Rangers fans assaulted at Geno's Steaks

[JackStraw]

@JackStraw

Well I do like Steve's Prince of Steaks the best....

Never been there but I've heard it's very good.

[hf101]

http://www.crossingbroad.com/2012/01/beaten-rangers-fan-was-an-iraq-war-vet-purple-heart-recipient.html

Not only was the Rangers fan who was beaten outside of Geno’s on Monday a New Jersey cop, but he's also an Iraq War vet and Purple Heart recipient:

"He got banged up pretty badly," his father Neal Auricchio Sr., told NBC New York Wednesday. "Stitches in the one eye, and the other eye is pretty puffed up. He went for a CAT scan today, and we're waiting for the results on that."

The younger Auricchio is resting at home with his wife and son, who was born just a few days before Christmas, his father said.

[radoran]

He should smart, and don't argue with this punks at all. He was trained for this, how to handle such situation. But I betcha he is drunk and didn't try to stop, but put more fuel, so more likely he got what deserved. I had situations in DC in local bar near Verizon center, I was with my wife, so I just agreed and walked away, even people yelling something to me. I just didn't give them a reason for fight, even I knew if I say something back, they would punched me right the way. You got to be smart sometimes.

One time I remember, it was at red light I was crossing the street, and saw car with the Caps flags, so I yelled something, it was not smart, then real big dude came out from the car and asking if I said something, I did realized I'm alone and a bunch Caps fans, so I just keep walking. So sometimes you got to let it go, even you may think you can't.

Aside from the FACT that you have NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT you may want to just shut your pie hole.

In fact, you may want to do that regardless of the fact that you have no idea what the hell you are talking about.

[OH1FlyersFan]

Aside from the FACT that you have NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT you may want to just shut your pie hole.

In fact, you may want to do that regardless of the fact that you have no idea what the hell you are talking about.

I actually thought he was making sense....basically, in a round-a-bout sorta way, what Phlfly was saying was just keep your mouth shut and walk away. That's always good advice - especially when outnumbered by a bunch of drunk, pissed-off Flyers fans. Despite how we may analyze or react to this particular incident, and it is unexcuseable and disgusting, not aggravating or inciting the situation is usually a good and smart thing to do. Not always easy, but smart.

[Green Man]

Common sense says to not wear a Rangers jersey and sh!t talk with Flyers fan in the heart of tourist Philly after people have been drinking all day.

Of course the guy did not deserve to get pounded by 5 dudes, but seriously what did he expect going toe to toe with a bunch of guys when he's outnumbered?

This just reeks of idiodic behavior by this guy.

He had no common sense to stay out of trouble and he kinda got what was coming to him in that situation.

And who gives a sh!t if he is a cop or not, if he had any common sense he would have announced that right away and showed his badge to diffuse the situation. But no, he got caught up in a fight and now he wants to hide behind his badge.

Don't play with matches if you don't want to get burned idiot.

[phlfly]

Aside from the FACT that you have NO IDEA WHAT THE HELL YOU ARE TALKING ABOUT you may want to just shut your pie hole.

In fact, you may want to do that regardless of the fact that you have no idea what the hell you are talking about.

Should I? I don't think so. I'm not saying they are right, but to fight sometimes is a bad idea.

also what is your f..... problem? Some cop got beaten by bunch drunks. Then again some cops are not angel too, some of them there because it's "cool" to have a gun and show off badge. A little alcohol did a job for both side.

Also can you do even more informative then those two sentence? I thought you speak English, I don't but these ........

[Digityman]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rq4PLa253WI

[sarsippius]

I'm not sure what this guy said or didn't say before the incident, but Ranger fans from my experience are the biggest assholes in the league when they come to town. Like the three young ladies and their old guy companion sitting in back of me Monday in section 243, who started in with the "Flyers suck" and "WHERE'S your GOAL-ie" chants and mocking the people around them before the game even started. For some reason they were in folding chairs in a handicapped spot next to a uniformed Philly cop. Come to the game, cheer for your team, but don't be a d!ck. When I go to road game I respect the house I'm in. I hate the Rangers and I hate their f**king fans, so excuse me if I'm not all broken up that a (maybe) innocent Ranger fan took a beating that so many of his fellow fans deserve.

[phlfly]

by

the video, you can tell that yapping was going for long time. Just think someone started to recording this just when fight about to start so I guess because it was going for some time, but take look at the end guy is wearing Rags jersey (Staal) and he didn't fight and didn't try to stop fight either, so I guess those two Rags fans were not polite at all

.

[fan4ever]

_{Crossing Broad has an interesting story about the guy who recorded the fight.....}

_{Here's the link:}

_{http://www.crossingbroad.com/2012/01/the-deaf-man-who-says-he-filmed-the-fight-outside-genos.html}

[Bakanekimiwa]

for those of you that are defending what happened here... go F yourselves. there is never a reason that words should cause someone to get violent. these were some drunk flyer fans looking for trouble cause they thought their fat asses had beer muscles. while i don't condone talking back to thugs like this, you can hardly blame the victims here. it's very clear who started the violence.

i forget who mentioned it here, but they are absolutely right... the philly PD should have a presence out there on big game nights. maybe not every game, but certainly something as big as the WC. it's irresponsible of philly govt to not recognize potential situations like this.

and for you F*cks who suggest they never should have gone down there with rangers jerseys in the first place. wtf... this is america you assholes. you should be able to go wherever you want wearing whatever you want.

[JackStraw]

for those of you that are defending what happened here... go F yourselves. there is never a reason that words should cause someone to get violent. these were some drunk flyer fans looking for trouble cause they thought their fat asses had beer muscles. while i don't condone talking back to thugs like this, you can hardly blame the victims here. it's very clear who started the violence.

i forget who mentioned it here, but they are absolutely right... the philly PD should have a presence out there on big game nights. maybe not every game, but certainly something as big as the WC. it's irresponsible of philly govt to not recognize potential situations like this.

and for you F*cks who suggest they never should have gone down there with rangers jerseys in the first place. wtf... this is america you assholes. you should be able to go wherever you want wearing whatever you want.

Absolutely. I don't care how much you love your team, the idea that someone wearing another team's jersey and or talking trash is reason to fight is totally screwed up.

[radoran]

The insinuation that the Ranger fan "was probably drunk" has no basis in reality. There is no evidence to support this. At all.

The assertion that "something" must have happened beforehand has been proven true - the "Flyers fans" paid a homelss guy to harass the Rangers fan.

Yes, "just walk away" is a reasonable thing to do - if you're expecting to be assaulted while standing in line for a sandwich because you're wearing clothes someone else doesn't like. If you're an off-duty police officer, however, you might be more inclined to try to "keep the peace".

I don't care what team you are a fan of, you have the right to wear your jersey standing in line to buy a sandwich without being assaulted by gutless, pathetic excuses for human beings.

There is no excuse for this. None.

[phlfly]

hey that happened everywhere and around the world during sport events, concerts, meetings and ect. I saw here(I was in car already driving home) in DC when Flyers fans (2-3 guys) has been attacked by Caps fans, yes it was attack, they were across the street then Caps fans run across and start a fight, but police came in less then 30 sec.

Also I saw also in Verizon center during intermission, group of Caps fans were tried fight with couple Flyers fans, but one big dude (Flyers fan), took Caps fan and sent him down from the stairs.

I don't understand why we even talk about his.

So solution is only a big police present, as someone suggested here already. Back in Russia we had an army police for such events.

[HockeyFan]

Every time I see someone justify a fight like this because "[team]'s fans are assholes" makes me wonder:

Does that mean that I should never go to another arena wearing a Flyers's sweater? You know what they say about us as a collective. I have proudly worn the Flyers logo on jackets, hats, etc in other hockey markets like Detroit, Buffalo, Toronto, Winnipeg and even Montreal. I wore it in Chicago the summer after they skated off our ice with the cup. Apparently at any time I should have been ready for a fight, simply because "Flyers's fans are typically assholes that start fights."

Yes, some people certainly "have it coming" and many times fans involved couldn't even name the coach of their team. Alcohol does strange things.

Take away the jerseys, the fact he is a cop, and a purple-heart winner. it is still aggravated assault. Period. There is no legal loophole for "the fan-base are assholes" or "he should have known better."

It is also character assassination, now; to have not only stories but videos to go with the story. It's another black eye for the city, and our fan-base. Maybe I'll leave the logo's put away on my travels, too. I wouldn't want to incite something simply by being a fan or disrupting what another fan-base thinks I should shop at, the same way they likely guarded the swings from people they didn't like in the second grade.

[NoVaFlyerFan]

Correct. There is no defense for the d-bags that did this.

On the other hand, I think it is unfair (but not at all surprising) that this is being portrayed as something that is systematic with Flyers fans or Philadelphia. I'm pretty sure there have been worse beatdowns at other sporting events. There have probably been worse beatdowns on Jerry Springer and Maury Povich. What makes this fight so egregious? That the Flyers fans threw the first punch? That the Rags fans were outnumbered (in Philly of all places)? That they were hit while on the ground? That is the only thing that I see unfair about the fight, and those sort of things happen all the time in fights.

Fighting someone because they like another team is assinine, and assaults like these should definitely be prosecuted. But lets not pretend that this sort of thing never happens except in Philly. Like phlfly, I live in Washington and wear O&B to Caps games. I've never been beaten, but I've certainly been threatened with fights just for weaing my jersey. And Caps fans are probably the tamest fans in the league.

And let's not pretend like this was the worst street brawl of the decade. This sort of thing happens all the time and this specific fight is just not that exceptional. Now if the Flyers fans had burned down Vancouver on Monday night, that would be exceptional.

[HockeyFan]

On the other hand, I think it is unfair (but not at all surprising) that this is being portrayed as something that is systematic with Flyers fans or Philadelphia.

But that is what it does to "us." It makes "us" become that "a$$hole" fan-base in other cities. That travels really well.

But lets not pretend that this sort of thing never happens except in Philly.

Which is annoying. It would be nice to get the credit that 45,000+ went to the alumni game (of course, this is due in part that any season ticket holder than wanted to go to the classic had to buy the game.) The santa story needs to be put to rest, but for whatever reason our media decided it would be a good idea to interview the guy again, and thanks to the magic of the AP and Google, when we make it front page news, they make it front page news.

When the arena fan base booed -- during an intermission -- a Hockey Fights Cancer video because it featured Philly villians Kane, Miller and Crosby... that was the news story. Not the Flyers wives carnival - where more than $1 million is raised each year for cancer research long before the NHL got into playing to the major charities. Also, unlike the NHL BS, that money stays here in the region and has helped thousands, if not hundreds of thousands...

Hell, in this case, some dimwit ever-so-eloquently took credit for it on facebook, before diming out his friends when the police came knocking. Speaking of reputations, that should cause one hell of a "Google problem" for him...

Edited January 6, 2012 by HockeyFan

[Green Man]

Yea, the cop is totally innocent, how many of you live in the real world?

For christ's sake - He goes to the heart of drunk Philly with an opposing team's jersey, after the Flyers just lost, surrounded by drunks stuffing their faces and gets into a shouting match with 5 drunks.

He lowered his behavior to enable and allow a street fight to happen and now it's poor him?

Again, if he had any common sense he would have walked away or flipped his badge, but he did not, he continued to escalate the situation and what do you know he ended up getting his ass beat.

I would expect the same to happen to me if I were outside MSG in a reverse situation, but I've got enough friggin sense to avoid those situations.

Of course it was wrong for 5 guys to pile on him and punch him, but he was no angel in escalating the situation to get it to that point. He must suck at his job as a cop.

[BobDailey]

There has to be common sense on both sides and there was not.

I would never wear Flyers gear to a game in the Garden and go to a place which is the equivalent hangout to Genos within 2 miles of MSG and not expect crap to happen.

For the victim- as a 2 tour of duty marine in Iraq and a current cop who may have thought he could maintain control in most situations, logic would tell you not to go there, its like walking alongside the road and waiting for an IED to be exploded. You know its high risk and somethings bound to happen. Its not like the guy was from the midwest. Hes from Jersey and should have had a sense of how bad it can be there.

The late Joey Vento who owned Geno's is rolling in his grave for a marine current cop to be beat up at his place, Ranger jersey or not. He was a huge supporter of the military and law enforcement

What happened was wrong, I dont condone it and unfortunately its just typical east coast stuff, there is an attitude all along the east coast thats like this (and with the Giants fan being assualted in LA and the girl being hit in the head at a Sharks game wearing a Nucks jersey maybe a west coast thing- but then it could also be tainted with racism for the latinos that attacked the giants fan-were they illegals or immigrants or did they have a police record?)

Life & quality of life has less meaning to beligerent people and sometimes watching things on tv is the best way to experience them to avoid the scum. I mean its like trailer trash in the city, in row homes and apartments

Funny, about 14 months ago I took a current Marine Captain to Genos during the afternoon. He was on a trip to all the hockey arenas from Ottawa back to Norfolk. But he was wearing a Flyers BrindAmour jersey.

Here is an example of the same kind of thing I experienced on a less direct level

A few years ago I was driving north on Broad St from center city to a professional society meeting at Temple Univ.

I was in the right lane next to the parking lane. I saw a few blocks up there was construction and put on my signal to get into the left lane. A car with some mixed minorities in it car pooling back from work probably, wouldnt let me in, there was plenty of time but they wanted to f with me. They blocked me out and I had to make a near panic stop to avoid driving into the torn up road. As they drove by they all gave me the finger and laughed at me. Why? I dont know, maybe they wanted to screw with a white man with a tie on, who they didnt know. But thats the same f'n mental midgetry, selfish little low life existence as the guy that beat up the other guy at Genos. Its all over this country and thats the shame of it. This nation is afflicted with selfish trash throwing disrespectful low lifes of all ethnic racial and social backgrounds and the level of common decency has gone way down.

[Dynamo 47]

These guys were total ass holes. Bad enough to jump and sucker punch someone for wearing a different color jersey but to do it do a veteran is disgusting in my eyes. It put a black eye on what was a fantastic weekend for the city and for hockey overall.

Just when I couldn't be more proud of my fellow hockey fans for packing in 45,000 for an alumni game, idiots like this ruin it. Of course the national media and general public won't remember that 45,000 people saw a meaningless hockey game; they will remember reading about how a couple of idiot Flyers fans jumped an ex-Marine and veteran.

As a vet, I would ask that the judge not sentence the cowards to jail time or fines but to send them to Paris Island to complete Boot Camp and let them see how the Marines make real men.

[doom88]

I don't wear O&B to Caps games either if I'm going with my fiancé. It isn't worth dealing with what could happen. It is a sad world we live in, and drunk fans of ANY city can commit acts of utter stupidity.

[Bakanekimiwa]

I don't wear O&B to Caps games either if I'm going with my fiancé. It isn't worth dealing with what could happen. It is a sad world we live in, and drunk fans of ANY city can commit acts of utter stupidity.

It IS sad. You should be able to go with your jersey. Expect good natured ribbing... Sure. That's still sporting. Fighting, assaulting... That's not.

What's also sad here is that many people, many of our own board members, are exhibiting the old blame the victim mentality. This, in a way, is excusing what happened. I don't buy that, and I don't like it. It should not be excused and you shouldn't simply say it was their fault.

If its common sense that you should get assaulted because you are wearing the opposing team's jersey after a big game... Well, that's the saddest comment of all here.

[Bertmega]

@Dynamo 47

What branch were you in?

Parris Island squared my ass away in about nano seconds after getting off the bus onto the "yellow footprints". These jokers would get eaten alive on the Island.

[Dynamo 47]

Oh yeah and for those that are interested, I heard the 76'ers are hosting an outdoor game at the Observatory Playground in Upper Darby PA.

I hope its BYOB - Bring Your Bullet Proof Vests.

[Dynamo 47]

@Dynamo 47

What branch were you in?

Parris Island squared my ass away in about nano seconds after getting off the bus onto the "yellow footprints". These jokers would get eaten alive on the Island.

I was Army but as you know, anyone who served their country with honor is part of the fraternity. To see a veteran treated like that still turns my stomach and gets my Irish going. I wasn't kidding about the sentence either. Let him do boot camp and see if he decides to make a career of it. At minimum he will learn some respect and learn what being a real man is all about.