Those Rowdy Boston Fans

It must have been some scene at Symphony Hall during the Boston Pops opening night when two guys broke out in a fistfight. A woman's scream briefly interrupted the performance as concert-goers turned their attention to the upper balcony where they witnessed fists flying and buttons popping. One of the brawler's dress shirts was ripped open in the melee and the men had to eventually be separated by the Hall's security guards.

Now I've been many places where fights broke out in the stands. High school and college football games are notorious places where unruly fans get a few too many in them and want to challenge each others manhood. I can't for the life of me figure out who would be fighting at an orchestra concert. Maybe in the name of chivalry, or if one of the guys insulted your favorite composer. Apparently, people close by the fighting men say the fight started when one of them ask the other one to be quiet. I guess that's sort of like telling the idiot in front of you that chooses to stand through an entire football game to sit down so the rest of us can see. Approached the wrong way, this scenario often ends in a fight or at least some shoving and spilled beer. Can you imagine what was said at the Boston Pops last Wednesday night that could have sparked such an outburst? "Excuse me sir. I am trying to enjoy this wonderful rendition of Gigi with my significant other. Could you please refrain from your audible conversation until intermission?" Yeah, I can see how that would come to blows!

These guys were lucky as no charges were filed. They will have quite a story to tell their kids. Hey son, your old man was once kicked out of a Boston Pops concert. That's hardly as cool as jumping the wall at Wrigley Field to snag a baseball, but they did make the national news, and that guy at the ballpark just got his mug flashed on the Jumbotron as security guards knocked him on his butt and dragged him off the field.

Boston Pops conductor, Keith Lockhart, does have one lesson to learn. The show must go on. In the middle of the fight he ordered the orchestra to silence with the waive of a wand, but why? The fight video would have been much more entertaining with the 1812 Overture roaring in the background.