With only a few notable exceptions, I’ve seen the NCAA’s banner with those words in every football stadium and basketball gymnasium I’ve been in this year.
If only the fans were paying it any heed.
NCAA Tournament games are different in a lot of ways. In many places you’ll be paying more because of ticket sale prices required by the NCAA. (In some places, paying at all is a change of pace.)
The seating is required to be divided by a specific formula. The public address announcer is instructed to be neutral. The starting lineup is to be announced in alternating fashion, one player from Team A followed by one player from Team B. Artificial noisemakers are prohibited. Etc., etc., etc.
However, fan decorum should not be limited solely to NCAA Tournament games. And I’m sad to say that some places I’ve been this year this has been sorely lacking. In fact, I recently saw four games in a row in four different venues were a fan was kicked out.
Folks, what’s the deal? Can’t you enjoy the game without insulting each other? Without drinking all afternoon before tipoff?
I’ve said this before on other sites and I’ll say it again here: These players do not deserve your abuse. A Division III football player gets no special treatment above and beyond what you get. They’re not on scholarship, don’t get special dining halls or treatment in the classroom (in fact, you can count on some professors being harder on football players than on the rest of the class).
Just support the participants in a positive manner.
Pat,
You have identified a huge problem that needs attention. As AD’s we have control over our athletes and coaches and for the most part they are not the problem. Boorish and profane student fans have driven away the faculty and staff that used to come to games. It is hard to get student development people to come and help monitor the crowds because they feel that it is “the athletic department’s problem.”
What we have done is to make our Student Fan Section an organized club. Not all students coming to games are members, but the large majority are. They have a structure with student leaders and they police themselves. They push the envelope sometimes but they have the “Be Loud, Be Proud, Be Positive” statement as their motto. Somehow colleges and universities have to step up and remind people that this is supposed to be a positive, character building activity. But it is hard to un-do habits that have gone un-checked for their first 17 years of life. The high schools have to take a stronger stance on this and teach that good behavior can be fun.
Because of the proximity of the fans to the court, the problem is glaringly apparent in basketball.
For similar reasons — and because it’s a contact sport — ice hockey also can make for trouble: in a recent SUNYAC game, several fights broke out on ice, and the situation was exacerbated by crowd behavior, including pounding on the glass and chants of “we want blood.”
Good luck to all the teams playing today – especially AUGUSTANA!! GO AUGIE!!
I agree completely with Pat, and thank him for bringing up this important issue.
Being positive extends to how you view the game. It sometimes seems to me that the cheerleaders are the only people in the gym who are actually cheering FOR someone; everyone else is either booing (or cursing at) the other team, or haranguing the referees, or (usually) both. This is not limited to the students, either. I often think that referees must love the game more than any of the rest of us, since they get constant abuse and rarely, if ever, get thanked for making our game possible. Referees aren’t perfect, but few of us are, and they are at least giving their best effort in a crucial and thankless task (despite what all you conspiracy theorists believe.) This weekend, cheer hard for your team in a loud, proud, and positive way, and cut the refs some slack.
It is possible to both positively cheer for your team and be someone who rags the other team and boos the refs when you think they’ve blown. As for the amatuer status, this behavior happens just as much at high school games if not more so. I was under the impression it was the natural order of things.
Besides I’m the model of decorum compared to the University of Chicago fans I was sitting next to on Feb. 24.
As for the refs, I know I’m more understanding if I know exactly why the foul was called and if I have confidence they are using the exact same standard for both teams.
Mark,
It is not the “natural order of things” to boo the refs and rag the other team. Order involves a cooperative spirit that allows us to respect other people (teams) while we love our own. Your last sentence seems to imply that the officials owe you something. The game is about the players, not the fans.
The most rude fans can be found at children’s little league games.
I think D3 fans are most likely the most respectful due to the high caliber of student they attract. D3 has no monopoly on good fans, I just think they are the most respectful.
And as I said earlier, GO AUGIE!!!
I wasn’t saying it should be the natural order of things, just the behavior I’ve seen most. Perhaps I should talk to the coaches for how to instill the proper crowd behavior.
As for the refs, all they owe me is doing their jobs properly. I’d prefer they favor no team over favoring my one.
Possibly the referees “make the game possible.” But I think an argument can be made that their very existence leads to a host of intractable problems. I’ve always thought it would be interesting to experiment with games without refs – let the players call fouls on themselves. It’s possible the game could be better off for it. In the meantime, fans should stay off their backs, unless they have conclusive evidence that the refs are actually on the take. Cheer for your team, and leave it at that.
I always try to rag on and root for everyone equally, home team, visiting team and officials. I’m a spectator at the game and I like giving my opinion. I try to avoid sweeping generalizations and comment on the course of play.
I’m at the game to enjoy the game, but part of being there is being involved. My ragging comments usually involve things like “pass the ball more” or “look to the post” and usually specific things I think the refs are missing.
The generic “you sucks” don’t do anyone any good.
I also try to be equally positive with the “good calls” and “nice passes.” We can root for our favorites without totally ignoring the beauty of the game from all participants.
Then again, you always have the good natured ribbing, like reading loudly from physics textbooks while the MIT guys are shooting FTs. That’s always fun.
quote by U of R fans as they left dejected after their team lost to Plattsbugh State 61-60. ” That’s all right… That’s Okay, all you fools will be working for US one day “.
Obviously future Enron-type executive material talking.
Too bad U of R fans are not as classy as their coach.
at SUNYAC championship game in Brockport, the A-Hole chant started (after a bad call ?) and within seconds the Athletic Director was over in front of the vocal students and stopped it immediately.
The person causing the outburst was pointed out and was dealt with, WITHOUT further incident.
It’s up to the host school for any game to control it’s own crowd.
If your going to take the two minutes to have a student read a statement telling people to be a good sport, then take the time to quiet down unruly fans at the site.
I don’t expect that everyone agrees with every official’s call. However when fans get loudly abusive toward game officials as certain Carroll College fans did at the Midwest Conference Women’s tournament last week, school officials need to quiet those folks down.
BTW, I haven’t seen too many of the students go “over the line” in the past three or four years. Generally, it the players’ parents that get under control – and generally only a few schools.