OPENING HIT: One of the reasons why I've always liked fans of the Green Bay Packers is that I've always felt they're the best combination of smart, passion and non-jackass. Let me explain. Packers fans have the passion of the most rabid fan bases without the nastiness. Few fans are more informed about their team. It's a way of life for Packers fans. These aren't Gator fans or Ohio State fans who are insecure and nasty. These a true football fans who know how to have a passionate debate without getting ugly. It's the best component of their fandom.
On Sunday night, after a brutal loss, a handful of Packers fans -- malicious idiots -- engaged in some of the nastier acts by fans, any fans, I've ever seen. All on Twitter. This isn't an indictment of the entire Packers fan base. This is an indictment of a few knuckleheads and the age we live in. We live in a period where there are plenty of anonymous gangsters who have turned message boards into sewers and a nice medium like Twitter into, at times, garbage.
Some of these idiots went after Packers players on Twitter after the loss -- and the families of Packers players. They completely crossed a line. Jermichael Finley was attacked by fans for dropping a pass but some of the fans didn't stop there. They attacked his wife, Courtney, on Twitter. Leading to her posting this: "If ure bored tonight & want to see how disgusting people treat other people.. Feel free to go thru my mentions 2 see how heartless ppl r."
I won't repeat some of the stuff posted but it was truly nasty.
One fan actually went as far as to blame Joe Philbin for the loss. Philbin of course tragically lost his son.
Again, these animals don't represent the Packers faithful. But this was still bad. It was a sad moment, actually.
I've always believed the NFL should act against Twitter goons. Find out who they are and if they have season tickets, yank them. If they don't, ban them from buying anything NFL related. Use the best available technology to pursue and ban these jackasses.
This is how great the Packer fan base is: Packers fans began to blast the idiots who were posting the ugly things. It warmed my heart and gave me hope that the Internet hasn't turned completely into a cesspool.
Blog Entry
Comments
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Since: Aug 24, 2006 |
Posted on: January 19, 2012 12:10 pm
The Daily Shoutout: Ugly fanshey freeman you jack@ZZ, ever hear of the First Amendment?? Freedom of Speech buddy. If those packer players don't want to be criticized by the people that pay for their salaries, then they should either win the game or just don't have a twitter account. It's as simple as that! And why should the NFL act against twitter goons?? Yank the season tickets?? FREEDOM OF SPEECH, they can say anything they want so long as they aren't making death threats!!
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Since: Jul 26, 2011 |
Posted on: January 18, 2012 9:08 pm
The Daily Shoutout: Ugly fans1973ponyboy-good comment and I gave you a rating. Wish I could say the same for Mr. Freeman. Wondering what Mr. Freeman considers a "bad" fan base and how does he define that? All we see are incidents of a few amongst large crowds of fans who are not ugly or bad. Generalizing in commentary is bush league Mr. freeman.
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Since: Apr 25, 2008 |
Posted on: January 18, 2012 10:39 am
The Daily Shoutout: Ugly fanson a side note... talk to any giants fan who went to the game and they will tell you the green bay fans couln't have been nicer even when losing they offer beers, food, welcome to green bay, ect.
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Since: Mar 9, 2008 |
Posted on: January 18, 2012 10:20 am
The Daily Shoutout: Ugly fansFirst off, I am a Packer fan, so I don't know how to take this article. You covered your bases, by expressing your like of our fan base in the beginning and in the end of the article. Packer fans are by far the most loyal group of fans in all the land, anybody who'd ever spent part of thier life in Wisconsin would agree to this. Sundays are a holiday for much of the state, businesses plan around games, not just in green bay, but in all the state. I know people who spent $500 on worthless pieces of paper, just because they were told they'd be a part owner of the organization, even though the money is just a donation. There is no fan base as large, in college or pro sports, if you consider the size of green bay, not even 1/10 of the size of most other cities in the nfl.
Now, as far as the bad tweeters go, I've never owned a twitter account, and don't know exactly how anonimous twitter screennames are, but I'm guessing peoples true identities are hidden when making these nasty remarks. With this assumption, who knows who these peeps are, they could be immature kids, drunken low lifes, or maybe just a hating racist. Regardless, in my 20+ packer games i've been to, or my 100+ experiences in sports bars watching games, I can't recall ever hearing any comments that are personal attacks on a player or his families. Anybody who makes these kind of attacks are nothing more than cowards who can only stir things up behind a computer screen or twitter account, so please in the future do not make a big deal outa these idiots, and certainly don't ever group these idiots with the rest of the millions of packer fans out there. |
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Since: Apr 25, 2008 |
Posted on: January 17, 2012 4:52 pm
The Daily Shoutout: Ugly fansI didn’t say they were employed by the nfl I said a job in a general sense and that was just an example of how the 1st does not give you the right to say what you want when you want to who you want.
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Since: May 2, 2010 |
Posted on: January 17, 2012 3:50 pm
The Daily Shoutout: Ugly fansit has zero to do with other peoples feelings though as you can say something nasty at a job and even though you cant be put in jail for it you can be fired from your job so again it is not protection from offending other people as those people can choose to fire, sue, fine, ect. you certainly can say what ever you want but you can't hide behind the 1st amendment when you get fired for what you said.I'm not talking about on the job. People on twitter are not employed by the NFL. So how would this apply?? You're getting off track. |
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Since: May 2, 2010 |
Posted on: January 17, 2012 3:49 pm
The Daily Shoutout: Ugly fansYou can think whatever you want, but the 1st amendment protects idiots!No it doesn't.Yes it does. You're using man-made rules as your basis, not things like conscience and morality That's why moron posters think they get to make the rules. I think human decency transcends that, but I guess you don't agree. That's fine. But I think you're wrong. Human decency is great and we should all use a little more of it. But it doesn't trump the 1st amendment. That would mean the 1st amendment is no longer relevent, which it is. Are you un-American? If you believe in the constitution, then you must believe the rights apply to everyone American citizen, not just the nice ones. |
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Since: Jul 29, 2011 |
Posted on: January 17, 2012 11:26 am
The Daily Shoutout: Ugly fansAnother insightful Freeman article. Whose desk do you spend your days under in order to keep your job? |
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Since: Apr 25, 2008 |
Posted on: January 17, 2012 10:28 am
The Daily Shoutout: Ugly fansThat's not true either.
As long as you're not being slanderous or trying to incite someone to commit a crime, you have the right to express your opinion without interference from anyone else. It's not just about not being thrown in jail. It's about the right to express your opinion even if someone else is offended by that opinion. It's the first amendment. Learn it. umm NO it has nothing to do with offending other people. it has to do with being persecuted by the government for what you say. yes there are exceptions like trying to start a riot or slandering someone. it has zero to do with other peoples feelings though as you can say something nasty at a job and even though you cant be put in jail for it you can be fired from your job so again it is not protection from offending other people as those people can choose to fire, sue, fine, ect. you certainly can say what ever you want but you can't hide behind the 1st amendment when you get fired for what you said. its to protect from being persecuting by the american government. period and end of story. thanks for playing though |
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Since: Mar 7, 2008 |
Posted on: January 17, 2012 10:01 am
The Daily Shoutout: Ugly fansNo it doesn't.Yes it does. You're using man-made rules as your basis, not things like conscience and morality That's why moron posters think they get to make the rules. I think human decency transcends that, but I guess you don't agree. That's fine. But I think you're wrong. |
