04/24/24
November 14, 2007
Firecracker tragedy halts Malha match:: During the match, with a minute and a half remaining in the contest, a fan standing above the Amir section in Malha threw the fire cracker onto the floor, prompting the guard to run, scoop up the explosive and jump on it to absorb the blast in front of the Holon bench.
posted by cabuki to basketball at 03:36 AM - 19 comments
these people take crazy to a whole new leval.
posted by rockstar2001 at 03:53 AM on November 14, 2007
Nasty incident, but man, the word "tragedy" is really being devalued lately.
posted by Drood at 05:00 AM on November 14, 2007
I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought that, Drood. A guy has lost some fingers, and that's a terrible thing for him and those who loved his violin playing, but it's not a tragedy.
posted by JJ at 05:31 AM on November 14, 2007
Was it a firecracker or a stun grenade? The article calls it both. I can't believe there's a basketball player named Cookie Belcher. I've done that before.
posted by Hugh Janus at 06:48 AM on November 14, 2007
The word "tragedy" may be overstated, but I think the comment about violin playing understates the impact of having three fingers blown off your hand. The security guard did something heroic, and for all he knew at the time it could have been a much more powerful explosive than a firecracker. Considering the fact it happened in Israel, where terror attacks are an ever-present threat, the focus ought to be on his selfless act.
posted by rcade at 06:56 AM on November 14, 2007
I'm confused about that too, Hugh. I read the headline thinking that this was going to be a funny article ( my apologies for misunderstanding, BTW) and then found out that the guard was indeed quite selfless in the performance of his job. But where I'm from, a firecracker, while still a nasty little devil, is not normally life threatening. A stun grenade, on the other hand, is quite deadly and that would seem to shed some light on the distress expressed by those in attendance. I think the wording may have gotten messed up in translation. Horses of different colors, firecrackers and stun grenades.
posted by THX-1138 at 11:38 AM on November 14, 2007
He lost two fingers, not three...
posted by gloglu at 11:50 AM on November 14, 2007
Ah, then it's all right
posted by kokaku at 12:15 PM on November 14, 2007
Oh don't get me wrong rcade, what he did was very brave. In fact I'm curious how hurling yourself on an explosive device ends in finger loss rather than, say, abdominal injuries. I guess he could have held it to his chest or something, or shielded himself. Regardless, the guy is pretty heroic. However, I decided, with a word that gets thrown around so much these days, I'd look up to see what the actual dictionary definition of the word "tragedy" is: A disastrous event, especially one involving distressing loss or injury to life So actually, I guess it MIGHT qualify. Which of course is part of the problem. The word is overused so much by the media, it's pretty much lost all meaning.
posted by Drood at 12:21 PM on November 14, 2007
I lament the loss of the word (and concept of) "tragedy," which should involve some comeuppance that enlightens the tragic figure of the error of his ways, but too late; it involves character flaws and should leave the reader or audience with the cathartic feeling of having learned from someone else's grave mistakes. Of course, words change all the time, and I'll be the first to admit that the above definition is ancient. It's too bad; "sad" is a perfectly good word for sad. Poor "tragedy," lost to the future for the sake of evening news handwringing. What a tragedy.
posted by Hugh Janus at 12:45 PM on November 14, 2007
I agree tragedy has little value as a word any more. It was too colourful for news anchors to ignore. Now we all continue in the aftermath. What a tra- Ooooo, almost caught me there.
posted by WeedyMcSmokey at 02:18 PM on November 14, 2007
Tragedy reached its zenith as a Bee Gees song.
posted by worldcup2002 at 03:19 PM on November 14, 2007
Thanks for that, worldcup. Having to listen to Bary Gibb sing is, indeed, a tragedy. By definition: A disastrous event Make no mistake. Without a doubt. A horror.
posted by THX-1138 at 03:27 PM on November 14, 2007
It could be worse. You could be watching him style his chest carpeting. And I'm with cabuki here: who in their right mind, while preparing to go to an athletic event, thinks to themselves, You know what's gonna make this night great? Some explosives. Yeah, that'll do it!
posted by The_Black_Hand at 03:57 PM on November 14, 2007
I've always wondered why they still allow rockets and flares inside stadiums. Keep seeing those at the European soccer matches (but not in the EPL). Have they been outlawed and are the fans sneaking them in? Or is it still considered part and parcel of the spectator experience in those areas?
posted by worldcup2002 at 05:09 PM on November 14, 2007
rcade, I'll take that criticism - the violin thing was flippant and unnecessary - and agree that arguing semantics is perhaps rather inappropriate (does that make me anti-semantic?). Even so, I'm still calling no tragedy.
posted by JJ at 05:44 PM on November 14, 2007
The_Black_Hand: The same sort of cretins who think firing guns into the air is a sane way of celebrating things. And THX... That's fighting talk where I come from! Just as well I moved.
posted by Drood at 08:20 PM on November 14, 2007
Sorry, Drood, but when I played the clip, my dog peed on the carpet. Seems that the sound of Barry Gibb's voice had an adverse effect on poor Vader's bladder. (What, with a name like mine you think I name my dog "Scruffy?")
posted by THX-1138 at 12:01 PM on November 15, 2007
I really don't understand what goes through someone's mind where they think they need to bring explosives to a sporting event. I've been to soccer matches here in Belgium where fans set off road flares and bottle rockets. It's idiots like this that give sports fans a bad name.