Fan Behavior

Where do you draw the line with people's behavior at sporting events? What variables do you take into account? For instance, does the venue matter? Does it matter which sport you are watching? Does time of day make a difference? What about whether the players are professionals or student athletes? How about the quality of the team overall? And what kind of behavior is considered "too far" for you.

I have two types of behavior I want to focus on: booing and standing during the game. I am a proponent of booing. I do not think simple booing is wrong. I think booing the opposing team, the refs bad calls and even your own team are all part of the game experience.

If booing is too much for your fragile ego, you don't belong on a professional or D-I college sports team. There is a bright spotlight on you and you need to be able to handle it just like you need to be able to handle the ball better than jokers like me that try to play. With all the popularity, money and other positive things you get by playing these sports, you also have to deal with negative stuff like displeasure from adoring fans. I realize D-I student athletes are not paid. It is tough to support the side of booing them.

When entering an opposition's arena of play you should anticipate getting booed. That is why we say home teams have homecourt or homefield advantage. We all have to face opposition in life, this is yours.

And when the players are performing bad, guess what? People who pay your salary and buy your jerseys or shoes and put up your posters and watch your commercials are going to be displeased. Toughen up. ESPECIALLY, if there is a lack of effort there should be booing. Just like we should get reprimanded by our boss when we slack off at work, so should these athletes. I get it from 25 kids on a daily basis. Cry me a river. Wait a minute, my effort is there everyday, I never get booed. Scratch that last sentence.

But there is a line. Booing is one thing. Insulting a player for there physical characeristics, religion, private situations that unfortunately become public, race or other personal things is wrong. Booing or commenting on play of the individual is one thing, but personl attacks are another. I do not accept that. I think most people don't.

Alcohol plays a MAJOR role in that kind of thing. It makes people do or say things they otherwise wouldn't do or say. I, for one, will admit to falling in that category. Youth also plays a role. As you grow up and mature, you realize things you didn't at a younger age and begin to control yourself a bit more. Again, I for one, admit to falling in this category. Lastly, passion for the team or game fuels some regretable behavior. You care so much and want your team to win so bad that you get so mad and say things you wish you didn't. One more time, I am part of this scenerio as well.

What an a#$hole I must have been about ten years ago at games after tailgating!!! Boy oh boy. I am sorry to anyone I bothered.

But one thing I am NOT at ALL, EVER sorry for is standing at a game. I go to a game to be part of the action. I want to yell as loud as I can to support my team and get in the head of the opposing team. I want to jump up and down in excitement. I want to see the game. I am not there to sit on my hands and look up every so often. I paid for my ticket too. When people stand in front of me, I stand. I don't complain. But when I go to a game and the Tribe is rallying with two runner's in scoring position and 2 outs, I am standing up! If the Browns are driving inthe fourth quarter, hell the first quarter...I'm standing. If the defense is out there defending a third down, I am standing!!!! Don't give me this, "there's a game going on" line with a tone of disdain. Of course there is, so stand up damnit!!!!!!!

I am all for calming down my behavior out of consideration of people around me. I like to think I have over the past couple years. Ask my wife how I handled the flat out arse kicking we took from the Steelers this past year and all the obnoxious Steeler fans sitting around us. She'll tell you I was very well behaved. That wa worst case scenerio. Black and gold high fives over my hanigng head. Dudes wanting to fight and claiming two stints in jail was a sign of his manhood. Not a word out of me.

To wrap this up, I want to share a story that defines my outlook on fan's behavior at games, football games in particular. My Dad took my brother and me to a Browns game back in '85 if I recall correctly. We sat in the Dawg Pound. The fellow fans were drunk, reaking of canibus, throwing up, mooning opponents' fans, swearing up a storm and any other bad behavior my Dad never displayed to us and never accepted from us. At one point, the fans started chanting "bulls#$@" as fans do when there is a bad call. My brother and I looked at each other not knowing how Dad would react since we weren't allowed to talk like that and it was a bad thing and all that. We then looked at Dad and there he was fist in the air, chanting with the drunk guys with missing teeth. Later he explained that when you go to things like this people are going to do things they shouldn't do. While it doesn't mean we should do them, it isn't his place to tell them not too.

I look at that in this way. If you want to go somewhere when certains behaviors are common, expect it and deal with it. Don't walk out appalled by their behavior. You shouldn't have gone inthe first place. You don't go to a punk rock show and expect people in suits speaking proper English drinking tea and crumpets.