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Can’t we all just get along?

Some rowdy Raiders fans have gone too far. Their behavior has gotten so out of control that the Oakland Alameda County Coliseum has decided to cut off beer sales during the third quarter and beef up security. The Oakland Football Marketing Association - derided by fans for its mishandling of the season-ticket situation - announced the new rules Friday after complaints about rude and combative behavior.

Even the Dallas Cowboys players said they were shocked during their Nov. 19 visit. That was the day obscenity-shouting fans threw garbage at the Cowboys as they got off their bus. Two fans paraded around inside the Coliseum with a sign saying, “Kill Troy,” referring to Dallas quarterback Troy Aikman.

When OFMA reneged on its promise to offer season-ticket holders a few remaining coveted seats for the Dallas game, some stormed the ticket offices, overturning chairs. One man even set a gun on a table at a ticket office and said to a customer service person, “Are you going to take care of my problem, or am I?” Ticket sales director Steve Ferguson even brought in crisis counselors. “I had employees crying in their cubicles dealing with the ongoing onslaught,” he said.

Signing of the times, Part II

Turns out Green Bay quarterback Brett Favre wasn’t the only player asked to sign autographs by an NFL official before last Sunday’s game against Tampa Bay. Jerry Bergman, the head linesman assigned to work the game, was ridiculed Monday when Favre said Bergman had come into the Green Bay locker room to have the quarterback sign eight football cards.

Favre complied, and Green Bay went on to a 35-13 win. Now comes this revelation: Running back Errict Rhett and linebacker Hardy Nickerson, both of the Buccanneers, were similarly approached by Bergman.

Rhett signed away, but Nickerson refused to comply - and ended up being ejected from the game. “I guess I should have (signed),” Nickerson joked.

Bucs coach Sam Wyche said Bergman asked for permission to go into the locker room. “You’re a coach, what are you going to say before a football game that he’s about to officiate?” Wyche said. “‘No, you can’t go in the locker room? (It’s) yes, and take anything you need.”’

Barely scraping by

As president of the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee, Tom Welch gets $315,000 a year, with a benefits package estimated to be worth about $1 million. And he’s … complaining? “It’s not the money. It’s the message,” Welch said, noting that the Olympic Organizing Committee board approved a package that reflects an “average compensation level” for a comparable position.

“Since 1985 I’ve tried not to give an average performance,” Welch griped, referring to the year he left his old job to lead Salt Lake City’s Olympic bid. “After 17 years, my board recommends average pay.”

Welch felt the benefits package would be fairer if it included “some kind of annuity … pension … profit sharing possibilities.

“I’ll be 57 when the Games are over. I want to know my future is secured,” Welch added. “In Lillehammer, those involved had an annuity that ran the rest of their lives. Seven years from now we’ll be on the streets.”

But it’s NOT the money. It’s the message. The last word …

“Somebody said this already, but it bears repeating, if not outright stealing: When the Raiders decided they wanted some new wrinkles on offense, 40-year-old quarterback Vince Evans maybe wasn’t what they had in mind.”

- Sacramento Bee columnist Mark Kreidler

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