Ned Ryerson
Future Captain
It's the era of being offended by everything, and being able to make a quick buck writing a story or doing an interview to get sympathy from the bleeding hearts. Crowds have dramatically improved in my eyes since the 90's, with the swearing and anti social behaviour no rarity. Usually if there's a ****** in the crowd, they will get called out pretty quick. People just don't know how to handle any remotely negative situation these days besides going online and slamming it there (eg. restaurant reviews etc.)
See I am on the bleeding heart side of things some of the time - but this is seriously demented. Swearing, booing, abusing umpires or opposing players has been par for the course as long as I have been going to the footy (and I am the same age as the author) and I dare say long before that. My grandad tells me stories of attending soccer in Scotland back in the 40s that would make this woman faint.
This is more of the phenomenon of the 'bulldozer parent'. Those who can't bare that a single inconvenience might impact their beloved offspring. I had it at a game a few years ago when at a Lions game in Brissy. Some friends and I were all on the ales and generally having a good time. At quarter time this guy told two of our female friends that they needed to stop swearing. When me and a few of the guys in the group asked why they had to - he said it was because his son was confused that 'ladies were allowed to swear'. So rather than say 'sometimes adults swear at the footy' we had to modify their behaviour because apparently a female swearing was too much of a logical leap for his precious spawn. All of this in a licensed stand.
I had encountered far, far, far worse than this at the footy growing up - yet never swore in front of my parents until I was well into adulthood because they were sensible enough to, you know, set expectations on me and not the hundreds of people around me.