Down
with NCAA “sensitivity patrol” efforts
Bradley
Zint
A man sits comfortably in his season-ticket seat.
Hot dog in one hand and beer in the other, he never fails to miss a home game
after a hard day’s work. He is loyal, loud and obnoxious. He is the archetype
of the traditional fan, one who remains devoted to his favorite college year
after year.
He yells loud. He yells long. After all these years, he can still keep up with
the students. Sometimes he screams for his team to make that last touchdown
or the final basket. Sometimes he harasses and heckles the other team.
Here are a few tame examples suitable for print: “Sit down, coach!” “Get
off your knees, ref, you’re blowin’ the game!” "
“ Hey
No. 7, you suck!” But we all know
worse things are said.
But alas, how the times are changing; now that man is not supposed to say “negative” things
like that anymore, according to an NCAA effort that is “reinforcing positive
sportsmanship and reshaping negative sportsmanship.”
What is this? Since when has some NCAA “sensitivity patrol” had
a place in collegiate sports? Heckling the other team has always been an important
part of athletics and the NCAA should not stop that.
It’s called rivalry. It’s called school spirit. Most importantly,
it’s called school pride.
UC Berkeley and Stanford, Harvard and Yale, Florida and Florida State, Michigan
and Ohio State, and UCLA and USC are all examples of college rivalries that
bring thousands to the stadium, put thousands on their feet and make thousands
of voices hoarse the next day.
And those rivalries all have a lot of yelling, trash talking and unsubstantiated
bull—all the good stuff.
Why should fans be so sensitive in collegiate athletics? Is the NCAA worried
a few feelings will be hurt in the process?
Call me crazy, but I don’t have sympathy for athletes who hear heckling
remarks from the sidelines. It’s part of the trade. Their athletic efforts
are put on brilliant display by the spectator nature of college sports today
from a variety of forms like broadcast television, print media, live radio,
Internet blogging and even the JumboTron.
Given all those diverse sources, they are going to be criticized, during or
after the fact. They should able to take a hit.
Besides, many athletes for big spectator sports like basketball and football
are on full scholarships. Essentially, they get to go to school for free without
worrying about second or third jobs and student loans.
Sure, they work hard for it. Athletic training and constant away-game traveling
is not easy. But a lot of other students work hard too and they’re not
on scholarship.
Here’s what it boils down to. Heckling and sports are like beer and pizza—they
go together. They are about tradition. No NCAA effort is going to stop that.
Many fans will agree heckling the other team, cheering for their own team and
downing a few alcoholic beverages in the process is harmless.
I’m personally not a heckler or a negative person. But I don’t
mind hearing some obnoxious remarks exchanged over sports in The Walter Pyramid.
It makes the event interesting. Those fans should not have to worry about the
sensitivity-awareness chief telling them to settle down—unless they start
throwing punches.
In that case, all they need is a little reminder that, after all, it’s
only a game. Maybe the NCAA should adopt that policy instead of this sensitivity
stuff.
Bradley Zint is a junior journalism and political science major and the opinion
editor of the Daily Forty-Niner.
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