The Associated Press
Column: Boorish fans have us longing for cardboard cutouts
The good thing about cardboard cutouts: At least you don’t have to worry about them spitting on a player, or dumping a box of popcorn on his head, or breaking into a brawl that leaves a toddler in tears. As fans begin filling the stands again, we find ourselves longing for all those empty seats that marked the grimmest days of the pandemic. Emerging from a year of death and misery, we should be celebrating the return of fans to ballparks, stadiums and arenas that seemed so cold and barren when the only cheers were being piped in.