I’ll be the first to admit my status as an amateur sports fan. I’ve never bought a foam finger, donned my body with paint or kept track of even the most basic statistics. Yes, those things were never an interest of mine, but I will also admit that I became invested in games that involved my teams. These teams were based on sentimentality — the New York Giants for football and my hometown and the Washington Capitals for hockey and that one time I made eye contact with Nicklas Backstrom at one of the team’s practices in Arlington, Va. Finally, the Virginia Cavaliers for college basketball.
Since arriving on Grounds in January, I’ve attended a handful of sporting events — two basketball games and one hockey game — that had my brows furrowed in confusion over the sportsmanship, or lack thereof. It’s true, I do not have an impressive background in athletics or a rich knowledge of player statistics, but I have noticed and want to address an overlooked quirked in society: unsportsmanlike conduct.
The first basketball game — our Virginia Cavaliers against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets — was the first time I noticed the incessant booing. Whenever a member of the opposing team held the ball, dribbled down the court or took a shot at the basket, we booed. Anytime they dropped or fumbled the ball, we cheered. At one point, a little after halftime, I swore that the low-toned and ubiquitous booing gave me a raging headache.
At the next basketball game, when the only available seating was the faraway chairs above the court, I had a better view of the student section and that’s when I finally understood the purpose of those comical posters — to distract. Behind the opponent’s basket, students held the faces of emoticons and swirling colors. Initially, I thought this to be an interesting strategy, but the more I thought about it, it seemed unethical. Isn’t the point of a competition between sports teams to ascertain the better team? The best skills? The best players? In my opinion — which doesn’t hold much credibility — sports aren’t about distracting another person until they fail. That seems unsportsmanlike.
At my first hockey game, this trend continued and intensified throughout the entirety of the night or, at least, for the time I remained at the rink. Admittedly, it started with innocent chants — “Go Hoos!” and “Dukes rule!” — but quickly deteriorated to unclever repetitions of the f-word. A group of 20 or so boys chanted, “We want sex!” A girl near the glass shouted, “F—k those players up!” At one point, a student with an orange foam finger wandered by a swarm of purple fans, and madness ensued — the student was pushed, intimidated and bullied until a security guard intervened. It became increasingly clear that the event was no longer about which team was the most skilled. Instead, it was only about which set of fans could shout the loudest.
I am not naïve enough to think that this is an issue that can or will be addressed. In fact, I’m not even naïve enough to think that people will necessarily consider this an issue. It is simply a hard reality of sports — the do-whatever-it-takes passion of sports fans. While this is admirable, it is also important that students understand the difference between school spirit and violent, unsportsmanlike behavior. There is a difference between cheering for your own team and booing others, chanting inappropriate things and acting in an intimidating manner. In my humble and honest opinion, sports fans should focus on the positive unity that comes from games.
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