Angels Fan Dies After Opening Day Fight

Posted Apr 08, 2009 6:05PM By Matt Watson (RSS feed)

Fighting among rowdy fans is an ugly tradition that transcends almost every sport, whether it's rival fans taking team allegiances too far or fans of the same team who start throwing haymakers instead of high-fives after having too much to drink.

Most of the times, skirmishes are broken up by security or fellow spectators before anyone is seriously hurt, but that's not always the case. On Monday, Brian Powers, a 27-year-old Angels fan attending Opening Day, died after being involved in a fight as he was leaving Angel Stadium.

From the Orange County Register:

Witnesses told police that the victim was fighting with another man when a third man came from behind and punched his head, causing him to fall and hit his head on a concrete step. The two assailants then ran away before security and police arrived, [Anaheim Police Sgt. Rick] Martinez said.

"We don't know what the fight was about and who was the aggressor," Martinez said.

Powers was found unconscious and bleeding, and he eventually died after being taken to the hospital. The team has provided the police surveillance video, but it's unclear if the fight, which apparently took place in a stairwell, was caught on tape.

FanHouse's Elie Seckbach, who's based near Los Angeles, provided the following commentary before word was released that Powers passed away.

via SbB

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

4-08-2009 @ 10:09PM

Brent Schmidt said...

Just FYI... It's a baseball STADIUM. Not Arena.

And sucks for that dude... I could see that happening up the road @ Dodger STADIUM but not Angel STADIUM.

4-09-2009 @ 9:53AM

cbennett1969 said...

Is serving beer @ a Ball Park like serving @ a Bar?.....the Bartender is responsible for cutting one off....this might not have been Alcohol related, but I'm sure it is.....they ban smoking @ the ball parks why not ban Alcohol....what happened to the good ole days when you could take the whole family out for an enjoyable game?.......those days are gone......bring them back!

4-09-2009 @ 3:50PM

preciious05 said...

i was wondering..
what do you mean "the good ole days when they did not serve beer at baseball games"?

the american league was made for that exact reason.. they served beer since it was first established.. it was the "working class" league...

not serving alcohol at a baseball game is a little extreme. maybe you shouldn't blame the alcohol, maybe you should blame the people who are consuming it..

4-10-2009 @ 2:10PM

virtualmacdaddy said...

dont blame the bartender blame the guy who drinks more than he can handle. plus the angel fans are a bunch of OC duchebags. the dodgers are the real L.A. team. so scratch off the LAA and either put ANA or CAL. angel fans deserve to get beat down. he had a tattoo of the stadium on his arm what a looser.

4-09-2009 @ 11:37AM

miw716 said...

I agree there should not be alcohol served at the ballparks. Baseball is supposed to be a family enjoyable sport, but alcohol should not be allowed for the specific purpose of the "family atmosphere with small kids". Watching a ballgame at any stadium should be enjoyed without the annoyance of a imbibed fan or group of rowdy individuals

4-10-2009 @ 8:22PM

REYNA said...

virtualmacdaddy can go F**K himself! what kind of lowlife MF talks shit about a dead person! you deserve to die!

4-13-2009 @ 4:21PM

mattshea90 said...

This is becoming more and more prominent, I think there needs to be more police at more events that arrest people for taunting and starting fights. I've seen too many of these situations broken up. This was probably a case of someone drinking too much but that was their choice. Taunting starts fights and before you know it someone's in critical condition or dead....Unfortunately