The term "laser lout" seems to have run out "lager lout" from the trendy lexicon of security officials at Australian cricket grounds with the coming of the contemporary menace of laser beams on players' faces.
The term "laser lout" seems to have run out "lager lout" from the trendy lexicon of security officials at Australian cricket grounds with the coming of the contemporary menace of laser beams on players' faces.
Tuesday night's deplorable incident at Brisbane's Gabba has put the ongoing acrimonious debate regarding over-policing at cricket stadiums by allegedly spoilsport officials in an altogether different light.
Security officials, tired of being labelled "fun police" by instant gratification-seeking, beer-swilling, ecstacy-downing fans of a new generation of sports lovers, more attuned to the Mardi Grasu2013like carnival atmosphere of hit-and-giggle Twenty20, are now strutting about with 'we-told-you-so' smugness.
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Gripes during the recently-concluded and exhilarating Test series between Australia and South Africa ranged from high price of admission, to unfair eviction of well-behaved fans, to exorbitant prices of food of substandard quality, to ridiculous eye "tests" at stadium bars to determine intoxication and eligibility of fans to buy repeats of low-alcohol beer.
Harmless banners, innocuous Mexican waves and inoffensive beer snakes have been banned at many venues.
Beach balls that enter the playing arena are now peremptorily deflated because they "encourage" overzealous crowd reaction, interfere with play, and annoy "those patrons who come to the cricket to watch the cricket".
The general belief was epitomised by a reader who complained: "The fun police have tainted a good day at the cricket. It is as if they are incapable of differentiating between a bit of fun and truly reckless behaviour."
Particularly galling for younger cricket fans, already incensed at fun-spoiling security personnel who they consider over-zealous, is the prospect of fellow fans squealing on them via a text message to a "rat line", under a new crowd management initiative to be introduced soon at some grounds.
Experimented
Cricket Australia has already experimented with the phone line at a match in Brisbane and plans to implement it nationally, according to Cricket Australia's public affairs manager Peter Young.
"We are very keen on the idea. We are currently actively considering the idea for broader introduction, if not this year then for next season," he said.
According to USA Today, the phone line, introduced in the National Football League has been dubbed "The Rat Line" by disapproving American fans.
Nevertheless, all but three of the NFL's 32 teams have implemented the scheme, with fans sending more than 1000 text messages since the start of the 2008 NFL season.
The newspaper quotes a fan as saying: "It's too much like Big Brother. It's just another step in the NFL taking the personality away from the game."
He felt the NFL's attempt to control normal, rowdy behaviour reinforced the impression it was now the "No Fun League".
Some fans at the Sydney Cricket Ground during the Test earlier this month complained they were being closely watched for eight hours.
However Peter Young dismissed similar apprehension where Cricket Australia was concerned.
He said the main thing was for people who had paid for tickets to the cricket to be able to enjoy their day without it being ruined by the behaviour of others.
In an effort to prevent a repetition of Tuesday's laser pointer episode, Cricket Australia has vowed to evict and prosecute anyone in possession of laser lights during the upcoming one-day series starting in Melbourne today.
"We have asked the security people to add this to a list of things to keep a lookout for on their closed circuit TV monitoring," Young said.
CA will, doubtless, be anxious also to ensure a repeat of the 2006 incident, when South African players Makhaya Ntini, Garnett Kruger, Herschelle Gibbs and Ashwell Prince alleged they were taunted with racial comments, does not occur.
In 2003, Muttiah Muralitharan complained repeated abuses of "monkey" and "f... off, chucker" were hurled at him.
Racial abuse
Earlier this summer, New Zealand fast bowler Iain O'Brien complained he was repeatedly taunted as a "faggot" during the first Test. He described the Brisbane crowd as "embarrassing".
The tug-of-war between the irresistible object (fun-loving fans) and the immoveable force (sports authorities) continues unabated.
Ultimately, the greater good of the greatest numbers must prevail.
Patrons who come to the cricket to watch the cricket should be allowed to do so without disturbance. At the same time, it is incumbent upon officialdom to ensure it does not throw out the baby with the bathwater.
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