Sunday, September 20, 2009

Rise and Shout


Does that sound familiar? Well, if it does you are more then likely an alumni of BYU, or you have lived in the state of Utah. Well last night Mr Darcy and I attended the opening game of the Cougars in Lavell Edwards Stadium.
Well, the game and all of it's ups and downs is now history and we were all saddened by the outcome, however that is not what this post is about. I wanted to address something that causes me a great deal of confusion, that being, the sportmanship of the fans (and I use the word loosely).

There was a man sitting just behind me and over, that had the loudest most penetrating voice I have heard in a long time. His voice was not the problem however, it was what he was saying. He was being very rude, yelling comments that were totally unnecessary and completely unkind. Now he wasn't swearing or anything, but that didn't make what he was saying any more palatable. And he wasn't alone, there were several people sitting around me making the same snide comments about the players, referees and the coaching staff. I was embarrassed for them.

Here's what I don't get, do these fans think that the players were enjoying the game, believe me, no one felt worse then they (the players) were feeling, and yelling at them certainly wouldn't make them run harder or play better, and I didn't see any of the loud mouths offering to run down and take their places.

Is this what being a fan means, if so, you can have it.

But that is not to say that everyone was behaving this way. The majority of the 'fans' were being supportive and trying to encourage the players and not tear them down. Maybe I had better change my focus and cheer a little louder.

2 comments:

Momza said...

Can I just confess I have always thought BYU fans are rude? Sure they may not cuss, but I'm nearly always embarrassed
when BYU plays Air Force and tho we sit with BYU fans, out of nothing more than association (neither Mr W or I went to BYU) I always wish we'd sat with AFA fans.
ANd you're right, it's not ALL of the fans, but the rudest ones have the loudest voices! lol
Dignity seems lacking. Or manners. I don't know. But hey you looked way cute in your T's!

Unknown said...

What a bummer of a game, huh? I was so sad! My hubby and boys were there and Dawson had much the same thing to say as you did about the ladies (and I use that term loosely) behind him. I have a feeling the cougs will make their fans happy for the rest of the season. Then if you are at a game you won't have to listen to all the negative comments. I must say though that I have attended literally hundreds (maybe even thousands) of football games in my life and I'm pretty sure that poor sportsmanship is rampant everywhere.