Pull the Punches: Charger Games Are Getting Lost in the Crowd : <i> News Item: The U.S. Navy declares two San Diego parks out of bounds to its personnel because violence makes them such dangerous places to be. : </i>

I fear the Navy might have to consider adding to this list.

I know a place where the abuse of alcohol causes fist fights to proliferate and disrupt, at best, or involve, at worst, peaceful folks trying to enjoy a pleasant afternoon.

No, this is not a redneck saloon.

This is San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium.

Specifically, this was San Diego Jack Murphy Stadium last Sunday afternoon, when the stands at times more closely resembled Gettysburg than a rooting section.

Indeed, it is hard to imagine, but it seemed that the fans were more rude, crude and uncivilized than the quarterback. That is about as rude, crude and uncivilized as people can get.

This came to my attention earlier in the week when three different persons who had been at the stadium told me (a) that it was the best game they have seen all year, but (b) there was so much fighting in the stands it was impossible to relax and enjoy it.

Their observations were confirmed when San Diego police told The Times there had been 55 incidents in which officers had to involve themselves in skirmishes among or between drunk and disorderly citizens. And police contacts were in addition to those handled by private security.

It seemed, in fact, that Don King might have been more appropriate than security guards or police officers. As long as these tipsy lunatics have to go at it, why not match them up and put them down on the field so everyone can have a good laugh?

It should be noted that this is not a mass frenzy that envelopes everyone in the stadium. Not one in 10 nor one in 100 nor maybe even one in 1,000 are directly involved, but the ones who are cause enough of a ruckus to disturb and maybe even threaten the others. I know I’m not going to feel too secure if I’m sitting in my seat and a brawl breaks out in the next section.

What’s of particular concern, of course, was that this type of behavior was for a game between the local heroes and the relatively innocuous Philadelphia Eagles, hardly heated rivals. After all, this was only the fifth time these teams have met in their history.

Consequently, there is considerable cause for concern this coming Sunday.

* The Raiders are coming, the Raiders are coming.

* Game time is 5 p.m.

To suggest that these brawls are the fault of fans rooting for the visiting team is, to be sure, ludicrous. It takes two to tangle.

The point is that it is frightening that such an embarrassing number of Charger fans could be worked into such an aggressive mood by Eagle fans. People dressed in silver and black will be like lightning rods in the land of lightning bolts.

Both police and security plan to beef up their staffing to approximately twice what they had on hand last Sunday. Hopefully, an expanded security force will lead to fewer fights, not just shorter fights and more arrests.

The real problem is that Charger games are played as sideshows to a Mardi Gras-style atmosphere. The fact that there are only eight regular season home games makes each one more of a happening.

Consequently, large numbers of fans arrive two or three hours ahead of time to start up the party. Sunday’s 5 o’clock start will stretch out tailgate parties that were already more than long enough.

What a majority of people do during these parties is drink, some responsibly and some irresponsibly. You know which ones the problems are. You know which ones are likely to be featured on The Sunday Night Fights this week.

When the Chargers are at home, perhaps there should be sobriety check points at each gate.

Obviously, this is a situation that must be addressed by the city and the team.

Both the Padres and San Diego State have points at which alcohol can no longer be purchased at their games, the Padres after the seventh inning and the Aztecs during the third quarter. Obviously, there is ample time before those cutoffs for fans to become inebriated, but at least these organizations are responsibly trying to inhibit it.

If the tailgate parties are the villains, perhaps consumption of alcohol in the parking lot should be outlawed. After all, since when have parking lots been preferred venues for parties?

Another potential solution would be putting some teeth into penalties for those convicted of fighting in the stadium. Given a situation in which the most minor skirmish could escalate into a riot, anyone arrested for fighting in the stadium should land in a jail cell with the potential for stiff fines and more jail time down the road.

Ballpark fights are neither fun nor funny. There were almost 47,000 law-abiding fans in the crowd of 47,019 last Sunday, and they all deserved better.