’t take offense, even if what they’re saying is offensive and rude. Keep in mind that if you react to their venom, you become no better than them. “The fight avoided is the fight best fought.”

Be the “bigger,” more mature person in these cases.

Another factor that often leads to fan vs fan violence is assumptions. Assumptions about a particular fan base, an assumption about a person’s intentions and assumptions that your words aren’t as inflammatory as you think.

Often times, appearances can lead people to make assumptions about the character of a given person. These assumptions can cloud judgement and cause a person to act in a way that is outside their normal personality.

On Halloween, when a six-year-old boy knocks on your door wearing a hockey mask and carrying a pretend ax, do you automatically assume that he is a serial killer that has been raised from the dead? Of course not.

For some reason however, when fans of opposing teams go to, let’s say, an Oakland Raiders game, they tend to assume that the people with the spiked shoulder pads and face paint are automatically thugs that don’t deserve the common courtesy of respect.

That is narrow minded and unfair. The fact is that some of these “Super-fans” are pillars of the community. Their game-day personas are simply that—personas. Wayne Mabry is not actually a “Violator.” He’s a regular person with a job and responsibilities just like you.

Mr. Mabry is not only a “normal” person, he’s a passionate philanthropist, having raised a ton of money for local and national children’s charities. I have been given the honor of interviewing Mr. Mabry and the transcripts from that interview will be available at Raider Nation Times soon.

“Don’t judge a book by its cover.”

The most obvious reason for these confrontations between fans is the one thing professional sports leagues absolutely refuse to remedy: The sale of alcohol at games.

The fact is, there is just too much money to be made from alcohol for the teams or leagues to remove it. It’s sad, but it’s true. Everyone knows that professional sports is a business and the leagues and the team owners are in it to make money…and alcohol is extremely profitable.

It is a proven fact that alcohol lowers inhibitions and causes people to over-react to volatile situations. It has also been shown to amplify emotions. Think about that for a second. Your ability to control your actions and your emotions are skewed and your team is losing. Nothing good can come from that.

This alteration of the frontal lobe of the brain results in bad judgement and stupid decisions; decisions that send people to jail and the hospital. It’s not rocket science.

What can fans do to prevent this? That’s simple…DON’T DRINK AT GAMES! You can wait until you get home. We’ve all heard the expression, “I don’t need alcohol to have a good time.” So, why do we need it to enjoy a sporting event? We don’t.

Please, “drink responsibly”…or not at all. You’ll be doing us all a favor.

Take a look at this video and ask yourself these questions:

Is this how I’d want my children to act? Are the people chanting “let them fight” really the kind of people that represent my feelings about this game? Do I want my children subjected to this behavior? Is this scene enhancing or detracting from my game-day experience?

Ultimately, there is only one group of people that can prevent fan vs fan violence; the fans themselves. Report potential problems to security, (there are text codes to reach security posted at most every stadium). Don’t drink to excess. Don’t make assumptions about other fans. Be passionate, but be mature and think of the message you’re sending your children.

If fans don’t police themselves, the leagues will do it for them. We, as fans, have to step up and do the right things. If we don’t, the teams and the leagues will do it for us…and that will suck the fun out of everything for us. The rules for attending games will be overly restrictive and ruin our experience. “…the trees are all kept equal by hatchet, ax and saw.”

Please, don’t let one or two bad apples ruin the bunch for the rest of us.

Follow John Doublin on Twitter: @CoachJayDee and find more of his work at www.RaiderNationTimes.com

Annual Bay Area Battle Scrapped from Preseason Schedule: Fans the Losers in this Decision

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Last summer when the Oakland Raiders headed across the bay to face the San Francisco 49ers, fans had no idea that it would become the last time these two teams would face each other until 2014. Following the game in 2011, two fans were shot in separate incidents that occurred in the parking lot of Candlestick Park and a 26-year-old man was beaten in the Candlestick Park bathroom.

Fans Against Violence - Battle of the Bay

Annual Battle of the Bay cancelled by NFL

After these violent attacks occurred, San Francisco 49ers CEO, Jed York, recommended that the NFL end all preseason games between the 49ers and the Oakland Raiders in the future, and for an indefinite period of time. When the exhibition schedule was released for 2012, the annual Bay Area battle had been nixed. The franchises have met for 12 of the 13 past preseasons, but as a result of the fan violence that took place, a few bad apples have ruined the game that many look forward to every summer.

There have been a few ideas as to how to stop violence at sporting events, including a bill that is currently proposed in the California State Assembly. If the legislation passes, the Golden State would be the first to create a “Ban List” that would “prohibit violent fans from attending professional sports events anywhere in the state for up to five years under newly proposed legislation.

The NFL has also proposed putting undercover cops in visiting team’s gear in order to catch those who would subject fans of the visiting team to mistreatment. While I believe that idea makes a lot of sense, the second portion of that idea seems a bit unrealistic. According to Gary Buiso of the New York Post, the NFL will require ejected fans to pass an online code of conduct exam before they can return. ProFootballTalk published a good article as to how and why this could go wrong.

In any case, for now it appears that the two teams will only meet every four years in the regular season, and the handful of criminals who show up at sporting events to cause trouble are the only winners in this battle.

Candlestick Park – Post Game Fight and a Concealed Handgun

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Jed York and the San Francisco 49ers have had another violent incident occur under their watch at Candlestick Park. Following the 49ers overtime loss to the Cowboys on Sunday, September 18th, the police were called to the site of a fight in one of the parking lots just outside the stadium.

Three men were attempting to leave the parking lot while the victim was standing behind their car. Some sort of argument broke out and the men got out of the car and began to attack the victim. The victim’s friend came to his aid was then hit in the head, as was the uniformed security officer who also tried to help. The most substantial injuries were the result of blunt force trauma to the head caused by a bottle and flashlight.

What’s even more disturbing is the concealed handgun found in the perpetrators car. No indication regarding team affiliation for any of the parties has been released; and honestly, it doesn’t matter.

FAV
Parking Lot Map of Candlestick Park, SF

The post game violence at Candlestick when the 49ers hosted the Oakland Raiders made National news and caused officials from the NFL office to tour the facility and talk with the 49ers Administration. One of the specific issues discussed was the concern about security in the outer parking lots. If York and his staff do not take immediate and, if needed, extreme measures to ensure adequate policing of the surrounding lots, the San Francisco 49ers should be sanctioned by the league.

What changes were made? How have they improved policing of the lots? Is there surveillance? Why would a security guard report alone, without a partner? Roger Goodell and the league office need to sit down with the 49ers and devise a plan to make immediate corrections and hold the franchise accountable. Their fans deserve better.