I got a free ticket to the last Vikings home game and really do like sports not just for the plot, but all the sub plots and occasional poetic journalism about sports. I am a fan, not an in your face, paint your face fan, but I did dig out my Vikings hat to wear to the game. Which was apparently the same amount of effort that the Vikings put into the game. But that is another story.
In arranging our excursion we all reminded each other to remember to wear ear plugs which was great except that we had to shout at the top of our lungs to try to communicate with each other and really couldn't hear each other. The volume of the piped in music was oppressive with the base tones actually pressing on your flesh. Cheering is a big part of the fun of live sports, but the timing and content of the oppressive decibels was totally lame and came from one person trying to dial up the excitement. This in a game where the Vikings looked really, really bad. The interesting sub plot was that this was Chris Carter's last game in Minnesota and the fans really wanted to express their appreciation for the incredible work ethic and all those catches with toes on turf on the last inch of side line. Most, fortunately not all of that, was drowned out by an uninformed sound person. But the most amazing thing to me was that there is now an official policy that fan's sign's and banners are not allowed. The only permitted signs are corporate. I was told that this is Clear Channel "management policy" and fans with signs -have the signs confiscated and/or are asked to leave. Is this a Clear Channel management decision at the Target Center as well? Home made signs are a real fun part of sports and a part of the culture and history and an opportunity for free and interesting speech. I stopped watching televised Twins baseball when it was impossible to watch a batter without some corporate advertising behind the batter shown in every shot. Sports venues are less interesting when you are told when to cheer and what to say and not permitted to do otherwise. Thanks, Scott Vreeland, Seward _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
