OT -- Fans on the field

[Q]Liz '05 Wrote: However, we're talking about being tackled by security guards, not getting into a car crash, no? Possibly quite different, especially as the severity of the car crash is presumably linked to a drunk's impaired ability to drive. [/q]You ask a fair question about the injuries suffered being tackled while drunk as opposed to injuries received while wrapping one's car around a tree. The medical literature is light on statistical trends of football and soccer hooligan-running-on-the-field injuries relative to their BAC. Ditto for light plane crashes relative to blood alcohol content: crashed plane at 0.01% BAC, typical injury, fatal; crashed plane at 0.05% BAC, typical injury, fatal; crashed plane at 0.06% BAC, typical injury, fatal; etcetera. I referenced the most widely studied area instead.

Cornell's supposed to teach us to be skeptical. Just because a lot of people say something is so, doesn't make it so. My point was, If somebody says that "everybody knows" drunks get hurt less in accidents, you ought to wonder if that's really the case.

The point of the two medical studies was that they had, they said, allowed for the differences you wonder about. For instance, they normalized for the speed of the impact (maybe that's what people people call the severity of the crash), seat belt usage, etcetera, the only variable left was blood acohol content. The first study said: huge link. The second study said: Definitely the case with animals, we're not so sure about humans, and more research is needed.

All this research was about what happens once the accident happens. Even the second, more skeptical study said that the liklihood of being accident-prone goes up with BAC. A sober guy leans over the balcony at a Stones concert and gets jostled, he holds on; a drunk gets jostled and he winds up one floor down with broken arms. I would extrapolate the conclusion that if a drunk football-field-crasher gets tackled and falls, his higher BAC increases the odds he'll get hurt if he's about to land on a stadium bench or gutter or even if his elbow strikes the turf at an odd angle. My gut reaction (like everyone else's, I think) is "serves the guy right and it will make good film at 11:00," but that reasoning is not always going to stand up in court.

A couple deaths and brain injuries (and resulting lawsuits) convinced colleges they can't let students tear down goalposts and they can't just write a note in the program saying "Please don't tear down the goalposts because they may fall on your head and render you a vegetable." The stadium proprietor has to do a better job anchoring and then protecting the goalposts. Cornell is so lucky there were no injuries at the hockey ticket line / stampede this year. There was a time when fans "knew" they were at risk sitting behind the goal at a hockey game. A couple fatalities later, including sadly one at Cornell, the presence of nets indicates the laws of responsibility have changed.

[Q]Scott Kominkiewicz Wrote:

It looks like assault to me. I'd love to see one of these spectators who gets tackled press charges. Just once.[/q]

So you can either go to law school and sue or jump on the field and sue......

Now that I've reflected on this, it looks like narcissism to me.

[q]There was a time when fans "knew" they were at risk sitting behind the goal at a hockey game. A couple fatalities later, including sadly one at Cornell, the presence of nets indicates the laws of responsibility have changed.[/q] Shucks, 40+ years ago there wasn't even glass around the sides at Lynah.

[Q]billhoward Wrote:
There was a time when fans "knew" they were at risk sitting behind the goal at a hockey game. A couple fatalities later, including sadly one at Cornell... [/q]What? When? I remember the death of Brittanie Cecil at a Blue Jackets game but I've never heard that someone got killed at Lynah.

[Q]billhoward Wrote:
Blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah [/q]

A Cornell student, I believe named Chris Black during the 1976-77 season, was struck by a puck and died. That's why Cornell has had netting for as long as most people can remember.