5 most infamous fan moments in sports
2025-01-17
Category: sports

The controversy surrounding Philadelphia Eagles fan Ryan Caldwell for berating a female Packers fan during a game is just the latest incident of scandalously unruly fan behavior in sports.&nbsp; Other deranged fans have engaged in physical altercations with athletes, with one incident even resulting in the stabbing of an athlete. Fox News Digital recounts the five most infamous fan moments in the history of sports.&nbsp; 5. Cubs fan sabotages his own team and extends the most infamous curse in MLB history  During Game 6 of the 2003 National League Division vs. the then-Florida Marlins, Chicago Cubs fan Steve Bartman reached out and grabbed a ball that could have been caught.&nbsp; At the time, Chicago had a 3-0 lead and could have clinched a trip to the World Series with a win. Bartman interfered with a foul ball hit by Marlins hitter Luis Castillo that Cubs outfielder Moisés Alou was trying to catch for an out. But by snagging the ball out of the air before Alou could catch it, Bartman cost his own team a chance at a precious out. It would have been the second out of the inning.&nbsp; But instead, the very next pitch to Castillo was wild, and the Cubs defense suffered a collapse that resulted in eight runs. The Cubs then lost the series in Game 7, and the franchise's nearly century-long World Series title drought extended. Bartman's incident became an infamous moment in what is considered to be one of the great curses in sports history.&nbsp; The franchise's lack of championships from 1909 up until 2016 was associated with the superstition known as "The Curse of the Billy Goat," which stems from a 1945 incident when a fan was denied entry to a game because he had a goat with him. Bartman's actions were not rooted in malice, but the consequences, aftermath and imagery of him at that game is what has made the incident so infamous.&nbsp; Details of Bartman's personal life were made public, and he actively avoided any public attention for years after the incident. He declined multiple offers for interviews and opportunities to appear in documentaries. CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM 4. Eagles fan fires flare gun at fellow spectators during game, igniting flury of fistfights and arson charges Caldwell is far from the first Eagles fan to exhibit questionable behavior at a game.&nbsp; In 1997, during a Monday night game against the San Francisco 49ers, one mischievous Eagles fan shot a flare gun into the stands full of other fans, endangering multiple lives.&nbsp; After the flare was shot, multiple fistfights broke out around the stadium as most of the violence was directed at 49ers fans by Eagles fans.&nbsp; "There were a large number of fights and acts of intimidation, many directed at fans in 49ers jerseys," the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote at the time. After the game, Eagles owner Jeffrie Lurie was forced to condemn his own fans.&nbsp; "In spite of the fact that we feel we have made significant strides in recent years with regard to fan conduct at Veterans Stadium, what we witnessed this past Monday was undoubtedly a step backward," Lurie told reporters at the time. The franchise's former home, Veterans Stadium, had an on-site judicial court and jail cells to deal with law-breaking fans. 3. Ron Artest fights Detroit Pistons fans in incident dubbed 'Malice at the Palace'   A 2004 game between the Detroit Pistons and Indiana Pacers devolved into one of the ugliest moments in NBA history when a player started attacking fans.&nbsp; There were just seconds left of the game when the fight began, but the conditions got so hostile that the game was never finished.&nbsp; The fighting all began with a foul. After the players started battling it out on the court, it wasn't long before the fight escalated up to the stands as spectators began throwing drinks and trash at players. Pacers forward Ron Artest was at the center of the chaos as imagery of him swinging his fists at the Detroit fans became a disturbing staple of NBA lore.&nbsp; As the Pacers made their way back to the locker room, they had to cover their heads to be shielded from the liquid and trash being thrown their way. Several fans were banned from Pistons games for life because of the incident. Nine players were suspended without pay for a total of 146 games, according to the source. The five players were charged with assault.&nbsp; EAGLES FAN WHO BERATED FEMALE PACKERS FAN SPEAKS OUT AFTER LOSING JOB AS FANS CELEBRATE HIS FIRING 2. Cleveland Indians sell beers for $0.10 each, giving way to a violent drunken mob  In 1974, the Cleveland Indians (now the Guardians) held an event known only now as "10-Cent Beer Night." The team sold beers for $0.10 each for a game against the Texas Rangers on&nbsp; The promotion drew a crowd of 25,134 fans to Cleveland Stadium, and many of those fans ended up on the field in a riot in the ninth inning. After eight previous innings that saw drunken fans set off firecrackers and streak nakedly across the field, a game-tying rally by Cleveland in the final inning unleashed chaos. After the game was tied, a fan ran onto the field to try and steal Rangers player Jeff Burroughs' cap right off his head.&nbsp; In response, Texas manager Billy Martin and his players ran onto the field to protect Burroughs, but that only provoked even more drunken Cleveland fans to get involved. A horde of attendees armed with knives, chains and clubs made out of torn-up pieces of seats rushed the Texas players.&nbsp; Some fans even threw steel folding chairs at players, and Cleveland relief pitcher Tom Hilgendorf was hit in the head by one.  The Cleveland players wielded their bats to help defend the Texas players from their own drunken fans.&nbsp; The teams fled the field through the dugouts in groups, then locked themselves in their clubhouses. But rioting on the field continued for at least another 20 minutes as police and security tried to subdue the rioters. Only nine fans ended up getting arrested. Chief umpire Nestor Chylak eventually declared the game to be forfeited by Cleveland, granting Texas the win. CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP 1. Women's tennis star Monica Seles stabbed by fan of rival after big win  Yugoslavian women's tennis star Monica Seles was stabbed by a fan of one of her biggest rivals at the 1993 Citizen Cup in Hamburg, Germany.&nbsp; During a break after winning a game in the quarterfinal match against Magdalena Maleeva, who was the world No. 1 at the time, a fan of German player Steffi Graf ran onto the court and stabbed Seles in the back while she sat courtside. The man was named Günter Parche, and police determined that he intended to injure Seles so that Graf could reclaim the No. 1 spot. Parche was eventually sentenced to two years' probation and psychological treatment.  Seles, meanwhile, was rushed to the hospital and required several weeks for her injuries to heal. However, it would be two years before she returned to tennis. She also vowed to never play in Germany again due to the fact that Parche was given minimal punishment.&nbsp; "What people seem to be forgetting is that this man stabbed me intentionally, and he did not serve any sort of punishment for it. ... I would not feel comfortable going back. I don't foresee that happening," she told the BBC. Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X, and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.