This was a very concerning incident to me.We wish our fans good health, safety and security at every game. Please watch where you walk.
Ted's Take
This was a very concerning incident to me.We wish our fans good health, safety and security at every game. Please watch where you walk.
It’s pretty amazing that this man is alive, as well as the people he landed on. Falling 25 feet is very serious. Purses in the aisle are unacceptable. People need to be a little more considerate of others.
Funny you should mention this Ted. Last night there were two guys sitting next to me in 408 Row A, one of whom was completely drunk off his skull from the moment he walked in and he continued drinking all night long.
I found out from a regular in 408 he complained to the ushers during the second intermission about me leaving stuff in the row in front of my seat which he couldn’t negotiate due to his drunken staggering.
Somewhat needless to say Ted, that wasn’t the only thing he did to tick off people in 408. He leaned on the glass all night long despite being asked politely on a number of occasions to sit back and cussed up a storm all night long.
When Donald Brasher scored the go ahead goal, he nearly went over the side “celebrating” the goal. Luckily he steadied himself because I wasn’t about to save him but others around me were fearful of getting showered with his beer.
Finally, when he left, before the game was over and while play was still going on, he kicked my stuff down the row and nobody was sorry to see him leave early.
As a former usher at UMD and RFK Stadium Ted, I can tell you, somebody this intoxicated would have been thrown out long before the third period of both of those facilities. On more than one occasion at each venue I saw the police remove individuals that were clearly intoxicated before the game even started but I’ve never seen this happen at the Verizon Center. As a matter of fact, a couple of years ago when I complained to the ushers about a fan throwing stuff at me throughout during a Caps-Penguins game, the Supervisor for the area told me to clam down because security was itching to throw people out and he didn’t want anybody getting thrown out.
I know you don’t own the arena and I’m not the first nor will I be the last person to get bothered by some random drunkard at a Caps game, but better controls are needed.
People in the first row up top think that no one sits behind them, and they lean on the glass. You can yell all day, but the ushers do nothing.