Nice Night for a Stroll

On March 11, 2004, an al-Qaeda-inspired terrorist cell organized a series of coordinated bombings against the commuter train system of Madrid.  The very next morning, I was scheduled to fly to Madrid from Newark Airport to begin a week-long Spring Break trip to Spain; my first four nights would be spent at a hotel within walking distance from Atocha Station, in which three of the bombs exploded.  Understandably shaken after learning of the attacks, I asked my Dad whether or not he thought I should cancel the trip or go ahead as planned.  He wisely responded that, if ever there was a safe time to visit Madrid, this was it - security would be on high alert and people would be on their toes.  I decided to stick with the itinerary (which included a Real Madrid game, one of my most memorable sports experiences to date), had a fantastic time, and got to see Madrid at a very unique time in its history.

What does any of this have to do with sports, you ask?  By now you've undoubtedly heard about the Phillies fan who was tasered (Or is it tased?  No one seems to be sure.  Where can we go to get a definitive answer on this?  Maybe the dictionary?  I'm too lazy to look it up . . .) after running onto the field during Monday night's game against the Cardinals at Citizens Bank Park.  I'm sure you've seen the video, too, since it was plastered all over the Internet, including on ESPN.com.  What you might not know, though, is that last night yet another Phillies fan ran onto the field.  This time it was a 34 year-old man who, according to NBC affiliate WHEC, was "taken into custody without incident."

At first blush, it might seem like this second fan is just another drunken, Philadelphia-based moron; yes, there are a lot of them.  At the same time, though, if you're ever going to run onto the field at a Major League Baseball game, wouldn't you want to do it on the day after security and police forces had been heavily criticized for tasering someone?  After all the backlash the Philadelphia police department took for tasering a 17 year-old (according to ESPN, the police department is "now reviewing whether its officers should be on the field wrangling runaway fans who aren't threatening anyone"), wasn't it safe to assume that the next runaway fan would receive far better treatment?

 Madrid's Atocha Station and Citizens Bank Park's outfield have some things in common.

I'm disappointed that I can't find more details on this second fan's apprehension and arrest.  How lenient were the cops this time around, knowing that another episode of police brutality would cause irrevocable damage to the police department's reputation?  Did they open the centerfield wall for the guy and let him escape through the bullpens?  Did a member of security come out of the dugout with an air mattress, inflate it, and place it on the grass in the outfield while police officers gently guided the fan onto it and slapped the handcuffs on?  Perhaps the Phillies let the fan play a half-inning at second base before politely asking him to leave?

Either way, last night was a perfect night for a jog around the outfield.