Fans fight at Fresno State game. But ‘Let’s go Brandon’ displays are equally bad
From my seat in Row 43 of Section 16, I had a pretty good view of the drunken brawls that marred Saturday’s proceedings at Bulldog Stadium and resulted in multiple arrests.
When the home fans put up a better fight than the home team, that’s never good.
What took place was regrettable — certainly a bad look for Fresno State — but not something that warrants an overreaction, such as banning beer sales inside the stadium.
I get the sense those hooligans throwing punches in the north end zone, at each other, at Boise State fans, at security and police, were under the influence of something stronger than the $9 Bud Light and Michelob Ultra twist-offs sold by vendors.
A friend of mine with a 35-year career in law enforcement who also happened to be sitting in Section 16 watched the whole thing through binoculars. According to him, the initial response by stadium security was slow and inadequate. The first guard on scene got taken down and absorbed in the melee.
Police kept things from getting completely out of control, my friend says, but officers took a while to arrive. Why? Because they spend more time watching the game and visiting with passersby than monitoring notorious problem areas (i.e. the north end zone) for unruly behavior.
“I plan to miss the next home game and watch on TV,” he texted. “I am not going to have a fight in my lap. My 30-year season tickets will become debatable if law enforcement is not added and facing the stands.”
Tailgate or political rally?
While Fresno State deals with the fallout, allow me to call your attention to another bothersome aspect about Saturday’s game experience that did not involve the final score.
Since when did the pregame tailgate become a thinly veiled political rally?
I must’ve spent two hours before kickoff strolling through tailgate areas surrounding the stadium. It was great to see the Red Wave turn out in such force and see so many familiar faces, including a couple former players from my beat-writing days in the early 2000s.
But I also kept seeing a slogan, emblazoned on quite a few T-shirts, stickers and banners, that left me puzzled. Who in the heck is Brandon?
Later that night after getting home, I found out. “Let’s go Brandon” is the meme of the moment for Republicans and conservatives. It’s essentially code for “F*** Joe Biden.”
The meme originated Oct. 2 following a NASCAR Xfinity Series race in Florida. While NBC reporter Kelli Stavast interviewed winner Brandon Brown, fans at Talladega Superspeedway can clearly be heard chanting, “F*** Joe Biden.”
Only Stavast didn’t reflect that sentiment on the broadcast. Rather, she said, “You can hear the chants from the crowd, ‘Let’s go, Brandon!’ “
Any rational-thinking person might think Stavast got confused — or perhaps flustered in a clumsy attempt to soften a vulgarity she knows is being broadcast over the airwaves. But to people such as Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, it’s evidence of a corporate media conspiracy to protect Biden’s image.
Oh, brother.
Presidential insults nothing new
DeSantis’ words are too stupid to bear repeating. Suffice to say “Let’s go Brandon” has since spread like wildfire among Trump-doting Republicans. Even the Fresno County GOP is selling the phrase on printed banners. Because, hey, there’s a buck to be made off sly, in-the-know messages that won’t get banned on social media platforms and internet searches.
I take zero issue with any of this. Presidential insults, vulgar or clever, are nothing new. During the last administration, “F*** Trump” and “covfefe” were common vernacular.
However, you didn’t see Bulldogs fans displaying “F*** Trump” banners at their tailgates. And no one wore “covfefe” sweatshirts mocking him at the finish line of the Two Cities Marathon, as a woman did Sunday.
In fact, what conservatives normally tell us is sports and politics shouldn’t mix. NFL players who knelt before the national anthem to protest police brutality of Blacks were “sons of bitches.” NBA players with a social conscience like LeBron James should “shut up and dribble.”
Turns out sports and politics do mix — just as long as they’re right-leaning politics. Then it’s perfectly OK. Mix all you want.
I’ve seen a few fights at Bulldog Stadium over the decades (though not for a while). However, that’s the first time I can remember Bulldogs fans pushing coded obscene insults against a U.S. president.
I am pretty sure which form of behavior is more unseemly.
This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 9:57 AM.
