Sitting Down versus Standing Up

[Section 87]

Sometimes, I prefer to sit. It doesn't make me less of a fan. And I do find it annoying when someone in front of me insists on blocking my view. Last night some chump in front of me had to stand up so he could text. He had his face buried in his phone, totally oblivious.

Near the end of game 2, two drunks entered our section and played the part of cheerleaders, insisting that we stand up. They were at the front of the section, backs to the court, telling us to stand. They weren't even watching the game. At the buzzer, they left angrily, cursing and blaming us for the Celtics' woes, because we wouldn't stand up. While they didn't even watch the last two minutes!

And personally, I don't care whether Glen Davis or Lawrence Moroney shows up on the jumbletroms telling me to stand up. That's just more of the useless hype. If Garnett stands on the court, and motions for the crowd to stand, that means something. If Davis's video comes on the screen, well, I ignore it. I don't need the "entertainment" staff to tell me how to be a Celtics fan, and when they're on the jumbletroms telling me what to do, even a player is acting as part of the "entertainment" rather than the game.

Stand if you like, if it doesn't prevent anyone from seeing the game. But be courteous of those behind you, and let them watch. At one of the Cleveland games, I had nosebleed seats, balcony row 15. Nobody ever told me "down in front." But when I'm in the front row, I'm conscious of those behind me when the ball is in play.

[youcanthandlethetruth113]

IMHO people who are concerned with sitting AND having a view should take precautionary measures and get front row upper bowl.

Seems like a rather simple solution to a very simple problem.

Someone mentioned people with medical conditions which is a very valid point. To counter the point though, if they have such a condition then they should make a case for themselves to be sitting in the disabled section(s) at the Garden which are elevated and have nothing at all obstructing their view.

Lastly, technically speaking when you purchase a ticket, that ticket is for a single space and there happens to be a seat there (in some buildings there are "standing row's" where there are no seats - those people have to stand all game but I realize they're in the last row with nobody behind them). With that being said I think it's every fans RIGHT to stand whenever they want, but there's certainly an element of unwritten etiquette we expect everyone to follow.   

[Section 87]

IMO people who are concerned with standing AND fan etiquette should take precautionary measures and get back row seats or standing-room tickets. Seems like a rather simple solution to a very simple problem.

I believe that continually blocking the view of the game for the people behind you is inappropriate fan behavior. The Garden ushers agree; they will help you out so you don't have to confront someone who is ruining the game for you by blocking your view.

[Donoghus]

I pretty much agree with everything that Chris expressed in his posts.

I'm fortunate enough to have seats in the first row in the balcony so I don't have to worry about anyone in front of me standing.  Honestly, last night I spent most of the 4th quarter seated on the edge of my seat with my arms on the railing in front of me.  I just felt more comfortable and into the action that way.  The last two minutes or so, I finally stood and leaned on the railing yelling and screaming.  There's no "set times" to stand and sit.  I think it all comes from feel and the people around you. 

[bdm860]

And I don't know Shorefan, I know I always like to watch the halftime shows and I like to watch the players warm up before a game and during half time.  No real need to stand then, and I know many people enjoy watching these things too.  No need to stand then and block someone's view.  I think alot of people stand then to stretch their legs and what not, but if you want to stretch and stand the whole time before the game has even started and during all of half time, just go hang out in the corridor.  I shouldn't have to stand just because I want to see a dog catch frisbees or someone juggle on a unicycle or whatever the halftime entertainment is.

I am biased here, because I hurt my back a couple weeks ago, and have spent the last couple halftimes standing up for the majority of the time, just to try to stretch out a bit, and didn't feel that it was necessary to go down to the corrider (which is filled with people at halftime, and not really the best place to be just standing anyways...not to mention walking out there is just more pain). 

In general I think halftime pretty much anything goes.  Stand, sit, stretch out over 3 empty seats. 

How about moving to the aisle?  (I was really using the corridor as a generalization, not a rule).  Obviously every seat is different, some seats are right next to a door some aren't.  Some have many rows behind them, some have a wall.  It's ok to stand (and I understand the back thing), but halftime is part of the entertainment too.  Anything goes, just as long as your not blocking anyone's view.  If you want to stand the whole halftime and someone is sitting right behind you trying to watch what's going on down on the floor during halftime and you're blocking there view, I do think you should move.  There's usually always many open areas you can move to in order to stand causing minimal inconvience for others even if it's just sliding a few seats down.  I'm with anything goes during halftime, just as long as you're not blocking someone sitting in their own seats view of something they want to see going out on the floor. 

Chris, not trying to say people with back injuries can't stand when no action is going on, but if you're standing right in front of me when I'm trying to watch someone juggle on a unicycle, we're having problems (and when I say we, I mean me, because I'll probably just end up letting you block my view and not say anything, halftime is usually cheesy, but I still like to watch it).    Most people I feel are pretty courteous during non-action times, if I'm sitting right behind you and you notice me craning my neck or distorting my body to see past you, I think you would slide over to the side a little to not block my view.  Most people don't even care about watching that kind of stuff anyways, so there's always open areas during the majority of halftime.

[youcanthandlethetruth113]

IMO people who are concerned with standing AND fan etiquette should take precautionary measures and get back row seats or standing-room tickets. Seems like a rather simple solution to a very simple problem.

I believe that continually blocking the view of the game for the people behind you is inappropriate fan behavior. The Garden ushers agree; they will help you out so you don't have to confront someone who is ruining the game for you by blocking your view.

I don't get it...is that a knock on my opinion?

This makes no sense and here's why.......nobody is concerned with standing AND etiquette.

Etiquette is nothing to be concerned about . It simply is what it is. You either follow it (although unwritten/unspoken) or you don't. Plain and simple.

The only one's who have the "problem" are the people who's view is being obstructed, but it certainly isn't rightfully so. The guy in the front row has just as much of a RIGHT to stand the entire game as the guy in the back row.

Which brings me full circle....if you NEED to be sitting the entire game and would like a view the entire game:

a) stay home
b) buy front row tix in the upper bowl (or courtside if you're "ballin'")
c) try and get disabled section seating (if you think  your condition is such that requries said seating)

That's all I got.

It just makes no sense to me to tell somebody to sit down. You might as well tell them to stop cheering as well.

[Section 87]

And I also come full circle.

If you NEED to be standing the entire game, stay home or buy back row tickets, and stay out of the disabled seating section. The guy in the back will not block anybody's view if he stands. That's not the case for the guy in the front row.

It makes sense to ask someone blocking your view to sit down. It's not the same as cheering, it's actually quite different; cheering does not deny anyone a view of the court. Blocking someone else's view is not good fan behavior.

[Roy Hobbs]

I don't get it...is that a knock on my opinion?

This makes no sense and here's why.......nobody is concerned with standing AND etiquette.

Etiquette is nothing to be concerned about . It simply is what it is. You either follow it (although unwritten/unspoken) or you don't. Plain and simple.

What's the issue with being considerate to others?  I'm not sure if you're expressing your opinion correctly, but it's coming across is "I don't care, I'll do what I want, and if others don't like it, they can go screw themselves".  That's pompous and boorish behavior.  There's a difference between etiquette and consideration, and a little consideration is all anyone is asking for.

Fans should be considerate of those around them, so long as those others are acting reasonably themselves (ie, not complaining if you're standing up and cheering during a clutch play or down the stretch of a close game, etc.)  A lot of fans are elderly or have small children, and can't stand the entire game (or with the kids, even if they're standing, they can't necessarily see over those standing in front of them).

I think everyone just needs to use common sense and discretion.  It's the same thing with swearing and other fan behavior.  Just do things in moderation, and remember who you're surrounded by.  You're not the only one in the stadium.

[RockinRyA]

at every college game our school has with our rivals,we stand up for the whole game except for timeouts and breaks.. and its amazing.. chanting all the way, til the last minute

[bdm860]

Allow me to completely contradict myself right here

I have no problem whatsoever with the players standing for the whole game.  I've heard a few times of fans sitting courtside complaining of NBA players standing and blocking their view.  Every time I've heard of this I'm pretty sure it was always just a complaint against the visiting team.  If I was a player in a hostile environment I think I would be more likely to want to continue to stand if fans were yelling at me to sit down.  Ok on the road, but not ok at home.

[Chris]

I pretty much agree with everything that Chris expressed in his posts.

I'm fortunate enough to have seats in the first row in the balcony so I don't have to worry about anyone in front of me standing.  Honestly, last night I spent most of the 4th quarter seated on the edge of my seat with my arms on the railing in front of me.  I just felt more comfortable and into the action that way.  The last two minutes or so, I finally stood and leaned on the railing yelling and screaming.  There's no "set times" to stand and sit.  I think it all comes from feel and the people around you. 

You have no idea how jealous I am that you got front row balcony seats.  I was a little slow in getting my season tickets, and couldn't get up that far, and now it looks like there is not much chance to upgrade for a long time. 

[ma11l]

I go to school at Marist and go to every basketball game.  We're not a big school, or a powerhouse but we stand and jump around and all that jazz during the game.  It is a lot of fun.  I stood for the last 3 minutes of the game last night because I was too nervous to sit still.  I am more comfortable standing.  Usually when I go to games I try as much as possible to sit during the action when everyone else is to stay out of peoples' way. 

However I feel like that playoffs are different.  We were in the 13th row of the balcony for Game 7 against the Cavs and stood for just about the whole game.  The last four rows of our section and many others around us stood the whole time.  It was the most fun I've ever had at a game (that also had a lot to do with the game it was obviously).  But I also thought it was really cool that we were all standing.  It was the most unified I've felt with the fans around me at the game, just as it is at Marist.  By the end I was drenched in peoples' beer and hugging and high fiving complete strangers.  It was awesome. 

[ejk3489]

When I was at game 5 of the Cleveland series, I never really had a problem with people asking me to sit down. Actually pretty much everyone around was standing for the most part.

The one thing that annoyed me though were these two guys who would get up every 2 minutes to get a beer. It's like geez, are you even going to watch any of the game? And I would always miss a big play because I had to let them by.    Very annoying.

[Chris]

When I was at game 5 of the Cleveland series, I never really had a problem with people asking me to sit down. Actually pretty much everyone around was standing for the most part.

The one thing that annoyed me though were these two guys who would get up every 2 minutes to get a beer. It's like geez, are you even going to watch any of the game? And I would always miss a big play because I had to let them by.    Very annoying.

That drives me nuts.  There have been a couple times in this playoffs when my row was filled with a group of college kids who clearly were only there to get drunk.  There were about 5 of them, and they would never all get up at the same time, but literally every 5 minutes, at least one of them would get up to either get more beer, or go to the bathroom.

I have no problem with people drinking at the games...but if you have to get up more than 1 time per half (and that is generous), there is a problem.  That gives you two beers at the beginning of the game, two beers once in the first half, two beers at halftime, and two beers in the second half.  And for god's sake, if you are in a group, get up at the same time!!!  If your buddy leaves to get beer, don't wait two minutes and then decide you want more too.

[CDawg834]

IMHO people who are concerned with sitting AND having a view should take precautionary measures and get front row upper bowl. 

Have you tried to get tickets to a playoff game?  You get whatever you can get!  A lot of people don't have a choice as to where they sit if they want to go to a playoff game.