Shootings at the 'Stick - No Surprise

Welcome to Candlestick Park

Last night's multiple acts of fan violence during and after the 49ers - Raiders game were, unfortunately, no surprise. For several years, Raiders fans have been gooning it up during these worthless preseason contests at Candlestick. Meanwhile, the 49ers' general ineptitude on the field has transformed their "wine and cheese" gameday crowd into an accumulation of "Budweiser and blunts" thugs. It was only a matter of time before shots were fired.

Normally, you could chalk this up to just another case of Raider fans being Raider fans - I've seen these wannabe juggalos terrorize opposing teams' fans (including my wife) in both San Francisco and San Diego over the years. But in this case, it takes two to tango.

Over the past decade-plus, I've watched the 49er fanbase de-evolve into its present state of drunken bozos and petty thieves. These are the "fans" that get into altercations with elderly folks who have been ticketholders for several decades, because they think it's their God-given right to stand up and shout for the defense for 45 straight minutes while turning away from the action on the field to block everybody's view and implore the rest of their disinterested compatriots to do the same - even if some of them can no longer stand and shout due to age or physical limitations.

Take a look at this scene in the parking lot before the game last night and tell me you would want to take your kids, your parents, your spouse, your grandparents - ANYBODY to a 49ers game at Candlestick Park.If there was any doubt that I'd refrain from attending a 49ers home game this year, it's been completely erased. I've seen enough of this garbage.

These are the same fans that my wife and I now call "RaiderNiner Fans" since they act exactly like the worst representatives of the Raider Nation, except they are wearing 49er scarlet and gold. And the 49ers organization are willing participants in catering to these asshats, since they are now the only people who show up to watch this crappy team play in this crappy stadium. Long-time fans have been marginalized, and the ones remaining rarely bother to attend these farcical preseason games, resulting in the tickets being handed down or given away to a bunch of mouth-breathing drunken imbeciles, which leads to incidents like last night's.

Until the NFL stops forcing people to pay full price for these glorified practice scrimmages and the 49ers exert  more control over the thuggish element they are allowing into Candlestick on gameday, these disgusting displays of fan violence will continue.

Update: Scott Ostler (as always) nailed it. 

The 49ers, Raiders and the NFL should be ashamed. But as long as they keep raking in the money and playing fake games that are dubbed "The Battle of the Bay," they probably won't give a shit.