Laser Pointers Aimed At Texans

Hello, Mexico City. Nice to be back after 11 years away.

Goodbye, Mexico City. Thanks for the laser light show. See you in another dozen years if you’re lucky and clean up your act.

The Oakland Raiders and Houston Texans played their Monday night game in Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca. It was not without incident – a dangerous one.

During the second quarter, with the score tied 10-10, some green light beamed from the stands danced across the field and bounced off Texans quarterback Brock Osweiler’s helmet. One imbecile in the stands? Several? NFL security was checking it out in the hopes of catching the perpetrator(s).

The Raiders scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to beat the Texans 27-20 and the Texans didn’t use the laser pointer event as an excuse, though it surely was not a help.

“I’m still gathering information on what exactly took place, but all I know at this point is, when we were out there on the field on offense, there were multiple times I saw a green laser coming from the stands,” Osweiler said after the game. “There were a couple of times it definitely hit me in the eye. And it was very noticeable.”

This is not a first at Estadio Azteca. It happened to the U.S. men’s soccer team in 2013 when goalkeeper Brad Guzan was the target during a match against Mexico.

Plenty of NFL venues do not adequately police the havoc caused by fans. But a beer thrown at a player (provided it is not still in the bottle) won’t cause permanent injury. The laser pointer can.

Even before the game, there were fears. The altitude (roughly 7,300 feet) and pollution were cited. And the Texans players were advised by the club not to leave the hotel, not to order room service and to eat only from the meal choices put out and supervised by the team. What a lovely visit!

So if the NFL asks this typist about when it should return to Mexico City, the short answer would be never. Past performance is seemingly indicative of future behavior. And that behavior is hazardous.
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman