From: harbison@dbsun.uucp (harbison)
Subject: Re: Blame it on Gino
Organization: BioMerieux-Vitek, St. Louis Mo.
Date: Thu, 7 Jan 1993 05:20:40 GMT

In article <C0EKy1.4zI@encore.com>
jfawcett@encore.com (Jason "Raise Cane" Fawcett) writes:
> Let's not act like Bama's fans were acting like perfect little angels.
> Bama's fans are experts on " TRASH TALKING and TAUNTING ".

As several people have pointed out, the behavior in question was that
of the Miami players (e.g. trash talk, refusing to shake hands, taunting
the fans, etc.), and of some Miami fans in this newsgroup (e.g. trash
talk prior to the game).  I have no objection to a Miami fan stating,
prior to the game, would beat Bama by some margin.  However, articles
such as "One For The Thumb" went way beyond that, and it certainly was
not the only one.

> Not even kids were safe from the Bama's Lynch mob.  Dennis Erickson's
> 14 year old son was punched in the face a few times, and knocked to
> the ground, at the Super Dome by several 25 year old Bama fans.
> There was no excuse, for that type of crap.

Can you quote a source?  I listened to CNN, ESPN, and network news, and
read alot of newspapers in the days after the game (mainly looking for
the poll results) and I never saw any mention of this incident.  I agree
there is no excuse for this type of behavior, and I'm sure most fans of
any team (including Bama and Miami) would agree.

> The Miami Ibis mascot was shot in the face on New Years Eve, when he
> was cheering with the Miami's Cheerleader on Bourbon Street. The police
> did feel that this was a random shooting, but most Cane fans didn't
> hear that it was random until the day after the game.   

I read this story in both USA Today and the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
Here are some quotes from the Post article.

  Though the bullet entered near his right eye and exited near his
  right cheekbone, he planned to be in costume ...

  Ed Hudak, a security officer with the Miami athletic department,
  said the New Orleans police told him that it probably was "a random
  shooting."

  Routh said that a slug was recovered and that he was told by police
  that it came from either an AK-47 rifle or a 9mm.

  Routh said he was told the bullet traveled down his cheekbone before
  leaving his face.  He also had a powder burn on his right shoulder.

It sounds like the kind of accident that is bound to happen when people
mix alcohol and firearms; however, there is no evidence linking the
crime to any Bama fan.  The 70,000+ fans in town for the game probably
constitute less than 10 percent of the people in New Orleans on New
Year's Eve.  There are other explanations that are at least as likely,
such as gang-related shooting or reckless behavior by locals.

If Routh had been in his "Sebastian" attire, I might even suggest it was
a "hunting accident".  Imagine this scene: 2 cases of beer plus 2 rifles
plus 2 good ol' boys plus the following dialogue.

GOB1: Damn!  Bubba, what the hell is that thing?
GOB2: I dunno Jim Bob, looks like some kind of sea gull.
GOB1: That damn things bigger'n my wife, Bubba!
GOB2: Yep, we'll be eatin' off that bird for weeks!

Insert as necessary:  :-) :-) :-)

-- 
*realName: Phil Harbison
*mailName: harbison%dbsun.uucp@wupost.wustl.edu
*phoneList: 314-731-7475 (w) 314-272-9318 (h)
Rama-jama-yellowhamma', give `em hell, Alabama!
Newsgroups: rec.sport.football.college