Quote Originally Posted by sox83cubs84 View Post
9/11 was trhe turning point in terms of stadium security, in MLB and elsewhere.

I recall when baseball resumed after the terror attacks some of the most idiotic comments I've heard in my life coming from some of the ballpark autograph hounds at the Chicago parks. We were just weeks after a terror attack on our own soil, and some of these legends-in-their-own-minds where whining about having to bring smaller bags to carry their autograph items and pens in due to the new measures. Can you believe that?!? Three thousand innocent citizens dead in New York, DC and Pennsylvania, and all it meant to some of these fools was being inconvenienced by having to bring fewer items to get signed inside the stadium.

No wonder autograph hounds (and sometimes, ballhawks as well) often are held in low esteem by sports fans and athletes in general.
On the other hand, what do smaller bags have to do with greater security? Some of the rules instituted by stadium personnel, as well as those at other venues, after 9-11 made just about exactly zero sense, from a security standpoint.

People used to be able to bring in small coolers, for bottled water and other permitted items; when there was a very long line, say for a bobblehead giveaway, or for Fan Photo Day, people used to be able to bring those canvas folding chairs so they wouldn't have to either stand or sit on the ground for several hours; after 9-11, both coolers and folding chairs were forbidden. Why?

I was in line at Chase one day, and for some reason I had one of those little soft vinyl coolers, about the size of a six-pack, folded up in my bag. There was a woman working Security going down the line, sort of pre-screening people's bags before they got to the gate, and she told me I couldn't take it in. I showed her that it was empty - she said it didn't matter; the rule said "No coolers". So when she'd passed by, I folded it up and put it in my jacket pocket. Idiocy.

It's mostly all for show anyway - just like at the airports, only more so. Yeah, the security guy at the ballpark wants to look through my bag to make sure I'm not bringing in any sodas from home; meanwhile, I could be carrying a .357 tucked into the back of my pants under my jacket. It's really far less about security than it is ensuring more business for the concession stands.

Oh, and also shortly after 9-11, a local street fair announced that, in order to ensure greater security for participants, a new rule prohibiting dogs from the event was being enforced. Somebody in a position of authority quite obviously had a problem with dogs, and used 9-11 as an excuse to slip in the ban.