Between 1968 and 1976 my Army family had moved to Florida from North Carolina, to West Germany from Petersburg and then onto Fort Devens, Massachusetts. During the fall of 1976 a contingent of Army families formed a convoy for a rivalry game between the Fort Devens Bears and Lunenburg Bengals. By the time kids from both schools made it to high school they would battle for a few more years for state championships. Check the record books.
The game we played that day was won by Lunenburg. We had a future record setting NFL running back on our team. As we lined up to shake hands, the players, coaches, parents and what seemed to me to be everyone on the Bengals sideline attacked us. They were yelling curse words and racial slurs while throwing rocks and snowballs. The soldiers from our base that were there covered our players with their bodies and our cheerleaders. We were pushed onto our buses and we left.
I don't know if anyone was hurt but I sat on the bus watching adults that appeared to me to be demonic hurling rocks that slammed into our bus windows. My man brain has always told me that the attack was planned by the adults.
Nothing was ever said about the incident. Now everyone says, "Thank you for your service," and the rules and decorum governing fan behavior, sports and sportsmanship on all levels have sunk deeper and deeper into a blackhole while excuses are made. I am never surprised by any report of low standards concerning Americans and sports. I never expect much.
The game we played that day was won by Lunenburg. We had a future record setting NFL running back on our team. As we lined up to shake hands, the players, coaches, parents and what seemed to me to be everyone on the Bengals sideline attacked us. They were yelling curse words and racial slurs while throwing rocks and snowballs. The soldiers from our base that were there covered our players with their bodies and our cheerleaders. We were pushed onto our buses and we left.
I don't know if anyone was hurt but I sat on the bus watching adults that appeared to me to be demonic hurling rocks that slammed into our bus windows. My man brain has always told me that the attack was planned by the adults.
Nothing was ever said about the incident. Now everyone says, "Thank you for your service," and the rules and decorum governing fan behavior, sports and sportsmanship on all levels have sunk deeper and deeper into a blackhole while excuses are made. I am never surprised by any report of low standards concerning Americans and sports. I never expect much.
