De-fence, De-fence, De-fence

[frankbmd]

Originally Posted by Eric72

There is a behavior at sporting events which has grown in popularity over the past 25 years or so. When I was a child ('70s and '80s) and going to Phillies games with my dad, nobody ever did it. These days, you simply can't go to a game without encountering it.

Despite the ubiquitous nature of this particular brand of fan behavior, it is rarely unified.

It occasionally leads to hilarious scenarios. Sometimes, it leads to serious injuries.


I'm talking, of course, about fans ignoring the game and focusing on their phones.

The phone thing is everywhere. Ten years ago I took the "EL" from the north shore of Chicago downtown and switched to an outgoing train to Rosemont to the National in 2015 during rush hour. Young folks primarily were all (at least 99.9%) obsessed with their phones on the train. I did not see any of them saying a word. It wouldn't have helped though, because they all had those little white things in their ears. I discovered mass isolationism on a crowded train that day. I don't know how it could be more evident today, but I wouldn't be surprised.

I guess if I had those little white things (aka hearing aids0, the De-fence business wouldn't bother me.

[Brent G.]

Originally Posted by frankbmd

The phone thing is everywhere. Ten years ago I took the "EL" from the north shore of Chicago downtown and switched to an outgoing train to Rosemont to the National in 2015 during rush hour. Young folks primarily were all (at least 99.9%) obsessed with their phones on the train. I did not see any of them saying a word. It wouldn't have helped though, because they all had those little white things in their ears. I discovered mass isolationism on a crowded train that day. I don't know how it could be more evident today, but I wouldn't be surprised.

I guess if I had those little white things (aka hearing aids0, the De-fence business wouldn't bother me.

I wonder if MLB would've still put the nets up all around the infield if people didn't have these devices taking their attention away from the field, thus increasing the risk from foul balls immensely. My kids loved getting autographs pregame, but now those possibilities are more limited based on the new netting. It really changed the fan/player interaction.