Bought tickets on the west side, for the 7 of them, some of whom
had never been to a game.

I mention the west side b/c he apparently forked out for some pretty good seats there, and the likelihood that he was surrounded by LES rookies in that area is less (but not zero—they had LES rookies in their group).

When I met him and his new wife at halftime, he casually mentioned people’s stadium chairs spilling into their seats and having to get people to shuffle a bit and then cram in. I mentioned similar experiences. And then we carried on with our conversation and talked about other stuff.

Not the end of their world—he’s a model of polite assertiveness and quite capable of dealing effectively with such scenarios. But it was not convenient either or additive to their experience in any way. Why should anyone have to hassle and haggle to simply have access to the seats for which they paid?

If you’re spilling into others’ seats, completely usurping the space behind you with your mega-chair, or knowingly sitting in other people’s space, you know exactly what you’re doing. Your actions detract from or wreck your fellow fans’ experience. Just don’t do it.

A ticket purchase doesn’t make you king or queen of Lavell. You’re surrounded by people with the same rights and expectations as you.

Don’t be jerks. If you slip up or err somehow, apologize, course correct and carry on. In most cases, the path to you and those around you enjoying the game really is that simple.