Shocking 49ers-Raiders fan brawls a sad reminder of sports' ugly underbelly
· Yahoo Sports
Four days after the Bay Area celebrated a love-infused, feel-good, unifying sports event - the Golden State Valkyries championship parade - we were sadly reminded of just how unique and rare that vibe really is in the sports world.
The San Francisco 49ers and the Las Vegas Raiders got together to show us all the worst, nastiest underbelly of the shared sports experience. Sunday's 49ers-Raiders game could be remembered for a lot of things. The 49ers' improvement to 7-1, their best start since 2019. Perhaps Kirk Cousins' last game as a Raider, with the trade deadline looming Tuesday.
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Instead it will likely be remembered for the fights and violence captured on video both inside Levi's Stadium and outside in the parking lot.
The video that truly went viral was recorded by content creator FriscoPhillyB (frisco_phillyb4x on Instagram) in the main parking lot outside of Levi's. It shows Raiders and 49ers fans viciously punching each other and slamming each other into the parking lot concrete, with at least two of the participants unconscious. The video began circulating Sunday night and by Monday morning it had been aggregated everywhere, with over a million views.
In an interview with the Chronicle, FriscoPhillyB, a 36-year-old San Franciscan who asked to not be named, said "I didn't expect it to get this big."
It was so shocking that many thought it was AI-generated. Or believed that it was staged. That particular view was enhanced by his caption on the video: "this is acting lol. Entertaining purposes only." But he swears it was real.
"I have to put that on there so Instagram didn't delete it and take the video down," he said. "It's real."
Santa Clara police reported 11 arrests and 45 ejections from the game, saying in a news release that the department "is aware of several incidents of fan-on-fan violence that occurred during and after Sunday's game at Levi's Stadium. Some of these incidents were caught on camera and posted to individual social media accounts. Public safety staff and security staff responded to all known incidents of fan-on-fan violence."
The content creator, who is a 49ers fan, was in the parking lot at Levi's during Sunday's game. He said he - along with many others - often goes to the home games to tailgate without going inside. The vibe was good at the beginning, with fans of both teams coexisting. But as more drinks were consumed, and as the game inside began to unravel for the Raiders, things became increasingly heated. Other videos from inside the stadium showed dangerous fistfights in the stands and the concession areas.
"This shouldn't be shocking to nobody," FriscoPhillyB said. "Whoever lost it was going to be that way."
No, sadly it isn't shocking. In 2011, the violence at a preseason game between the Raiders and 49ers at Candlestick Park was so extreme - with two fans shot in the parking lot and one beaten unconscious in a restroom - that the exhibition series between the teams was suspended for the rest of the time they shared the Bay Area.
Since the Raiders moved to Las Vegas, the teams have resumed exhibition games, once (in 2021) at Levi's, and the rest of the time in Las Vegas, a location that seems to have muted strong fan feelings. Sunday's game was the first time the Raiders had played at Levi's since relocating to Nevada.
"We have a zero-tolerance policy for violence at Levi's Stadium," a 49ers team spokesperson said by email. "The Santa Clara Police Department, our security and guest services teams responded to several incidents throughout Sunday's game. We are grateful to all personnel for their swift response and dedication to maintaining a safe environment for all fans."
One of the reasons FriscoPhillyB stays in the parking lot is that there's more content out there among the people. And on Sunday, that content included violence. He wasn't the only one with his camera recording. In his video, you can see others dashing toward the scene of the fight, phones outstretched. It's worth remembering that the vast majority of fans behaved themselves. But the idiots who chose to get violent got the social media clicks and tarnished the reputation of both fan bases.
It isn't the first time that FriscoPhillyB has gone viral. He has intersected with viral moments before, beginning in the early days of internet content when, as he tells the story, he was 13 and at a Giants game when Barry Bonds hit his 703rd home run. The ball bounced off a concession stand, landed in a woman's beer cup, she dropped the cup in surprise and he captured the rogue ball.
In 2019, he had another moment that blew up on social media, playing in a pickup basketball game at Mistah F.A.B.'s block party in Oakland, a game that Stephen Curry also happened to drop into. The content creator drained a 3-pointer in Curry's face.
"That got 80 million views," he said.
That was a cute story of an unknown local guy taking on a legend. A bunch of alcohol and testosterone fueled morons brawling in the parking lot isn't quite as cute.
The Valkyries and their fans just finished a tutorial on what sports can be. Too bad these guys weren't paying attention.
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There’s more to San Francisco with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Shocking 49ers-Raiders fan brawls a sad reminder of sports' ugly underbelly.