Game 6

Game Six was Crazy. Here's the email I sent to the Orlando Magic, Amway Arena, OPD, and posted other versions on several major internet sites. People have suggested I send the story to HBO and try to get it featured on Real Sports

Let me preface this email by saying that I have literally been to hundreds of sporting events, both amateur, collegiate and professional. I understand that there will be heckling and needling from opposing fans, and that's something that has to be dealt with. But last night was excessive to the point where I needed to have a escort back to my car. I never understood how things like this: http://samotalis.blogspot.com/2009/0...n-nigeria.html could occur until last night.

I bought 2 tickets from twoplustwo.com for $525 each, one for me and one for a lady friend. Something came up and she was unable to attend, so I took my best friend with me, who is a huge Lebron James fan. I am neither a Cavs fan nor a Magic fan. I was totally indifferent to the outcome of the game since my team (Lakers) had early gotten their spot in the finals. I went to this game with the sole expectation of having a good time and seeing a good matchup with Orlando being able to put away the series at home, and Cleveland needing to win on the road. It was shaping up to be one of the better games of the postseason, which is why I paid so much for the tickets.

When we got to the arena, I bought a few hundred dollars worth of apparel. I got a Magic shirt, an Eastern Conference Finals shirt, an NBA playoffs shirt, and a Lebron James jersey to match that my friend was wearing. I figured it wouldn't be an issue since we were sitting behind the basket on the visitor's side.

We get to our part of the arena, and the usher brings us down to our seats about 15minutes before tipoff. The seats were awesome. We were sitting front row behind the visitor hoop, with all the sportscasters and such in front of us. We get some crap from a few magic fans, and some praise from the few cavalier fans, everything seemed normal as far as sports games go

The game tips off and the magic jump out to an early lead. The cheerleaders and such are in front of us waving flags and jumping up and down. So me and my friend stand up to see over the flag. The guys behind us ask us to sit down. I tell them that we cant see since there is a giant flag being waved in front of our faces. One of them tells me that I need to sit down before he knocks me out. They had clearly been drinking. So we sit down, and the flag people go away after a few minutes. Then they come back again and we stand up, because i'm not going to pay 1k for a game and not be able to see everything. The guys behind me call security and the cops and complain that we are standing up.

The cops/security laugh at them and tell us that we paid for the tickets and we can do whatever we want and just to ignore the people behind us. So we do just that for the rest of the game.

For the remainder of the first quarter and most of the second quarter we are both standing and sitting depending on what game action dictated. i would stand up to take some pictures when cleveland was nearing the basket and then sit back down when orlando was on the opposite side of the court. towards the end of the second quarter this big bulky cavs fans comes running down the stands by where im sitting and tells the guys behind me to knock it off. apparently each time i had been standing up, they had been spitting in my seat. he had watched them do this 4 different times. the guys started yelling at him, and he told him that hed beat the living **** out of all 3 of them if they did anything else. i told the guy and everyone else to chill out, im just trying to watch the game. the big cavs fan called security to point out to them what he had seen, and security saw the spit in my seat. the security guy took note of the spit and told the people behind us to calm down and that we had paid for our seats and we could use them as we pleased. being disgusted, this ensured i wasnt going to sit down for the rest of the game.

there was a guy next to us, in our aisle of 3 that i had not mentioned up to this point, because he had hardly talked or said anything. he was an older man who had bought his tickets through craigslist from the same guy i got my tickets from. during halfttime he left and came back with 3 beers, and gave 2 to the guys behind us. after that he went and talked to some security people on the floor and i saw a lot of pointing going on in my general vicinity. i just kept watching the game

After a few minutes, the head of security walks up to me (Security Head is what it said on his badge, I didn't catch his name, though I should've. I'd definitely recognize him, he was an older man) and says to me "one more ****up and youre out of the game" i ask him what he's talking about. he tells me that "youre not allowed to spill beer or spit on other people". "you also need to sit down". i try explaining to him that there was another security person who had just talked to us not even 20 minutes ago, and that it was the people behind us who were spitting on US, and that im not even 21, or drinking, and i hadnt even left my seat to get food or use the bathroom the entire game because of what i thought the people behind me would do to the seat. but he said "one more word and im taking you out of the game now"

so we had to sit down, after the guy next to us had clearly lied to security, most likely in exchange for a free beer from the guys behind us. the guys behind us started kicking our chairs, and eventually kicking us directly in our spines. they spit on us more and poured beer all over us. i complained to a amway arena floor person but he said there was nothing he could do besides call security, which clearly wasnt on our side. i ask the guy next to us what's wrong with him that hed have to lie and get us in trouble, and he says "you were being inconsiderate and childish"

you mean because i didnt sit down voluntarily in a seat that was spit in? im at a playoff basketball game, not a croquet match. that calls for excitement, ive never even heard of sitting down at a sports game. there were hundreds, if not thousands of people standing up for the duration of the game throughout the arena.

the game wears on and the abuse continues from the people behind us. the guy next to us starts getting in on it too, everytime the magic would score he would go "how do you like that one bitch?" and a slew of other insults, and we couldnt say anything back since security would eject us from the game if we did anything at all. so we sat there in silence trying our best to watch the game

meanwhile the guy i bought the tickets from txts me and asks me how the seats are.  i tell him it's awful as im being kicked in the back. he asks why and i explain that the guy next to us he sold the tickets to is a liar. he tells me he knows nothing about the guy, except that his name is XXXXX.

the game goes on, and the guy next to me is needling me on saying how everyone should take me out back and beat my ass out of principle for wearing a lebron james jersey. mind you he is easily in his 40s and im 20. at this point i tell him "listen XXXXX, you need to calm down or im going to file a formal complaint"

at this point he literally snaps. "HEY YOU LITTLE MAGGOT COCKED **** SUCKING MOTHER****ER. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM? I WILL **** YOUR WORLD 6 WAYS FROM SUNDAY. ILL GET YOU ARRESTED RIGHT NOW. I WORK FOR THE ****ING FBI, ILL TRACK YOU DOWN WHERE YOU LIVE AND SLIT BOTH YOU AND YOUR FAMILY'S THROAT. YOU PICKED THE WRONG MOTHER****ER TO MESS WITH TONIGHT. JUST WAIT UNTIL THE GAME IS OVER"

he is literally screaming this at me, and then he pushes me. there are some magic cheerleaders and some other reps watching, but they dont say anything. i wonder how this can go on, as i use every ounce of self control in my body not to start a fight with the guy next to me. some guy walks up to us and asks what's going on (I think he was part of the floor crew, he was a younger guy wearing a suit), and i try to explain the death threat i just received, but everyone around me except for my friend says im lying, and the guy next to me was just talking about the game. 

at this point im ready to leave, theres a few minutes in the game and the magic have it sealed anyways. i look for someone that will be able to get me real police and get me out of there. i find an NBA representative and he calls OPD for me, and OPD and a Amway Arena official escort me and my friend from the stands. as we're walking away the guy that was next to us yells "YOU CAN RUN BUT YOU CANT HIDE YOU MAGGOT MOTHER****ER, YOU AND YOUR FAMILY ARE GOING TO DIE"

I don't know if anyone else heard him as he said this, but it would've been hard not to. Regardless, nothing was done. We get into a back part of the arena and take our cavs jerseys off fast. I tell them i need to file several complaints and they take me up to the main office, and give me a list of email addresses.

After they give us that, an amway arena event coordnator (Eric Staufer) escorts us a few blocks back to near where our car was. Eric was a nice guy and the biggest help we received all night.

I look at my phone in the car and have a few texts from the guy I had bought the tickets from asking what happened. I guess he had received some threatening messages from the man about getting the FBI on him and his family. The guy I bought the tickets from has his email address, and first and last name. I do not know what I am going to do with this information but am open to any suggestions from you guys.

I'm going to forward versions of this to the NBA, Orlando Magic, Amway Arena, and Orlando Police Department, as well as post my experience on several major websites and blogrolls. I don't really know what if anything I can do though. I was literally scared for my well-being for a good majority of the second half, and didnt even get to enjoy the game.

I was mistreated and ignored throughout the night by security and event staff. Had the situation been addressed sooner I wouldn't have had to have an escort to my car and had my life continually threatened. When I got home this morning, do you know how hard it is to explain to your grandparents that you received death threats at a basketball game instead of having a good time?

I literally did nothing to antagonize anyone, as farfetched as that might sound. I have several pictures on my camera that I will forward to you when I can get them uploaded. They will show people who you can get in contact with who work for your staff who can fill you in on what went on Saturday night. 

There are tragedies, like the one following the Manchester United/Barcelona game that are caused by crazed fans that are left unpunished. That situation, the one Saturday night, and others like it could have been prevented if security had been better. I feel that if I had been wearing an Orlando Magic shirt, I would have had no issues with getting security to listen to me. But that's not the way it should be. 

I look forward to your response and subsequent action,

-Marty Mathis