Playoff games ain't free, soccer fans

Tell me what's wrong with this picture: A large cluster of passionate soccer fans stand at attention, clapping and screaming and aching for their side. Down the way, a group of teens keep their eyes glued on the talent on the field. And everywhere you look there are toddlers, teenagers, adults and grandparents.

So what's wrong this scene? What's out of place?

Nothing, you say.

Guess again.

There was something criminal, downright shady, about the fandom I witnessed on Friday, Nov. 7, when top-ranked Merced hosted Stockton Franklin in the first round of the Division I playoffs.

Those fans, maybe 120 or so, settled beyond the orange fencing that wrapped the field. The fencing was put in place because the Sac-Joaquin Section charges admission for its playoff games.

The orange fencing was meant to be a deterrent for free-loaders.

A barrier.

A wall.

Not an invitation for a free seat.

Those who wanted to see the game were expected to pay the admission fee, find a seat in the bleachers or along the track, and cheer to their hearts content.

But instead of paying the small charge -- $4 for HS and elementary students, and $6 for adults -- a very large contingent of Merced and Franklin fans turned into, well...

Cheapskates, seems to fit. Squatters and misers work, too.

They cheated the system, and in turn, cheated the section, which uses the money to fund scholarships, programs and the like.

Bad form, soccer fans, bad form.