NFL Ramps Up Security Theatre
from the don't-fumble-my-junk dept
Security theatre has been the goal of the TSA these past few years. Whether they're valiantly inserting their fingers into our orifices , standing bravely to defend travelers from insulin and icepacks, or simply lying to people in telling them they can't be taped during their most nefarious actions, The TSA does fake security like no other group can. Nobody, and I mean nobody, has worked harder at not producing any results than these people.But that won't keep the NFL from trying, damn it.
Dementia writes in about a Yahoo Sports post describing the new breakthrough security technique at NFL games this year: pat-downs. That's right, the NFL is going to solve security at their games by somehow patting down seventy thousand people as they enter stadiums within roughly an hour's length of time. No, the pat-downs won't be done by federal employees, just low-paid yellow jacket-wearing folks (seriously, click the article and look at the picture, it's awesome). No there aren't any metal detectors or machine screeners a la the airport. Basically, no, these security measurements won't make anyone more...you know...secure. As Chris Chase notes:
"As far as I can tell, the only purpose gate security has is to create a mass of humanity at the entrances and comb through women's purses. The pat downs are jokes. Security personnel only checked from the waist up. If they felt anything in your pocket, their most likely recourse was to ask, "what's that?" A halfway-decent answer got you a pass."And, as Chris also notes, if you think these measures are stupid now, just wait until the weather turns. I can just picture myself walking up to Soldier Field on a January morning in Chicago, seven layers deep between regular undergarments, long-underwear, longsleeve t-shirt, t-shirt, hoodie sweatshirt, down-insulated winter jacket, and my lovely Where's Waldo-esque scarf to tie it all together, and giving these security types a sideways glance as they attempt to pat me down. I could carry a 1967 Buick Skylark in my pants and they'd never feel it.
Why can't we stop this? Who are the NFL playing to with this nonsense? I'd like to think my fellow citizens and football consumers aren't so totally devoid of intelligence that they can't see how pointless and annoying this all is.
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Filed Under: nfl, patdowns, security theater
Companies: nfl
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Proper licensing
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That is the only thing I can possibly think off.
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Mike, is all security theater in your mind?
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Uh huh. Because if I can hide that skylark in my pants, a flask doesn't stand a chance of getting through....
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Oakland is the exception here, they need metal detectors..
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Future headline:
TSA style junk grabbing to begin at the local supermarkets and malls.
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Yeah, Mike. This article is utter dogshit. Whoever wrote it is the kind of monkey-ass idiot that should be locked up and forced to eat speghetti-O's until their intestines explode with over-processed excellence.
Come on, Mike, writer of this article. Answer the damned question!
Oh....wait....
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No, no, no.
They need new fans....
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My name is Beta, and I'm prejudiced...
Well, your fellow citizens have (mostly) already made their position clear at the airports, and...
Is it wrong for me to feel baffled and humiliated if football fans turn out to be the most intelligent segment of the American public?
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Security theater has to stop
I was told to empty my pockets. I told them I had a pocket knife where the guard turned sideways with is gun away from me and rested his hand on his gun while I pulled down my riding pants to dig my knife out of my jeans pocket.
They were all courteous and the search of the bikes didn't take but about 15 minutes, but still, what did they hope to find? WMDs or were they looking for an undeclared bottle of Canadian whiskey? Either way, if I am the type of person they are searching then I don't feel any safer.
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Do the math...
75,000 / 8 gates = 9375 fans per gate
9375 fans / 5 lines = 1875 fans per line
7200 seconds / 1875 fans = 3.8 seconds per fan
Yup, you can totally find hidden weapons when patted down by an untrained yellow shirted lackey in 3.8 seconds in the middle of Winter at Soldier Field...
I suspect there may end up being a few ticket refund fiascos before gate open times are adjusted to 4 hours before game time and we're expected to show up a minimum of 3 hours before kickoff.
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Exactly. Besides, the crowd will never be packed in tighter than they will be standing in lines waiting to enter. Might was well make them easier targets.
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While the NFL has backed off of this and said the security changes were not in response to this incidence, I tend to not believe in coincidences...
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You do realize that they sell alcohol inside the stadium. So much for preventing fan drunkenness.
Security theatre. Period.
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Re: Do the math...
Actually, this is becoming LESS likely, and that trend will continue in the future. The NFL, in a weird kind of dichtomy, is the most consumed sport in America while simultaneously seeing their attendance numbers drop. The fact is that most fans are realizing that going to a football game sucks, but watching it on your TV is AWESOME.
The only thing that's going to save this is stadiums like Dallas, where the ginormous scoreboard will update fantasy players and gamblers of the stuff they really care about. If you look at plans for new football stadiums, you'll notice one glaring concept: they are trying to mimic home-viewing AT THE STADUM.
Really crazy, but I understand it....
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Re: Do the math...
On a side note, we do have the authority to ask a person to empty their pockets if we suspect something, and if there is an issue, the fan does not get into the stadium until the issue is resolved.
It's an inconvenience for sure, but it does not seem to be a huge deal.
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Perhaps not a huge deal, but what's the point? Who are you trying to protect (not you personally, the security strategists I mean)? It can't be terrorism, because you're massing people together as a target. The patdowns aren't going to actually catch someone who wants to sneak something into the game (my flask can vouch for me on this one).
So, big deal or not, what's the point?
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Legally, they can put pretty much any jackass rule they want on entrance to a private venue.
Vote with your feet and deny private companies engaged in this stupid, pointless and useless behavior your money, and tell them WHY.
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Re: Re: Re: Do the math...
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They're complaining that they stopped above the waist?!
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IMO
Fear is the tool terrorists use to try and force a change. They don't use it against the government, they use it against the people so that the people turn on the government. Security theater is how you piss off the people. We are doing exactly what they want us to do.
Ironically enough, the government and the terrorists have the same end goal in mind. They want ultimate control over the people. The have the same methods, fear and force. The only difference is, we "think" they are different than each other... but are they really that different?
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They were already patting everyone down that entered Met Life stadium...they were doing it last year as well. They are also doing full pat-downs, not just the waist up. So they still missed the stun gun.
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Re: Security theater has to stop
Plus it's form of job security. Asking more questions means longer queues. Longer queues means you need to hire more CBP agents. It's incredible how much money Homeland Security is spending along the Canada-US border when the overwhelming majority of people just want to shop, dine or enjoy some entertainment.
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And since all expenses will be covered by passing them to consumers (plus a little extra), it's really a win-win for everyone who matters (i.e. not us).
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Re: Re: Re: Do the math...
Those who would be discouraged by a half-assed surface search probably wouldn't be bringing in anything 'illegal' in the first place... just something like a flask that they won't mind parting with if they do get caught.
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This is the problem with security theater everywhere. It is the pink elephant in the room. Everyone knows its there but nobody wants to admit it or talk about it.
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The X factor
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The Terrorist have won... :(
1) wasting time
2) wasting money
3) invasion of privacy
4) stupidity because this won't even do what is suppose to do
5) training the populace to accept invasions of privacy
THEN... They have already won.
And the ONLY way to fight back against them and to not let them to continue to win is to fight against these stupid policies. Being for human rights, preventing invasion of privacy, etc... Is not "being weak on terrorism", it is "being strong on American values".
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Went to Panthers game last week...
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Why?
Uh, Timothy, old man, they can do it because you keep buying tickets and letting them do it. If you feel that strongly, don't buy the ticket. Otherwise, join the sheep, because you ARE one.
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NFL stands for...
I couldn't keep a straight face as I typed this.
If there's anything I've learned in life, it's that the NFL can do whatever the hell it wants and NO ONE will care.
Enjoy the pat downs, fans. You certainly deserve them.
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Lions fans?
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Re: NFL stands for...
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So DH was correct, any kind of weapon that can be strapped or holstered to the leg is A-OK? Ill have to slide a pipebomb down there next to my joints, flask and 6 pack for the next game Vs the packers.
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Re: Security theater has to stop
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Re: Went to Panthers game last week...
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While this security nonsense may not be the impetus for it, you should note that NFL attendance IS falling, and this very article got a fair amount of play on WSCR, the biggest sports station in Chicago, which is a big market. It's getting attention....
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Standard at the Metrodome
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Re: Re: Re: NFL stands for...
What's the unemployment rate in Chicago?
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My dad still has a '64. 'Compact'
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Re: My name is Beta, and I'm prejudiced...
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Could be, but unlikely. I say that because all the other methods for measuring interest are up...WAY up. That includes measurements requiring payment, like DirectTV and other cable packages, streaming through NFL.com, swag purchased, paid fantasy football services, and gambling wagers.
If people are not going to the game but spending even MORE money elsewhere, it's not likely to be a function of the economy....
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I'm not sure where DH is getting this info, looks like the majority of teams had no problem selling out last year:
http://espn.go.com/nfl/attendance/_/year/2010
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Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: NFL stands for...
Second, ticket sales /= attendance. See the Cubs this year as an example. Most games were sold out, but attendance was WAAAAY down, killing in-stadium revenue.
Third, attendance IS down at NFL games and has been for the past few years: http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ycn-7320368
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I found a few articles saying this will be their rebound year:
http://content.usatoday.com/communities/gameon/post/2011/09/nfl-expects-attendance-to-rebound -after-3-years-of-falling-numbers/1
http://playerpress.com/articles/14845-nfl-expects-attendance-to -rise-despite-recession
they also say ticket prices have been going up and TV viewership is up a shit-ton. So yeah they have taken a slight dip in attendance since the start of the recession which would have been right around the end of the 2007 season. While 5% of 17 million(~total attendees a year) is a lot of people and in-stadium revenue I don't think its enough to hurt the teams pocketbooks and it seems to be people saving a buck more than voting with their wallets (TV viewership has been rising in proportion[i think, i dont have a graph or anything] to attendance).
Maybe Cub fans should show up to games they buy tickets for, or maybe the Cubs should stop being so hopeless they arnt worth a ride on the metra for tickets I already bought :). Just being snarky i understand your point attendance=/=sales
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I was hoping Mike would grace us with an appearance in this thread, if for no other reason to issue a demeaning insult towards those who dare question him.
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Re: Re: Security theater has to stop
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*snerk*
OK, that mental picture made me actually laugh out loud. Quite literally. I had to make an effort to keep from disturbing the class going on in the next room.
Thanks for the comic relief.
For anybody too young to remember... in 1967 cars were huge by today's standards. I think my 2005 Focus could fit into the glove box of a '67 Skylark, and there would still be room for a pair of gloves.
http://www.conceptcarz.com/view/photo/206663,9801/1967-Buick-Skylark_photo.aspx
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"... once is happenstance, twice is coincidence, the third time is enemy action." Ian Fleming
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http://www.yelp.com/biz/broukals-food-and-spirit-blue-island
name recently changed to PubTime(really creative I know)
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Proving something that didn't happen as a result of something else is pretty damn hard, don't you think? I think that it is one of those wonderful logical traps that is often used on Techdirt to justify all sorts of shit.
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Re: Re: Do the math...
The Indy 500 has 500K spectators, and that is just one race. Of course, you may not consider someone taking 4 left turns for 500 miles a sport, which could be valid.
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Re: Re: Re: Security theater has to stop
All this is doing is interfering with trade and tourism between the US and Canada without making us one bit safer.
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If you have security, and it doesn't stop something, so you ramp up security and it still doesn't stop that something, then the ramped up security is all theater.
That's the point here, a certain level does scare away some would-be criminals, but there is almost no stopping someone who's really got their heart set on causing problems.
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Re: *snerk*
Seriously, it was a small car, and they had to remove the wheels, but it fit.
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Re: Do the math...
And by the way, there's a reason you all this this is security theater. If you knew the stuff that gets discovered, you wouldn't go.
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