The relationship between the athlete and fan has changed.

Sports fans gave always been inextricably seen as blind sheep or overly-critical hecklers. The real fan is somewhere in between. Until recently, those who got a little rowdy at sporting events fired their comments (and sometimes objects) feeling safe in the mob mentality. With athletes no longer putting up with these fans, the future is uncertain.

Societal trends start like this, and they come in waves. It happened with streakers in the ’70s. Something tells me a new wave of provoking athletes to see them freak out is about to pop up through professional arenas, particularly with hockey, baseball and basketball games where fans are seated closer to the action. It’s like that jerk in junior high who bullies someone more after starting to get a reaction.

The face of all this is the Ron Artest incident in the fall of 2004, when the Indiana Pacers star bounded into the stands after being hit by a cup of beer to pummel any possible culprits in Detroit. There have been plenty more-isolated examples in modern-day sports leading up to 2004. But, in what I’ll call the “Artest era,” it seems they’re becoming more frequent. With Antonio Davis going into the stands to confront Bulls fans arguing with his wife in Chicago last Thursday, the transition is more complete. This kind of thing is on people’s minds when they attend a sporting event.

Now the consciousness of the sports fan society has shifted. Now people can’t be so sure these actions won’t result in anything more than being asked to leave by security (or a night in jail for those streakers). Now it’s probably going to get worse before it gets better.

It’s possible all this will do the opposite and make people more cautious, but that’s unlikely. When Texas Rangers pitcher Frank Francisco flipped out in September 2004, throwing a chair into the stands at a heckler that wound up breaking a woman’s nose, there hadn’t been such an incident for a while. Artest is Artest, and the Davis situation is pretty unusual. But while each incident probably did occur as an independent meltdown, the framework has been set for more.

It’s a concept that fits in perfectly with the corrupt, money- and attention-hungry side of America: piss off an athlete, get him to shove you or do something that could constitute battery or just sue his ass for making a false characterization of what could have been you, like Bulls fan and spoiled brat Michael Axelrod threatened. You may not win, but you’ll get the attention. Axelrod may have been recognizably portrayed on TV during the event and in replays, but his name was never publicly discussed and his possible suit is simply an attempt to get the last word. Still, under not-too-different circumstances, a legitimate case could easily be made against a hot-tempered athlete.

Alcohol is certainly a big player in these incidents (despite Axelrod’s claims otherwise), and all professional sports teams have taken measures to curb excessive drinking at games. The absence of alcohol is the main reason Northeastern Assistant Director of Operational Services Mike Winsor said, “I’m in my ninth year (at NU) now … we’ve probably removed fans from the stands four times.”

One of those times was Saturday afternoon’s men’s basketball game against Hofstra. A coincidence? Probably. But it certainly doesn’t refute the idea of a trend.

“You can usually talk to someone and that will be the end of [the problem],” Winsor said. “And that’s exactly what happened with those that [eventually] were asked to leave the basketball game.”

The question that begs an answer is why wasn’t security quicker to stop or prevent these occurrences? How did a fan decked in complete hockey equipment – including skates – gradually sneak toward the ice during a Montreal Canadiens public practice before hurtling onto the rink and attempting two shots at goalie Jose Theodore earlier this month? Also: How many potential instances like this have been prevented by security? (OK, three questions.)

The Artest melee went on for quite a time, although I admit it was a shock and a lot broke out at once. Nonetheless, arena security only seems staunch in preventing ticket-holders from smuggling in weapons or booze. It’s improved markedly at Red Sox games since the Jeff Nelson/Karim Garcia bullpen fight; there are a number of officials lining foul territory, but that’s not the case elsewhere. There haven’t been too many cases of fans rushing the court or entering the rink area during a game (aside from the guy who fell into Toronto Maple Leafs forward Tie Domi’s penalty box in 2001), but security presence as a mediating figure between the fan and player just doesn’t have as strong a foothold there.

Some things just can’t be prevented, even with police detail making some presence felt, as is the case at hockey and basketball games at Matthews Arena. But maybe harsh hecklers should be kept in check like they are at the college level. Maybe it’s just as basic as identifying risk factors like where family and friends of players are sitting, what section has had the most beer sales and where are the loudmouths.

Or maybe it’s we, as fans, who should just hold ourselves to higher standards.

– Tim Coughlin can be reached at [email protected].