G-O-N-E.“Fireman” Ed, America’s favorite and most boisterous fan who led raucous chants at the home games of his favorite team, the New York Jets, has decided to hang up his custom made Jets fireman hat and bring an end to nearly 30 years of fan insanity.

On the surface, it would appear as if Fireman Ed, whose real name is Ed Anzalone, decided to pack it in due to the continuing struggles of his beloved team (he was seen leaving the Jets’ home game on Thanksgiving Day in the midst of an embarrassing 49-19 drubbing against the Patriots). However, looks can be deceiving.

Anzalone wrote a guest column that appeared in the Monday edition of the New York Metro, explaining his decision to end his hysterical hijinks. As it turns out, he’s calling it quits because of a few altercations he’s had with several other Jets fans who are more disgruntled than he is about their favorite team.

In his statement, Anzalone claims the constant ribbing he’s received from other fans about his choice of apparel and player-directed chants has become too much for him to handle. Say it ain’t so, Ed.

If there is any truth to Fireman Ed’s statement, then his reason for retiring from the world of super fandom brings up something that has become more prevalent in today’s world of sports: fan behavior.

It used to be that fan behavior was something that Fireman Ed or anybody else didn’t have to worry about. You could go watch your favorite team play, on the road or at home, wear replica jerseys, hats or T-shirts and shout, “Go team, go” from start to finish without breaking a sweat.

Unfortunately, the landscape of professional sports has become such that winning, ego and dominance of one team over the other causes many to lash out in an irrational — and sometimes violent — manner.

Nearly a year ago, San Francisco Giants fan Bryan Stow took his son to watch their favorite team play the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium. After the game, Stow was brutally beaten by three assailants who called themselves Dodgers fans. Stow is still recovering from the near-fatal incident while the three felons who took great joy in the beating have yet to see the inside of a jail cell.

And during the NFL 2011 preseason, two San Francisco 49ers fans were stabbed and shot by some Oakland Raiders fans after an exchange of words in the parking lot at Candlestick Park.

From shootings and stabbings to derogatory words and drunk, inflammatory actions, fan violence has turned sporting events into a one-way trip to a hospital emergency room. During the last few years, many teams have tried to curb fan violence by reducing alcohol sales and increasing security in and around stadiums before, during and after games. But regardless of the precautions being taken, there always seems to be some kind of skirmish.

Like so many others, I have been on the receiving end of unruly fans. When I attended a Giants game a few years ago to watch my beloved Dodgers play, there were a few Giants fans who decided to throw some beer bottles at me after they had a few choice words. What is it that causes certain fans to channel their team pride into a display of violence and ignorance fit for a school playground?

Being a sports fan is something that should be fun, not deadly. Rooting for your favorite team — at home or on the road — should be a relatively harmless and mundane task. It used to be that a good heckle was all you could expect from a fan of the opposite team. Now, a friendly punch in the face or knife jab to the side is the customary norm.

If this is what being a sports fan has become, then maybe Fireman Ed is doing the right thing. After all, it’s only S-P-O-R-T-S.