04/19/24
August 21, 2006
Police: Teen Posed as a Reporter at Shea.: In the old days kids just tried to sneak past the guards. These days it's fake press credentials. Hmmmm....wonder if that'll work at Dodger stadium?
posted by commander cody to baseball at 03:24 PM - 59 comments
Police arrested the 18-year-old Leli Friday night at Shea just before the start of the New York Mets-Colorado Rockies game and charged him with impersonating a journalist That was no teenager. That was Rob Neyer. Seriously, being a Mets fan is a life sentence from the get-go. How is prison considered a deterrent to this kind of behavior? He lives in his own private prison.
posted by BullpenPro at 04:50 PM on August 21, 2006
And he didn't even get to see the game. Wonder if they had a TV in the holding cell?
posted by commander cody at 04:53 PM on August 21, 2006
Remember all the post-9/11 security around stadiums? Now they have teenagers waltzing into stadiums. Complacency, the fabric of American life!
posted by dyams at 05:18 PM on August 21, 2006
It took guts to do what he tried to do. He got caught, that means security was doing their job. Seven years for trying to get into a METS game, cmon. You want to punish him? Banish him from watching any baseball live (even if he paid) for seven years and force him to watch curling for those seven years or maybe synchronized swimming.
posted by Psycho at 05:43 PM on August 21, 2006
Hey hey hey! Some of us like curling!
posted by commander cody at 05:53 PM on August 21, 2006
Gimme a break! Only 7 years. Not enough. Max. But seriously, folks. No Mets games for 1 year and community service is what he should get.
posted by sickleguy at 05:57 PM on August 21, 2006
He got caught, that means security was doing their job. He'd already gotten into the stadium a few times before with the bogus pass, and was going up to players in the clubhouse! Security was doing their job alright, it just took them several days to figure it out. It only takes a guy with explosives, etc. that one initial time.
posted by dyams at 06:04 PM on August 21, 2006
Hmmmm....wonder if that'll work at Dodger stadium? Well, it didn't work at Shea, did it?
posted by lil_brown_bat at 07:18 PM on August 21, 2006
I had no idea impersonating a journalist was a crime. I know a few folks I would like to report. I hope there is an award.
posted by bperk at 08:08 PM on August 21, 2006
True l_b_b and it wouldn't be worth the risk to try it just to see the Dodgers either. Guess I'll forget that one.
posted by commander cody at 08:33 PM on August 21, 2006
I can't imagine they were thinking of sports writers when they drafted that law.
posted by Smackfu at 10:52 PM on August 21, 2006
lil_brown, but it did work at Shea bperk, that about sums it up. let's start with Joe Morgan as a commentator. Is he impersonating a commentator?
posted by hoyty at 01:22 AM on August 22, 2006
I see a bright future for this kid.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 05:35 AM on August 22, 2006
Was there a bomb is his ribcage?!?! Seriously - this is a wonderful overreaction. A teenager sneaks into the ballpark and manages to work his way into the clubhouse, and people are thinking - oh my gawd TERRORISTS could do this! Live in fear, people. Live in fear.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 08:29 AM on August 22, 2006
A teenager sneaks into the ballpark and manages to work his way into the clubhouse, and people are thinking - oh my gawd TERRORISTS could do this! I'm pretty sure if you blew up the Mets. all you'd get would be a posthumous Medal of Freedom.
posted by wfrazerjr at 09:30 AM on August 22, 2006
everyone's Mets jokes are so Hilarious let me tell you.... you bunch of retarded front runners... go F urselves. I will have the last laugh when my Metropolitans win it all.. and you lil bitches will all jump on the bandwagon then.. you ass monkeys. See, I just can't imagine why would people think Mets fans tend to be uneducated douchebags.
posted by wfrazerjr at 09:33 AM on August 22, 2006
everyone's Mets jokes are so Hilarious let me tell you.... you bunch of retarded front runners... go F urselves As much as I appreciate the thought, a couple questions: 1. What Mets jokes? 2. "retarded front runners"? Aren't the Mets in first? Who are we talking about?
posted by yerfatma at 09:39 AM on August 22, 2006
Like the teenager in this story, I have been to Shea Stadium and Queens County Central Booking. I've found the company in central booking to be much better than that of Shea Stadium.
posted by HATER 187 at 10:28 AM on August 22, 2006
Obviously that kid was haunted like Manson by that ridiculous Mets song. Same message, over and over. Meet the Mets. Meet the Mets. Step right up and just greet the Mets. Bring your ID. Bring a knife. Guaranteed to get 20-to-life. Kids and their rock music. You know, when you play it backwards you can hear Kevin Mitchell slicing a cat in half with a machete. Sick, twisted team.
posted by BullpenPro at 11:05 AM on August 22, 2006
"retarded front runners"? Aren't the Mets in first? Who are we talking about? I will take the liberty of pointing out that there is a certain team who has a better record than the Mets, and also recently took 2 of 3 from the Red Sox.
posted by Ying Yang Mafia at 11:37 AM on August 22, 2006
and also recently took 2 of 3 from the Red Sox. Yeah. Come back to me when they've taken five in a row at Fenway.
posted by BullpenPro at 11:58 AM on August 22, 2006
Obviously that kid was haunted like Manson by that ridiculous Mets song. i was once stuck outside of shea for about an hour and a half listening to that song on a continuous loop. i can relate.
posted by goddam at 12:11 PM on August 22, 2006
It's amazing, but I think I can see the point in your post where you actually sobered up. Right where you said 'verbatim'.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:02 PM on August 22, 2006
Right where you said 'verbatim'. I don't know Weedy, the "my lil angels" has sort of a slurry quality to it too.
posted by commander cody at 02:48 PM on August 22, 2006
Chiggity check the guidelines, homes: personal attacks are verboten. Otherwise I would have long since pointed out what a horribly whitebread attempt at Being Down "Robb Dubbs" is. Moms let you pimp out the Caravan with twennytuuus yet?
posted by yerfatma at 03:18 PM on August 22, 2006
Look! Up in the sky! It's a Bird! It's a plane! It's Supermoderator! Faster then a speeding idiot! More powerful then an off-topic! Able to leap tall members at a single bound! It's Super Gary!
posted by commander cody at 03:46 PM on August 22, 2006
Robb Dubbs, you may want to read this. If you're interested in making good contributions to the site, we'd be happy to have you. On-topic: Seven years is a ridiculous sentence, and I can't imagine he'll serve more than 90 days, if any time at all. Community service and probation makes a lot more sense. I kind of have to admire his determination. In the 30's, the kid would have been admired for his "pluckiness".
posted by rocketman at 03:49 PM on August 22, 2006
and all of this started when I tried to defend my METS.... But i dont mind cause will take the b.s. and laugh when my team holds the trophy with all the flags on it in OCT. Really? You feel that confident with Martinez and Glavine on the shelf? You must be THAT stupid. If you're interested in making good contributions to the site, we'd be happy to have you. No, even if he wanted to make a "good contribution", I would not be "happy" to have this half-wit post anything around my comments. I fear his idiocy would stain everything around it.
posted by grum@work at 03:52 PM on August 22, 2006
What grum said.
posted by commander cody at 03:56 PM on August 22, 2006
Geez, freakin' Mets fans.
posted by bperk at 04:16 PM on August 22, 2006
Actually, while the Glavine thing was genuinely scary, I think the Pedro DL trips are just a sign of a team on cruise control over-protecting their ace. If I'm a Mets fan, I'm not too worried about Pedro showing up for the post-season. That Glavine thing, though. Damaged artery. Yikes. I'm glad he's able to come back without surgery, but I think you have to have a wait and see reaction to that. If you're losing the feeling in your fingers, I dunno. Not good. Someone calls me a fucin cack blower, I pop a cat in his ass. Where have you gone, Johnny Dangerously... a nation turns its fargin lonely eyes to you, you icehole.
posted by BullpenPro at 04:48 PM on August 22, 2006
I would not be "happy" to have this half-wit post anything around my comments. I was simply pointing out the guidelines, and encouraging a change of behavior, is all. I apologize for implying that I was speaking for you, or for anyone else.
posted by rocketman at 04:53 PM on August 22, 2006
Seriously - this is a wonderful overreaction. A teenager sneaks into the ballpark and manages to work his way into the clubhouse, and people are thinking - oh my gawd TERRORISTS could do this! Live in fear, people. Live in fear. How many threads have we had in the past that talk about stadium security, how everyone's searched and fondled getting into stadiums, and so forth. And then when we get to World Series time (especially if it's in New York) or Super Bowl time, everyone will be on high-alert. Yeah, this kid was just some jerk-off who wanted to hang around in the clubhouse. When something actually DOES happen at a professional sports venue (it's just a matter of time), I'll be waiting to see if your reaction's the same.
posted by dyams at 08:02 PM on August 22, 2006
I was simply pointing out the guidelines, and encouraging a change of behavior, is all. Don't be sorry. Thanks for pointing people to the guidelines. It won't help everyone, but when they get the banned at least they'll have no excuses.
posted by justgary at 08:16 PM on August 22, 2006
When something actually DOES happen at a professional sports venue (it's just a matter of time), I'll be waiting to see if your reaction's the same. Everything is "just a matter of time" away, but it doesn't mean we should live in fear waiting for it to happen. It's "just a matter of time" before someone I know dies in a automobile accident, but it doesn't mean I should force everyone I know to stay at home and never drive their car.
posted by grum@work at 11:53 AM on August 23, 2006
It's just a matter of time before this wife dumps me too....sigh....but that doesn't mean I should quit getting married again and again......does it?
posted by commander cody at 12:14 PM on August 23, 2006
When something actually DOES happen at a professional sports venue (it's just a matter of time), I'll be waiting to see if your reaction's the same. Well that's the rubric isn't it? For instance, it's just a matter of time before you won't be able to enter your office building on a Tuesday without a full body cavity search because of this total paranoia that is simulteanously fed and exploited. The other side of it is of course that you cannot be protected from these things. Airports are the biggest example of this recurring joke. My gawd do we ever get exactly what we deserve sometimes.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 12:28 PM on August 23, 2006
I know one thing, you could waltz right into Kansas City- and be questioned right away. First of all, what the hell is a news reporter doing in this clubhouse?!?
posted by Kendall at 05:10 PM on August 23, 2006
Expecting proper security precautions to be taken is not living in fear, it is, unfortunately, prudent and necessary for the times we live in. If this kid can manufacture false credentials and bluff security at Shea, do you not think that someone with ill intentions can? How soon some people forget....
posted by mjkredliner at 07:10 PM on August 23, 2006
If this kid can manufacture false credentials and bluff security at Shea, do you not think that someone with ill intentions can? The difference is that he had false credentials, not a bomb or a gun or OMG TERROR IN HIS PANTS.
posted by rocketman at 12:37 AM on August 24, 2006
Weedy, do we get to pick who does the body cavity searches? 'Cause that might give me a reason to look forward to Tuesdays if we can.
posted by SummersEve at 06:24 AM on August 24, 2006
How soon some people forget.... Thanks, mjk. That was my point exactly. Sure, this kid didn't have any bomb, etc. on him, but it points out what sitting ducks stadiums filled with 30 thousand or so people can be for trained terrorists that live in every city in the US. It's easy for all hard-ass citizens of this country to throw out the "Live In Fear" punchline when discussing potential terrorist targets, and to laugh off elevated security warnings that are put in place every so often because, gee whiz, it's been nearly five years since the two planes completely destroyed two huge buildings. And everyone will support high-security at the Super Bowl, because, my God, it's the Super Bowl! Remember how on-edge everyone was right after 9/11? Rest easy, though, because we have rent-a-cops at pro stadiums, and trained security personnel checking shoes at airports. Am I saying to live in fear? Absolutely not. I go to sporting events all the time. But when you're sitting there with your kids and their friends, assuming security at any stadium is busting their ass to make sure every person, delivery truck, etc. coming into the place is legit and safe, you're living in dreamland. A beautiful young lady I knew never lived in fear, but she also assumed she was safe when she reported for work one day in 2001 as a stewardess for American Airlines.
posted by dyams at 07:28 AM on August 24, 2006
posted by yerfatma at 07:52 AM on August 24, 2006
Yay... a War on Terror argument. I got five bucks that says after a little-back-and-forth for the next 15 or so comments, not one person who typed something will feel any differently than they do right now.
posted by SummersEve at 09:55 AM on August 24, 2006
Right, yerfatma, you're assuming those who are supposed to provide you with this so-called safety are doing their jobs. And, if these major glitches in safety don't ever impact you, your close friends, or immediate family, you're always willing to "Throw caution to the wind." We live in a country that's basically reactive, not proactive. George Bush has around 50 percent of the country believing we're safe and defeating terrorism because thousands of young people are dying in Iraq. Laugh and toss around off-the-cuff comments now, but just be willing to make the same type of comments when the results are more severe. And here I am again, coming across almost like I live my life in a bomb-shelter, when nothing could be further from the truth. But don't be naive enough to think people charged with keeping large venues safe don't have the same non-chalant attitude you do.
posted by dyams at 09:56 AM on August 24, 2006
Oh yeah, and SummersEve, if you don't feel like taking part in it, feel free to see yourself out.
posted by dyams at 09:58 AM on August 24, 2006
Laugh and toss around off-the-cuff comments now, but just be willing to make the same type of comments when the results are more severe. Who's laughing? It's not some flippant remark so much as a short-hand for the fact there is nothing new under the sun and to suggest that current events are so different from what has come before they require a change in the Locke-ian bargain every human makes with the state they are citizen of is short-sighted at best.
posted by yerfatma at 09:59 AM on August 24, 2006
"Terrorists don't wear uniforms, and they play by inscrutable rules...Make no mistake about it: We are At War now-- with somebody--and we will stay At War with that mysterious enemy for the rest of our lives." Hunter S. Thompson, ESPN, Sep 12th, 2001
posted by mjkredliner at 10:14 AM on August 24, 2006
Make no mistake about it: We are At War now-- with somebody--and we will stay At War with that mysterious enemy for the rest of our lives. I don't know if you realize, but Thompson was not actually suggesting that we BE at war with "somebody", but was pointing out the whole "1984"/"Brazil"-ness of being at constant war with an indescribable foe with an indeterminate conclusion to the "war".
posted by grum@work at 11:08 AM on August 24, 2006
We have always been at war with Eurasia.
posted by HATER 187 at 11:28 AM on August 24, 2006
Yeah, grum, I know. Hunter's words were always better if you ignored the Libertarian and Cheech & Chong sentiments that came along with most of what he spewed...
posted by mjkredliner at 12:33 PM on August 24, 2006
At which point they were what exactly?
posted by yerfatma at 01:17 PM on August 24, 2006
I do not argue with the point that we are "at constant war with an indescribable foe with an indeterminate conclusion to the war."
posted by mjkredliner at 01:24 PM on August 24, 2006
which means what?
posted by jerseygirl at 02:04 PM on August 24, 2006
Time to blow your head off with a shotgun?
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:10 PM on August 24, 2006
Time to blow your head off with a shotgun? Naw, apparently, time for Hunter to blow HIS head off, and let his wife and son clean up the mess, Weedy.
posted by mjkredliner at 02:11 PM on August 24, 2006
/snips tangent, points thread back on course to different train wreck
posted by yerfatma at 02:24 PM on August 24, 2006
Obviously nobody ever thought to use a full stadium as a target for mass murder before September 11, 2001.
posted by The_Black_Hand at 02:20 PM on August 25, 2006
Seven years because you are a Mets fanatic? Should be twenty to life.... Seriously, this would be a serious miscarriage of justice to put this kid in jail period, much less for seven years. With that talent, the guy should be working for MLB.