If it were a TV show, maybe it would be called SFPD Blue.
That plan to beef up security for Sunday’s NFC title game at Candlestick Park, which for a change has less to do with preventing folks with bombs or guns or other assorted weapons into the building, includes a fascinating wrinkle.
In order to ensure that fans who choose to root for the Giants aren’t abused by 49ers fans who reportedly abused Saints fans last Saturday, undercover police officers will be posing as Giants fans.
The enhanced protection of fans who’ll be exercising their First Amendment rights to cheer for the home team to lose extends beyond the walls of the stadium. “We’ll be looking early on to identify people trying to do those things in the parking areas and take action to remove them,” NFL security chief Jeff Miller told the New York Daily News. “We’re not going to be warning people inside the stadium. They will be removed.”
It’ll be interesting to learn how far the authorities go with the whole Giants fan facade. Will they only wear jerseys and hats? Will there be face painting? Will there be salsa dancing or raucous behavior in order to entrap potentially abusive 49ers fans?
Either way, folks pulling for the Niners are on notice. And here’s hoping that when Sam Francisco in San Francisco dials in for PFT Live this week, he won’t be using one of his two phone calls from jail.