The Section 8 Chicago organized protest last night intended to force the Chicago Fire front office to address alleged racial incidents by Toyota Park's security firm resulted in ridiculous red herring quotes in the Chicago Tribune from Fire star Cuauhtemoc Blanco.
Blanco's "fans are garbage" quote was translated from the Spanish "el hinchada es pendejada" and as such may have lost something in the translation, but even if minimized to "the fans are stupid", the quotes stand up in absurdity to other infamous athlete quotes against the fans who pay their salaries:
Green Bay Packers Quarterback Aaron Rodgers: "I don't feel I need to sell myself to the fans. They need to get on board now or keep their mouths shut."
Charles Barkley regarding Dan Issel's fine when calling a heckling fan a Mexican: "I don't think he (Issel) should have been fined or suspended. Some fans just need to be beaten down!"
Rey Ordonez of the New York Mets about New York fans: "The fans here are too stupid. You have to play perfect every game. You can't make an error. You can't go 0-for-4. Are we like machines?"
Blanco reponding to allegations that Toyota Park security called Latino Fire fans derogatory racial slurs: “I feel that it’s possible that the fans at the time were inebriated,” he said. “When people are drunk, things can get out of hand and things can get crazy.”
Blanco again in today's Chicago Tribune: "The fans are [garbage]," said an annoyed Blanco, who blames fans for friction with security. "They get drunk and become insulting. It's the same way in Mexico. I don't think security has anything to do with it."
This whole drama is sad, because it is taking the focus away from the team, which is battling for the top spot in MLS and is tearing the soul out of a group of volunteers who have passionately and unselfishly given much of their lives to the Chicago Fire.
