05-24-2016, 08:06 PM
I've been to a few hundred games over the decades, in Cincinnati, Detroit and Indianapolis, and I've yet to see a truly bloody, violent fracas break out of the 70's/80's kind that you described. Sure, some intoxicated idiot pushing another intoxicated idiot is part and parcel with the NFL experience. Most issues you'll see at a game though are simply people being rude, not violent.
It's true that behavior can be influenced by whom the team is hosting. If it's a team in another division, or especially the other conference (we'll only see a given NFC team during the regular season every eight years, for example), then it's generally cordial between visiting and home fans because it's a bit of a novelty having them there. If it's a division rival, though, things can get a bit tense at times. Still, most behave.
I don't feel having segregated fan groups is an answer. Resale tickets, a huge business here, would make that difficult to begin with. And, I feel placing visiting fans together might embolden them a bit to misbehave. When they're surrounded by the home team's fans, well, perhaps that's an inducement for them to behave a bit better with none of their compatriots nearby.
It's true that behavior can be influenced by whom the team is hosting. If it's a team in another division, or especially the other conference (we'll only see a given NFC team during the regular season every eight years, for example), then it's generally cordial between visiting and home fans because it's a bit of a novelty having them there. If it's a division rival, though, things can get a bit tense at times. Still, most behave.
I don't feel having segregated fan groups is an answer. Resale tickets, a huge business here, would make that difficult to begin with. And, I feel placing visiting fans together might embolden them a bit to misbehave. When they're surrounded by the home team's fans, well, perhaps that's an inducement for them to behave a bit better with none of their compatriots nearby.
