25 Best/Worst Fan Incidents of the Modern Era

Actor Clark Gable fought in World War 2 and almost got killed once. When word of this reached MGM, studio executives began to badger the Army Air Forces to reassign him to noncombat duty. Also, Hitler was a fan and offered a sizable reward to anyone who could capture and bring Gable to him unscathed.

2. George Reeves, the actor who played Superman in the 1950s was wary because some fans tried to test his "invulnerability." At one appearance a young fan pulled a pistol on him. Reeves convinced him to hand over the gun by telling him that a bystander could be hurt when the bullets bounced off.

3. During a 1957 Phillies game, Richie Ashburn hit a fan with a foul ball, breaking her nose. When play resumed he hit her again with another foul ball as she was being taken out on a stretcher.

4. In 2006, Prince did a 'Willy Wonka' and made Universal hide 14 purple tickets—seven in the U.S. and seven internationally—inside his latest album, 3121. Fans who found a purple ticket were invited to attend a private performance at Prince's Los Angeles home.

5. Frank Zappa and his friends were once confronted at his home by a fan brandishing a gun. Frank took him to the pond outside and invented a ceremony where everyone had to throw something in it. The fan threw in his gun.

The band Aerosmith once bailed out at least 30 of their fans who were arrested for smoking weed at their show.

7. A terminally ill Star Wars fan got to see "The Rise of Skywalker" ahead of its scheduled release. A hospice worker tweeted the man's dying wish after seeing a Star Wars tattoo on his leg. About 2 days later, a Disney representative arrived at the hospice with a black bag containing a hard drive with the movie.

8. A UFC fan once got hold of fighter Rory MacDonald’s old cell phone number and was selecting Rory's walkout music via text messages without Rory or the UFC finding out for years.

9. Before Ed Sheeran became internationally famous, he put on a free show for his small fan base. Over 1,000 fans turned up to see the show, so Sheeran ended up playing four different shows to make sure everyone saw a gig, including a gig outside on the street after the venue had closed.

10. "House of Cards" is extremely popular in China, especially among Communist Party leaders, with one fan on social media writing about the show, “I’m just amazed that their propaganda ministry isn’t mad about this.”

A Borderlands fan named Michael Mamaril died at the age of 22 before Borderlands 2 came out. When his friends asked Gearbox if they would have Claptrap read a eulogy, they instead made a character in the game based off of Michael himself.

12. In 1962, a Montreal Canadiens fan tried to steal the Stanley Cup from a display case in Chicago. He was arrested and reportedly told the judge he was trying to bring it back to Montreal "where it belonged." He was fined $10.

13. After Queen's success with Bohemian Rhapsody, sacks of fan mail poured in from behind the Iron Curtain, addressed to "Queen, London". It was mistakenly delivered to Buckingham Palace.

14. Lou Williams (Los Angeles Lakers) once got robbed at gunpoint in Philly but when the mugger noticed it was Lou he said he was a big fan. They then went to McDonald’s.

15. Jim Becker, a Green Bay Packers fan who paid for game tickets by donating blood, had a rare, undiagnosed condition in which bloodletting was the only treatment. Buying tickets continuously saved his life.

When Mountain Dew held an online poll to let fans choose the name for a new flavor, “Hitler did nothing wrong,” “Diabeetus,” and “Gushing Granny” all topped the online rankings.

17. A World Cup qualifying match between Chile and Brazil was canceled after an opposing fan hit the Chilean goalkeeper (Roberto Rojas) with a flare. Photos later proved that the flare never touched him. He faked the injury with a hidden razor blade.

18. Ferdinando Boero is a jellyfish expert who was also a fan of Frank Zappa. He reached out to Zappa asking if he'd be ok with a jellyfish named in his honor, to which Zappa replied saying “there is nothing I would like better than having a jellyfish with my name.” So it was named Phialella zappai.

19. During the ’80s, drunken calls to Hanna-Barbera studios from Flintstones fans curious to know what Barney Rubble did for a living were so common that the security guard in charge of answering the phones at night would simply reply: “He worked in the quarry.”

20. Albert Einstein was approached so often by fans wanting explanations of his theories he would say, "Pardon me, sorry! Always I am mistaken for Professor Einstein."

A line in the Barenaked Ladies song "If I Had $1000000" inspired fans to pelt Kraft Dinner at the band during concerts. After hundreds of boxes were thrown BNL requested fans cease the Kraft Dinner ritual and donate the food via bins set up in the lobbies of their shows for local food banks.

22. In 2009, a group of fans of Shia LaBeouf founded a religion in his name called The Church of Shiantology. Followers of the religion refer to him as the MesShia.

23. Chicago Blackhawks once called on a 36-year-old accountant and fan named Scott Foster to serve as an Emergency goalie after starter and backups were injured. He played in the third period and had 7 saves with a save percentage of 1.000.

24. Coolio was once robbed by his “fans” at a concert in England. They all moved when he attempted to stage dive and then stole his shoes, jewelry, and accessories.

25. In 1971, a crazed fan shot a flare-gun towards Frank Zappa and his band during a concert in Switzerland. The resulting fire injured several audience members, melted the band's equipment, and destroyed the venue. This incident was the inspiration for Deep Purples, 'Smoke On The Water.'