Stop the sales

Sporting News, The, Jan 14, 2002 by Bill McGuinness

After what happened at the Browns-Jaguars game on December 16, I am concerned that the vast majority of the national media and people across the United States think all Browns fans are drunken idiots.

This is not the case. The people who threw the bottles are not representative of real Browns supporters. These are people who use games as an excuse to get bombed. The majority of us are people who love our team and look forward to our eight Sundays in autumn at Cleveland Stadium. I was mad at the officials' blunder, too, but I didn't throw anything.

If the NFL really wants to prevent these types of problems from occurring, it should stop selling alcohol at its venues. Cleveland does not have a monopoly on drunken idiots in the stands. As long as the league turns a blind eye and an open wallet towards its alcohol sales policies, there always will be the chance that this scene will be repeated.

Bill McGuinness

Cleveland