Heading out to see your favorite team play isn’t exactly the cheapest outing for families, so imagine the fury when you have paid good money for some decent seats only to see someone settle into a spot near you, knowing full well they weren’t the seats they paid for.
In fact, knowing full well it’s not actually a seat!
That’s what Matildas fans recently vented about on social media following their recent match against Korea in Sydney.
“Don’t ruin it for others!”
TikTok user @em.robertsonn3 was enjoying the game of women’s soccer when she — and others around her — noticed a large group of female fans head down and take a seat in the middle of the stair walkway for the remainder of the game.
“The game is still on… sit back and enjoy it, don’t ruin it for others!” she captioned the footage.
The video has been viewed over 573K times, with many fans applauding the Aussie for highlighting an issue many other sporting fans complain about.
“So annoying,” someone agreed, while another said it was the “biggest ick” about seeing sporting matches live.
“Oh hell yeah! I agree we’ve had tickets along the bottom fence and had kids try to stand in front of us,” another added.
Mum Emily says it’s this kind of behaviour that makes her NOT want to go to live matches with her children: “Oh man I get so grumpy at stuff like that. The entitlement. ‘I didn’t pay for good seats but I want/deserve an amazing view, so I’m going to put everyone else’s convenience and safety at jeopardy.’ Makes me raaaaage!”
Why fans are doing this at sporting matches
While deemed annoying and selfish, some fans jumped into the conversation to explain why we’re seeing more and more people do this at popular sporting matches.
According to many, it’s not uncommon to see young fans group up close to the barricades in order to grab an autograph (or a jersey) from their favourite players.
“This speaks volumes to the new generation of Matildas fans. Fans of the team over the sport. Anyone who’s been to sports games would know this is extremely inconsiderate (at best) or dangerous (at worst). This is a sports game not a meet and greet,” a fan insisted.
“This and the amount of signs asking for jersey like just enjoy the game,” another vented.
Regardless of the reason, the Aussie fan insisted this habit needs to stop so everyone can enjoy the view they paid for, especially when there are more than 15 minutes left in the game.
“You are ruining the game for us who have paid for our seats to WATCH THE GAME not to get trampled on by kids who only care about a signature (most of the time won’t even know the players name)! Quite frankly embarrassing…”
It’s a dangerous habit
Meanwhile, other sporting fans insisted that stadium security and staff need to step up to stop the behaviour and ensure all spectators are safe.
“It looks like they’re lining up for player autographs at the end of the game, which is even more dangerous! It prevents people from being able to leave their seats safely, and puts those in the aisles at risk of being trampled — or yelled at if they’re in the way of the wrong person,” Kidspotter Cass shares.
“Security shouldn’t let them down there until the game is over,” someone insisted.
“We literally couldn’t even get out of our seats, it’s so annoying and a safety hazard,” another vented.
And another added: “I don’t blame kids for wanting to meet the team, but that’s security and venue staff’s job to clear the walkway.”
Who do you think is responsible here?
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