Editor's note: I wanted to link to a video depicting the fan experience at Philadelphia Eagles games, but couldn't find anything that was free of inappropriate language.
Apologies to Philadelphia Eagles fans. You once wore the title of worst fans in all of sports. And you wore it well.
After all, pelting Santa Claus with snowballs, holding drunk court - and operating a jail - on Sundays in the bowels of old Veterans Stadium, firing a flare gun at fans of the opposing team and 9-year-old fans flipping the double-bird to former New York Giants quarterback Eli Manning (right) is championship-level tomfoolery that goes unmatched outside of Philadelphia.
Until now.
It is time to move over, Eagles fans. When it comes to being the drunkest, most obnoxious and rudest sports fans on the planet, there is a new sheriff in town. That title of champion drunkard and poor sport now belongs to the gallery at the Wasted Management Phoenix Open, where the stadium seating on the infamous par-3 16th hole looks (and sounds) more like a scene out of "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome."
I appreciate alcohol-induced fun (in moderation) as much as the next person, and goodness knows tour golf is in need of a little fun to broaden its appeal to new audiences, but there is such a thing as too much of a good thing.
When fans threaten the safety of others by storming the turnstiles to get to No. 16 like it's the 1979 Who concert in Cincinnati (left), you've reached the point of diminishing returns. (Note: I was a high school junior and lived 5 miles from the arena in 1979, had friends at the concert and remember it vividly first hand, so don't @ me on this one.)
When fans who have no business being partially clad in public start stripping off their clothes and sliding, belly first, downhill on the turf like sled riders on a golf course in January, you've reached the point of diminishing returns.
When golfers are jawing on camera with drunk patrons who talk through backswings or feel the need to heckle players over Ryder Cup roster selections, you've reached the point of diminishing returns.
When the PGA Tour has to close the gates at TPC Scottsdale because the number of crazed drunks on the grounds has become too great, you've reached the point of diminishing returns.
When the winner of the tournament takes a back seat to the sophomoric antics occurring outside the ropes, you've reached the point of diminishing returns.
When the venue has to suspend alcohol sales because of all of the above, you've reached the point of diminishing returns.
The atmosphere on No. 16 at TPC Scottsdale is legendary and has become more relevant than the tournament itself for everyone except the players in the field. Drinking to excess is not only tolerated on 16, it is encouraged. Cheering or booing players depending on their score at 16 is good-natured fun that golf needs. It's just one hole, get over it and move on. The celebration that takes place there for the occasional hole-in-one that includes everyone in the 85255 zip code getting a beer shower is good for the game.
What is not acceptable is turning every hole on the course into an extension of the 16th hole where bad behavior is not only tolerated, but encouraged and celebrated. That's not good for golf, or any sport for that matter.
The future success of golf depends on facilities promoting and ensuring a fun, family friendly atmosphere. The Tour has an opportunity here to help promote this family atmosphere by by playing an active role in dialing back behavior at its tournaments that would likely result in people being charged with public drunkenness and/or disorderly conduct if they occurred outside the gates.
Where do you think you are anyway, Philadelphia?
