14 Year Old Booed by Colts Fans to Be Honored by Patriots

The NFL conducts a "Pass, Punt, and Kick" competition for children between the ages of 8-15 and presents winners a trophy for their achievements during a nationally televised playoff game as they wear the replica jersey of their hometown football teams. It so happened that on Sunday afternoon, as the age group champions were announced at the Indianapolis Colts/San Diego Chargers game, the 14-year old Anna Grant from Stratham, NH was wearing a New England Patriots "PPK" jersey.

As her name and team affiliation were announced, she was roundly booed by the fans filling the RCA Dome - home of the Patriots' rival Indianapolis Colts. Having been warned by friends that it would likely happen, she maintained her composure, but the Patriots took notice.

Patriots/Colts feud. The Patriots, never at a loss at an opportunity to jab at the Colts - and in this case particularly as they will not be the competition in the AFC Championship game this year - have seized on the opportunity. The Patriots have invited Anna to be on the field for the coin flip of the AFC Championship Game Sunday between the Patriots and Chargers at Gillette Stadium.

The feud between the Patriots and the Indianapolis Colts is well publicized: in November, 2005, Colts GM Bill Polian was quoted by writer Tom Curran as yelling that the Colts should break Patriots backup quarterback Doug Flutie's leg; The Patriots' Scot Pioli expressed concern for team employees' safety due to Polian's behavior a previous week while in Giants Stadium. As such, the feud continued in surrogate to the point Colts fans booed Anna Grant simply because she was wearing a Patriots jersey.

Just one more recent example of loutish fan behavior. Football fans are generally a passionate lot, meaning that fans of the opposition are not generally treated well in the stands or out of them. Booing a 14-year old girl is but one example of recent loutish behavior.

Following the Patriots-Jaguars Divisional Playoff game, several Patriots fans assaulted Jacksonville fans in the parking lot of Gillette Stadium because they were wearing Jaguars gear. Not to be outdone, a NJ.com report details a story on a 17-year old Patriots fan who was shot in a friends' home by an aggravated fan of the Jaguars.

Given passion for the team is but one factor at play - another is alcohol consumption. Fans of the opposing teams aren't the only target of the unruly fan. In 2001, on consecutive nights, Cleveland and New Orleans fans pelted the officials with plastic beer bottles causing game stoppages.

Fans of the Buffalo Bills have recently come under increased scrutiny for their behavior in the stands - given the teams' mediocre performance over the last several seasons, more tickets are available and fewer people are corralled by the threat of losing their season tickets. Fans of the New York Jets have widely been reported as having taunted women to expose their breasts at games.

The Colts fans booing a 14-year old girl at the RCA Dome is nothing next to some of the loutish behavior demonstrated in the recent past and that which continues at NFL stadia throughout the league, but it certainly took a special crowd to live up to the expectations of Anna's high school freshmen classmates and certainly created a black eye for the Colts organization.

SOURCES:

http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/football/patriots/view.bg?articleid=1066812&format=&page=2&listingType=pats#articleFull

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ms-thegameface110207&prov=yhoo&type=lgns

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2008/01/an_aggravated_jaguars_fan_shot.html

http://bostonherald.com/news/opinion/columnists/view.bg?articleid=1066814&srvc=home&position=3

http://www.njdevs.com/forums/lofiversion/index.php/t33457.html

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/20/sports/football/20fans.html