Over the past three games DC police have been trying to move fans out of Lot 8 rather quickly. In the past they have given us an hour or two for post-game gatherings, now they have lights on and they're telling us to leave minutes after the game. Is there a reason for this? Most of us were all too ready leave last night. Arrrghhhh...
I promised to meet some (both KC and DC fans) folks at the post-game tailgate yesterday, but not only was noone there, when I stopped for a minute to talk to another photographer at his car, we had two squad cars on top of us within seconds. Sheesh. I noticed it after the All-Star game, but I figured that was because everything WAS running late. What gives with the parking Nazis?
The last few games, it has not been the DC police. It is some "rent-a-cop" outfit called American Protection Agency. A quick look at the cars reveals most, if not all have Maryland plates, and they have yellow and/or blue light bars on top, rather than red and blue. The cars are of various makes, painted various colors, and are older than current DC police cars. Though they are rent-a-cops, I assume the DC stadium authority has essentially granted them police powers. The stadium authority itself has also probably been granted fairly broad powers by the DC council, somewhat to their regret as they learned with the Grand Prix episode. A true DC police car will most likely be a very late model Ford Crown Victoria or Taurus, white with red and blue light bar, DC plates, with the following logo: I have also been very annoyed by the almost immediate attempts to run us out of the parking lot. Can anyone confirm that this treatment started recently, and that it is associated just with the rent-a-cops? I'm thinking that this started at the game following the LA Galaxy game, where many complaints were posted here about problems in the parking lots. I believe Steven Zack mentioned here in BS that the parking lot security would be beefed up in response to those complaints. As a side note, the reason I am very familiar with DC police cars is they have been called to my house 23 times in the last 2-1/2 years, including 14 times since February of this year. A minimum of 2 cars always respond, but sometimes I've been blessed with 4. Obviously I can recognize one now! But this is a story for another day...
I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that the increased security presence has to do with DC signing a certain 19 year old international. Considering someone got beat up pretty bad a few games ago, can you blame the DCSEC for trying to move people out of the parking lot? Its about cutting down fights, not about trying to kill anyones buzz.
You're right Mr.Note they're some type of security outfit, I shouldn't have said they were DC cops. Giveaways are the chap riding in a vinivan after the all-star game and the others who wear berets festoned with militaria (probably purchased rather than earned). It's funny how good fans get rewarded with overzealous security people who resemble Ugandan dictator Adi Amin. The Barra knows the El Salvador crowd and we've managed to survive without security. Most of that was overblown anyway. Thanks for all the great security RFK, Lot 8 has so many other uses at 10pm.
It's just not the same without the opportunity to knock back a few beers before the 4+ hour late night drive back to North Carolina.
Hey, we all wanted tighter security after Q2 came abaord and brought the Sallies back. Well, it looks like the team listened. We wanted tighter security and now we've got it. While I don't want people being prevented from having a post-game tailgate, I can't say I mind the increased security, especially since it shows the team heard our concerns and acted on them.
Spot on, after we signed Q2 all you heard was people talking about the need for more security, something needs to be done in the parking lots..etc. Well now it's being done and people are complaining about that as well. Come on folks are we really this whiny and sensitive about everything? after every game we see 10 threads about security this, security that. I have been to every single home game, and really don't see much of a difference in security that I have for the last 3 years....could it be that United's poor play leaves everyone with a sour taste in there mouth, and this team is beyond help, we just talk about secuirty? Remember that DC United tries to work with Security, but Secuirty does not work for DC United, they work for the Sports Commission, and really don't give a crap about DC United or it's fans, we know this, but don't take it out on the team. Take out the poor play on the team. Mods...How about we just start one thread and make it a sticky called "Secuirty Complaints & rants"???
The issue is not that there is more security, it is the heavy handedness of it, with absolutely no distinction between a friendly tailgate and a fight. At one of the games I heard an announcement that the parking lots would close ONE HOUR after the game ended. It took me 20 minutes from the end of the game to get to the far reaches of lot 8 for the BB tailgate, including dawdling in the stands for a few minutes, making a stop at the rest room, and the long walk. Security was ALREADY out there telling people to leave immediately. By my watch, we still had 40 minutes to go. I guess security knows more about these games than the fans... lately the games have been over before they even began!
After the all-star game the security guys were hassling us. They would come by every few minutes and shout that the lot was closing and we had to leave. Everybody agreed (without any discussion about it) to just ignore the rent-a-cops. I think we're attributing malice where the true explanations are ignorance and incompetence. These guys probably are paid for a set number of hours for the stadium gigs whether they actually work those hours or not, so they just want to get everybody out of the lot so that they can get out of there and get paid for not working some time. It's the same old story as always with rent-a-cops. They want to get paid, but they don't want to work.
I believe the 'one-hour' policy started at the LA game in late June, well before we acquired Q2 (whose debut was July 27). At the LA, Columbus, and NE matches it was enforced about 50-60 minutes after game's end. I wasn't at the All-Star or KC matches but am disturbed to hear they've taken it upon themselves to try to kick people out after only 20 minutes. I see bad things brewing here. For those curious, the 60-minute rule has also been enforced after Freedom NIGHT games during this time. However, it has not been enforced after DAY games. Too bad United has no more day games left with which to test this theory out.
I think part of the problem is the security people have taken it upon themselves to break up the Barra Brava tailgate early due to the number of people congregating there, rather than doing their job and patrolling the parking lot as a whole looking for potential trouble. I really resent having them stopped there with their spotlights focused on me. You could probably be knifed elsewhere in the parking lot and not have security notice. They remind me of the security we have here in SW/DC at the Waterside Mall. Countless people stealing shopping carts from the Safeway walked right past MULTIPLE security guards on an ongoing basis, without them being the least bit concerned. The theft of shopping carts got so bad that eventually the sales in the Safeway were limited due to insufficient carts for the customers. They finally had to put in carts with electronic locks preventing them from being removed from the premises... so much for the security guards!
No One is Whining.... Once more Oscar will go talk to DC United and try to sort this out. We are hoping/assuming that the Security goons are simply misinformed or do not understand their standing orders. We hope (perhaps naively) that this is the case and it will be resolved next game. --As usual its not the general issue of the guards that we mind. It is the competency level.