[kj] Celtic fan vs Dida attack

[B. Oliver Sheppard]

[Here's something related: Texas Longhorns fan "nearly castrated" by 
angry Oklahoma fan in Okla bar -- and the guy who "almost castrated" the 
Texas fan is a church deacon and Army vet, to boot, according to 
article. - Oliver]


http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hYCD4Gu5sgpDRm3qzPcAyhDNNLDQ


Football Rivalry at Center of Bar Fight
By SEAN MURPHY – Sep 11, 2007

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — To some Oklahoma football fans, there are things 
that just aren't done in the heart of Sooner Nation, and one of them is 
to walk into a bar wearing a Texas Longhorns T-shirt.

That's exactly what touched off a bloody skirmish that left a 
Texas-shirt-wearing fan nearly castrated and an Oklahoma fan facing 
aggravated assault charges that could put him in prison for up to five 
years.

The shocking case has set off a raging debate in this football-crazed 
region about the extreme passions behind a bitter rivalry. Some legal 
observers have even questioned whether this case could ever truly have 
an impartial jury.

"I've actually heard callers on talk radio say that this guy deserved 
what he got for wearing a Texas T-shirt into a bar in the middle of 
Sooner country," said Irven Box, an attorney in this city 20 miles from 
Oklahoma's campus in Norman.

According to police, 32-year-old Texas fan Brian Christopher Thomas 
walked into Henry Hudson's Pub on June 17 wearing a Longhorns T-shirt 
and quickly became the focus of football "trash talk" from another 
regular, 53-year-old Oklahoma fan Allen Michael Beckett.

Thomas told police that when he decided to leave and went to the bar to 
pay his tab, Beckett grabbed him in the crotch, pulled him to the ground 
and wouldn't let go, even as bar patrons tried to break it up. When the 
two men were separated, Thomas looked down and realized the extent of 
his injuries.

"He could see both of his testicles hanging on the outside of his body," 
said Thomas' attorney, Carl Hughes. "He was wearing a pair of white 
shorts, which made it that much worse."

It took more than 60 stitches to close the wound, and police interviewed 
Thomas at a nearby hospital emergency room.

Beckett's attorney, Billy Bock, concedes that his client commented about 
Thomas' shirt, but said it was just good-natured ribbing and that he 
apologized to Thomas when it appeared to upset the Texas fan. Later, 
Bock said Thomas approached his client at the bar and threatened him.

"My client is a little man, and this guy (Thomas) is 30 to 40 pounds 
bigger than him," Bock said. "He's bigger, stronger, younger and 
probably faster, and he aggressively leaned in and touched my client and 
threatened to beat him up. ... My guy was defending himself and just 
took control of the situation."

Thomas' attorney disputes Beckett's version.

"That's total malarkey," Hughes said. "My client never said a word to 
him. He got up to pay and when he paid and left a tip, the guy grabbed him."

Beckett, a 53-year-old church deacon, federal auditor and former Army 
combat veteran, has pleaded not guilty. His next court appearance comes 
Oct. 4, two days before the Sooners and Horns tangle in their annual 
football game at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas.

Thomas, who once lived in Houston and became a Texas fan during the 
heyday of star running back Earl Campbell, is still recovering from his 
injuries but has returned to work as a meat cutter at a Sam's Club 
warehouse store.

Like Beckett and Thomas, many fans of the two college squads never 
attended either university, but have come to identify so closely with 
these teams that they attach banners to their cars, wear team colors on 
game day and even have programmed their car horns to play school fight 
songs.

Dallas police Sgt. Andy Harvey, a 12-year veteran of the force, said 
it's not uncommon for fights to break out between fans of the two schools.

"People are passionate about their teams and their universities, and 
that's a good thing," he said, "but when you mix a real passionate 
sports fan and then get a little alcohol in there, sometimes it's not a 
good mix."

On both Texas and Oklahoma fan Web sites, boosters trade familiar tales 
of having their car tires slashed or windshields smashed for sporting 
the opposing team's sticker in enemy territory.

Assistant District Attorney Scott Rowland said the rivalry will have no 
bearing on the way the case is prosecuted.

"It appears that it played a part in the fight," he said, "but that 
won't play any more of a role in our handling of the case than would a 
fight over a girl or a car or a song on the jukebox."
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Alexander Smith wrote:
 > No it doesn't. The appreciation of music isn't enforced and ingrained 
into the fragile minds of the young by educational institutions in as 
nearly a potent and MANDATORY a fashion as sports are.
 >
 >
 >
 > Alex in NYC
 >
 >
 >
 > On Oct 5, 2007, at 8:42 AM, Flight Bringer wrote:
 >
 >> Music has more responsibility for "fucking up American society" than 
what sports does , plus having a Country full of fuckwits doesn't 
help...........
 >>
 >>