The event was senseless and tragic, but Pittsburgh-area columnist John Steigerwald is suggesting that Stow is at least partially responsible, because he wore a Giants jersey to a road game.
"Maybe someone can ask Snow (sic), if he ever comes out of his coma, why he thought it was a good idea to wear Giants' gear to a Dodgers' home opener when there was a history of out-of-control drunkenness and arrests at that event going back several years," Steigerwald wrote in his column, titled "Know when you've outgrow (sic) the uniform."
"Are there really 40-something men who think that wearing the jersey makes them part of the team?" Steigerwald added. "Here's tip for you if you actually think that wearing your team's jersey makes you a part of the team: It doesn't."
Steigerwald, writing for the Observer-Reporter in Pennsylvania, said that while Stow may not have actively been looking for trouble, he made the mistake of wearing enemy colors into opponents' territory.
"Obviously," he wrote, "not every fan who wears his team's jersey to a game is looking for someone from 'the enemy' to beat up. But maybe somebody should do a psychological study to find out if all those game jerseys have contributed to the new mob mentality that seems to exist in the stands these days."
