He was among fans wearing the black and orange colours of the Giants amid a sea of Dodger blue and, apparently, feeling the heat for his choice of wardrobe. Halfway through the game he texted family members that he 'felt scared inside the stadium'. But this is baseball, this is opening day and this is Dodger Stadium, the crown jewel of baseball arenas when it first opened in 1962 and, thanks to constant renovations, still one of the most aesthetic and bucolic of all parks today.

After watching his Giants make a slew of errors and lose 2-1, Stow retreated to the car park with his friends, hoping to get as far as possible from Dodger Stadium. But before they could reach their car, he was knocked down from behind and repeatedly kicked in the head by a couple of brave souls who hooted and hollered, hopped in their car and somehow high-tailed it out of an overflowing car park into the night with the greatest of ease. Stow would be rushed to the hospital barely clinging to his life. If he recovers from the coma he is in, doctors say he is likely to have serious brain damage.

Stow may have gone to LA to simply watch opening day. But by the time he left Dodger Stadium in the back of an ambulance, he unwittingly emerged as a national referendum on violence in sports.

The punditry ran amok. Talk shows, radio hosts, columnists, bloggers, everyone weighed in with an opinion on this shockingly sad, disgusting and senseless turn of events. Well here is another one. LA can be a dangerous city and the US is a very angry country. Rage is all the rage these days and it does not matter what side of the political spectrum you sit on or what your ethnic makeup. Folks are just upset and to think that sporting events can be immune to this divisiveness and anger is incredibly naive.

You would think the people in charge of Dodger Stadium would know this as well and prepare thusly. For years, there was a noted smugness from North American leagues and fans towards all the violence in European soccer, particularly the game in England. But English soccer was forced to clean up and in the process became the most popular league in the world. I've been to games in England at White Hart Lane and Anfield and I have been to games at Dodger Stadium. I felt much safer at the soccer matches.

It's not like this behaviour on opening day is without precedent. The LA Police Department said 132 people were arrested on opening day last year. This year that number dropped to 72. 'It was much quieter this year than last year,' LAPD Captain Dave Lindsay told the LA Times.

Some 54 years ago when Walter O'Malley was looking to move the Brooklyn Dodgers out west and he took a helicopter ride with a city official around LA before spotting a plot of land downtown that was at the junction of two major freeways. 'Right there,' he said, pointing at Chavez Ravine, a low-income Hispanic area. After the forced removal of local residents, O'Malley's field of dreams was built.

Over the years Dodger fans developed a reputation of being laid back, they came late and left early. But those days are long gone and this once proud franchise is now beset by odious management. Team owner Frank McCourt is genuinely reviled around LA. He is in the throes of a high-profile, tabloid driven divorce from his wife that includes custody of the baseball team.

A statement released by the Dodgers after the beating of Stow tells you all you need to know about McCourt. 'It is extremely unfortunate that this incident took place on what was otherwise a great day at Dodger Stadium for tens of thousands of fans.'

Yeah a great day, only 72 arrests. The overwhelming majority of Dodgers and baseball fans are not thugs. They clearly deserve better. After all, opening day is supposed to be about beginnings, not endings.