Last night, the impressive diving catch made by White Sox pitcher Mike Porzio took a back seat to the highlight happening behind him on the field. A father and son came out of the stands and attacked Kansas City first base coach Tom Gamboa, thrashing his back and driving him to the ground. We were watching the Cubs game at the time but read of the incident while checking news on the net and immediately flipped to catch the scene on television.

Our first reaction at witnessing the scene was confusion at why the first base umpire Matt Hollowell just stood there rather than aiding Gamboa. Sox's second baseman Willie Harris, covering first on the bunt play, also backed away from the situation. The two men, who we only discovered hours later were father and son, seemed so eager to beat on Gamboa that they pushed one another out of the way to get to him.

I've heard complaints that the Royals shouldn't have all left the dugout and joined the fray, but they were evidently the closest people to the incident willing to aid Gamboa. Kansas City was entirely correct in defending their colleague. Photos of the two men leaving the scene indicated that despite being engulfed by the players, they showed few, if any, signs of physical abuse. None of the players seized any of the readily available bats with which they could have exacted extreme retribution on the attacking fans.

Shortly after the beating, everyone learned that one of the two assailants had a knife. My first reaction was relief that the psychos didn't have an opportunity to use the weapon. However, as the story unfolded, we discovered that the knife in question was a folded-up pocketknife that had slipped from the pocket of one of the two men. At that point I admit I mentally relaxed, feeling that although these were obviously two really dumb people who had committed a cowardly violent assault, they were merely intent on an "old fashioned" pummeling rather than a deadly knifing. While there are no excuses for their behavior, the evidence seems to suggest that one of the two was merely one of the millions of men who carry such instruments on a daily basis. Those observers who have used this example as a reason baseball should install metal detectors at gates, forcing people through airport-like security to enter the ballpark, seem to have wholly missed the point. Metal detectors wouldn't have prevented this assault; their weapons of choice were their fists and I don't think we're going to begin asking fans to check their arms at the gate when entering the stadium.

Perhaps those who are so upset that the knife passed through security are merely startled that, in the wake of the heightened security measures after September 11th, anyone has the tenacity to still carry a pocket knife, which we've all learned should be considered a deadly weapon rather than a useful tool. Would we have the same complaints if we'd learned two women jumped the fence to attack a coach, and they possessed (oh no!) nail files in their purses? The most common use I've seen for men with their pocketknives is cleaning the dirt from under their fingernails.

I feel no need for added security at ballparks, especially when it's of the brand that makes no one any safer. We passed on tickets at the end of last season that we otherwise likely would have accepted were we not concerned about harassment by security. Most of the games my family attended occurred before I was a teen, so we went to the park with a big beach bag equipped with suntan lotion, towels for hot seats, etc. I'm not entirely sure what all was in the bag, but I remember its size, and consequently I now feel like I'm forgetting something if I don't take a large bag to the park. Therefore, before we ventured out to stadium this season, we carefully checked the restrictions on "carry-ins". We arrived at the park, the attendants gave the bags a cursory look, and we proceeded to our seats. Had there been more of an ordeal, we likely wouldn't have returned to any ballpark for a considerable time.

My concern since last year has not been that there will be more terrorist attacks; they'll probably happen eventually, though the enemy doesn't seem particularly motivated. I'm troubled by how quickly and willingly Americans have laid down their rights without question for what is mostly a false sense of security. There's no reason for anyone to submit to a strip search at the airport. The next time you're asked to undergo some degrading process in the name of safety, ask yourself if anyone's actually safer because of it, and don't submit with a smile. It isn't patriotic to abandon the freedoms upon which our country was founded.

I've detoured from the catalyst of this article, which was the battering of Gamboa, but this is a topic I've wanted to discuss for some time. Chicagoans should be embarrassed by this uncivilized display. However, let us keep our heads about us, and rather than demand massive fan harassment, only punish those responsible.

Tomorrow, we'll discuss the White Sox's expanded roster, which includes a number of young players their fans should be pleased to calmly view from their seats, at least when they aren't buying hot dogs, doing the wave, or bathing under the Plumbing Council Shower in the left field stands.