In my 20-plus years of watching sports, I’ve never had the desire to run onto the field during an event. In fact, I don’t even find the humor in it. It’s annoying and therefore, I’m all for police officers taking the necessary measures to get the idiots off the field.

Steve Consalvi, some goofy 17-year-old who attended the Cardinals-Phillies game in Philadelphia on Monday night, decided that it was a once in a lifetime opportunity to run onto the field at Citizens Bank Park. So he did. And he was Tasered. And apparently the stun dropped him like a sack of potatoes, prompting several Phillies players to hold their gloves up to their faces in order to mask their own laughter.

Now, the police department is investigating the matter and discussing whether or not using the stun gun was appropriate.

Personally, if it’s necessary, then I’m all for it. If someone runs onto the field during a sporting event, what usually happens? He or she gets tackled, right? So what’s the difference between taking someone down with the use of bodily force, or taking someone down with a stun gun? The end result is still the same – the asswipe is going down.

Granted, police still have to use good judgment. Just because they carry a gun (any gun), doesn’t give them the right to draw it at the first sign of trouble. They’re trained to use their gun only when it’s absolutely necessary.

That said, in 2002, two upstanding citizens ran onto the field at a White Sox-Royals game and attacked Kansas City first base coach Tom Gamboa. Since then, the act of running onto the field has been viewed as something a little more dangerous. So even when a 17-year-old kid just wants to have a little fun, he runs the risk of police officers taking necessary measures to insure no one gets hurt.

The bottom line is that paying for a ticket to see a game doesn’t give us as fans the right to do whatever we want. Was it necessary for the police officer to use a stun gun to take down Consalvi? Probably not. But the real crime was Consalvi running onto the field, whether it was his intentions to do harm or not. Intent doesn’t give the person the right to do what he wants.

Had Consalvi not run onto the field, all of this could have been avoided. Whether or not you agree with the police officer’s use of the stun gun, Consalvi learned a big lesson last night: Just stay in your seat.


Photo from fOTOGLIF