Is there actually press-box etiquette?

Someone was in my seat once because he wanted to sit beside his friend. Because the box was hardly crowded, I told him not to worry and I'd taken an empty seat BUT that if things changed, I'd need to sit in my seat. The SID came by a little while later and asked why I was out of place and I explained to him and there was no problem.

 

If this happened in my press box, I'd help the writer out by getting the Ass Clown out of his seat. Then, depending on who he/she was, I'd screw them over with an even worse seat the next time around.

We all know that in every pressbox, there are one or two media members who nobody wants to sit next to. This guy would have the seat -- most likely between the two people -- for the forseeable future.

 

Sirs, Madames,

The classic was Red Fisher -- whose seat at centre ice of the Forum press box featured a landmark plaque from the Montreal Historical Society. One time Norm Maclean (cue the laugh track) dumped his spongeing ass in the Fisher chair. Red famously kicked it out from under him.

YHS, etc

 

Excuse me, you're in my seat.


Excuse me, you're in my seat.


Ummm, Excuse me you're in my seat.



CAN I MAKE THIS ANY PLAINER? GET YOUR ASS UP AND THE F[size=4pt]UCK OUT OF MY SPOT, DICKBRAIN![/size]

 

Thanks for providing some perspective. In all the years I've been covering games, aside from some crowded high school boxes, I had never encountered anything similar.

And it's not like the guy was a jerk otherwise ... he seemed like an OK guy to sit next to in a press box. He just seemed to have no clue. If that's the case, maybe he'll see this and get that clue. Or maybe I'll just wait until the team I cover plays a team in his area, show up at the stadium four hours ahead of time and camp out in his spot.

Really, had he asked to move up a row, I'm sure the SID would have accomodated him. He could have asked me, for that matter.

I was sitting in a press box once and Bob Feller walked over and asked if he could have the seat next to me. He still understood the way things work in a press box enough to ask. If a Hall of Famer can do that, so can Mr. Big Metro, especially if he's an out-of-towner.

 

How I react depends on what kind of mood I happen to be in at the time. I've done it both ways. I've moved down a seat or two, and I have been known to fight for my space. I've never run into this in football, but basketball is a different story with the press table being where it is. One time last year, instead of moving I decided to stand my ground and come to find out the jerk in my spot didn't even have credentials.

 

Awesome. Totally awesome.

 

Agreed.

 

It's not "press-box etiquette."

It's "etiquette."

 

I once sat next to a guy in the press box who fell asleep in between and actually during a few plays.

 

Here's the reason I suggested asking the squatter first, politely, if he's in the right seat:

It may be an honest mistake, and when made aware of it, the fella can apologize, pick up his stuff, and find the correct seat. Handled.

If you go to a flack or the SID first, you run the risk of looking like a spineless tattletale for having ratted him out before asking. And, as so many of these sj threads teach us about the jungle law of the press box and the locker room, you can find yourself branded a candyass prima donna simply for having done so.

 

Were the seats assigned?