One of the everlasting bummers of contemporary televised sports is that streakers and their ilk are never shown on camera. If an adventuring fan storms the field and starts running around, the station’s procedure is to fix the camera on a bemused player and instruct the broadcast booth to refer to the field of “some idiot.”
VIDEO: Matt Diaz Takes Down Field-Storming Menace, Saves America
During Monday night’s Braves-Phillies game, SportSouth made an exception.
They did so because Matt Diaz became the only person in recent memory to preserve the public peace by tripping somebody. Aside from the trip itself, there are several outstanding things about this video:
- Phillies fans gave a standing ovation to Diaz, a member of a hated division rival, in the thick of a playoff race. Diaz responded by tipping his cap to the crowd. It should be stressed here that Phillies fans hate the Braves. This will never ever ever happen again, ever.
- The reactions of Brian McCann and Jason Werth need to be made into an animated .GIF.
Get to work, Internet!
- Speaking of the getting-to-work of the Internet, Ted Berg of Tedquarters fame tweeted this:
Presumably the Phillies fan that ran onto the field last night was left-handed or Matt Diaz never would have made contact.
For those unfamiliar with Diaz, just take my word for it. This is a good joke.
- The Braves’ booth made sure to note that, “I haven’t seen a security guy yet that’s in real good shape here in Philadelphia.” I’m pretty sure that saying unflattering things about security personnel is a violation of the Constitution and/or the Pledge of Allegiance.
- Here’s the difference between 2010 and 1976: in ‘76, Rick Monday thwarted a couple of fans who had designs on burning the American flag in the Dodgers outfield. In 2010, fans run on the field in a Green Man costume, a reference to a popular cable television program, only his costume is red, which necessarily ruins the entire gimmick. The only thing -- really, the only thing -- about Green Man is that he is green. Goodness. This is a terrible generation.
- This offers us the opportunity, once again, to ask ourselves whether TV networks should point the camera at fans when they storm the field. I think they should, because I enjoy a good laugh and I also instinctively disregard things such as “implications” or “long-term consequences,” because when it comes right down to it I am basically a child. What do you think?
For more on spandex-covered fans and the tripping thereof, check out our Braves blog, Talking Chop, and our Phillies blog, The Good Phight.
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