5/10/09: Stop Throwing Objects On The Field!

DO NOT THROW ANYTHING ON THE FIELD. YOU ARE GOING TO RUIN THE NORDECKE. IT DOES NOT HELP SUPPORT OUR TEAM. IT IS JUST GOING TO LEAD TO REPURCUSSIONS FOR THE SECTION.

I DON'T GET WHY ANYONE WOULD THROW A BOTTLE? ESPECIALLY AGAINST KANSAS CITY. I GET THAT PEOPLE MAY GET ANNOYED WITH BLANCO, ALTHOUGH THAT WAS UNACCEPTABLE AS WELL. BUT, WHAT ABOUT KANSAS CITY WOULD MAKE YOU WANT TO THROW A BOTTLE? CAN YOU NOT GET JOY OUT OF THE GAME WITHOUT THROWING SOMETHING.

THIS IS TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE AND EMBARRASSING. CHUCKING A BOTTLE AT SOMEONE IS NOT CUTE AND DOESN'T PROVE THAT YOU ARE A REAL FAN. IT JUST MAKES YOU LOOK LIKE AN IDIOT. GET YOUR SH*T TOGETHER PEOPLE.

From Shawn Mitchell's blog:
Things turned ugly, though, when a handful of fans in the Nordecke decided to throw more than streamers during a Claudio Lopez corner kick. It prompted referee Jorge Gonzalez to put a halt to the proceedings and confer with officials at the scorer’s table and in the tunnel before restarting play. I’d never seen such action taken at a Crew game before.

Gonzalez’s written explanation (which sounds to me like it was dictated by a Federation official):

The objects the fans were throwing, including water and beer bottles, were being thrown from a distance and with enough force that as a result (they) became projectiles and endangered the safety of the players and officials. Player and official safety is paramount and as a result the game was stopped and the issue addressed with game operations personnel.

The result was a delay that prompted Gonzalez to add five minutes of second-half stoppage time. That was five more minutes the Crew was forced to kill. General manager Mark McCullers, who addressed the Nordecke before the game, was not pleased.

“Our team was hurt because of their behavior,” McCullers said. “That’s unacceptable and it has to stop. I’m embarrassed by it.”