How to be a (good) sports fan

A USA-365.com Commentary by Mark Smith

8-4-2004

As we wrap up the summer baseball league season and prepare for another high school fall sports season, perhaps this is a good time to review proper sports fan etiquette...

When you show up at the game, you are there to enjoy yourself or to support your team. But do you know how to behave. There are no instructions in the program. There's no rules posted on your seat. Maybe you do not know exactly how to behave at a sporting event. I'd say, just act the way you do at home, but I know that some of you are too crazy at home. Kids might think they should act the way they do in school but, actually, we don't want that either. Before we start another high school and college season, maybe we should go over some dos and don'ts of following your favorites.

1.) Support your team, win or lose

This a basic precept. One of the 10 commandments. Take Chicago baseball, for example. Cub fans go to the games whether they win or not. Sox fans stay home when their team loses. No matter how you spin it, there's an obvious loyalty difference there. Come up with whatever spin you like, you cannot be a fan if you turn on your team when they do not do well.

That's like turning on your spouse when he or she gets old and ugly. I understand why you'd want something younger and fresher but you're still a lowlife creep.

If someone tells you they used to be a fan of a team but they DECIDED to go in another direction, those people are losers. If you are truly a fan of anything, you are a fan for life. It's not something to can change like your shirt. You can lose interest in the sport as a whole but you can't go to another team simply because your team is having a bad year. That's like turning from a Republican into a Democrat because George Bush blundered us into a costly war.

2.) If you have a seat, sit down

A sporting event is something that a group of people enjoy because they allow each other to enjoy it. If there are people behind you, you block their view every time you stand up. Now, sometimes at high school games, the kids stand for the entire game. That's okay if they all do it. It's a little crazy but most kids have too much sugar in them anyway.

But part of your job as a fan is to help other fans enjoy themselves. It's a get-together thing. And the biggest aid you can give is to allow the people behind you to see the game. A lot of people don't understand this. If you want to stand up, go to an area where there are (Hello) NO SEATS. You can jump up for big plays or exciting moments, but other than that, please sit down.

3.) You are not allowed to boo the home team

If you don't like the way the home team is playing, shut up, go to the visitors side or leave. It's that simple. You are not allowed to bad mouth the home team from the home stands. Nothing you have to say is that important. Boo the other team. Yell over a referee's call, within reason. But if you boo the home team, you should be asked to leave. Boo a home player and you should be kicked out.

It's not a matter of loyalty. The people sitting on the home side are there because they want the home team to win. They come to an environment that they assume will be positive for the home side. Look closely at your ticket. There is NOTHING there that says you can say whatever you want.

At a pro game, if you think booing the home team will make them play better, you are living in a twisted universe. Imagine someone booing you on your job. Would that make you better? I doubt it.

Plus, there's a moral quotient here. The people in front of you are playing a game. An elevated level of hostility toward an athlete, even under the guise of “releasing your frustrations and enjoying yourself” is mentally unstable. No one deserves verbal embarrassment for how well they play a game. Sports is not that important. To boo a teenager is sick. You should be ejected.

4.) Do not talk to the players

A lot of this comes from watching a lot of little League and high school games. I make it a point NEVER to talk to a player during a game. Not even to say hello. They are there to play and I am there to watch. As a dad or mom, your job is to cheer or stay at home. You cannot give your child instructions during a game. It causes a lot of confusion and frustration within the player. Do they listen to their coach or their parent? That conflict prevents them from doing their best. Parents do not think that's true, but it, without question, is. The game is not so important that you can't let your kid lose it all by himself. If you, as a parent, help him during a game, then, he was not good enough to win on his own. Everyone should let the game be played without their interference.

5.) Do not confront or comment on coaches on game days

The time to decide whether you like the coach is before your kid goes to play for that team. Understand that when you allow your kid to play for a coach, you turn your kid over to him or her for the time of practices and games. You can't micro-manage here and you can't meddle. There is no uglier scene in athletics than a confrontation between an angry parent and a frustrated coach after a home team loss. Nothing is EVER resolved or gained at such a moment. Parents should discuss their kids with coaches on non game days. Little League parents should NEVER confront the coach. In the Little League, anyone can be a coach if they want to. If you chose not to step up, game day is far too late to comment on someone who chose to step up.

As far as pro fans are concerned, you don't have to like the coach or manager of your favorite team but to boo YOUR team because of its coach is another slice of twisted logic that would be called insane if you did it outside the realm of sports.

6.) Keep it clean

If you have a pre-disposition for profanity in pubic, please stay home. There is no place for that in sports. I appreciate a creatively funny comment yelled from the bleachers but when it gets into MFs and SOBs, that's when you need to shut up. The people around you don't want to hear that and you're making a fool of yourself. Once again, there is this urban legend that once you pay your fare, you can say anything you want. Find ANYTHING like that on ANY ticket to ANYTHING and you win a 10-year-old Plymouth Duster. It isn't true and it never was.

The larger issue is, mature human beings do not shout profane insults in public at sporting events. Immature losers do. You are required to grow up some time and shouting obscenities at the ball game indicates that you haven't gotten that job done yet.

7.) Leave pets and babies at home

You cannot wrap up a baby to a point where it's okay to take them outside in 96-degree weather or 35-degree football chill. The little one does not need to feel the excitement. Leave the kid at home and if you can't then stay home with the little person. No game is that crucial. I don't think the atmosphere of an athletic contest is something that's good for a little kid. They don't need to be caught cheering and booing at an early age. The idea that competition is a good thing to display to young people is flawed. There's nothing pretty about athletics if you're not old enough to understand them.

And please, I've seen enough dogs at cross country and soccer to fill a kennel. Fido is not interested in anybody's finishing kick and the little critter is in everybody's way. Leave your furry friends at home when you're coming to a high school event. They are not nearly as cute as you think they are.

8.) Stay until the end

This is basically for amateur sports. I know all the excuses about parking and the length of the game. But its a little disrespectful to walk out on your kids' athletic event. If you came to support the young people, support them until the final buzzer. If you quit, why shouldn't they? If the home team is getting creamed, stay until the end to honor the winners. Nothing is more discouraging to a high school team than to see the home fans walking out. Remember, everybody's somebody's kid out there. Unless the rain or snow drives you from the building, stick it out until the final horn.