Letter to the Editor: Enthusiasm doesn’t equal sportsmanship

Editor,

Please understand, I’m as loyal an Aggie as you’ll ever find, yet at times I am amazed by the level of energy some USU fans expend at athletic events. It’s probably equal to or greater than that of the actual players. Our basketball games are known for noise level and lack of sportsmanship on the part of the crowd. For this, I have no defense. I enjoy the chanting, cheering, booing and/or taunting of individual members of the opposing team. But I am in the company of 5,000 students in doing so.

I’m talking about the few remarkable people who truly believe they share a special connection with the players and referees whereby they can hear every word the onlooker says with perfect clarity. I usually get stuck next to these people. I arrived late to the last game and ended up on the back row of the student section. Of course, one of these “gifted” individuals was standing one row down and three feet to my right.

A petite woman in her early 40’s, who would normally appear harmless, had succumbed to the inner beast. Her entire frame was shaking and I could almost hear her vocal cords snapping under the immense pressure of her raspy bellowing. I think I even saw a little foam at the corners of her mouth. Though the game was a close one, I found her far more fascinating. Was this an extreme degree of Aggie Pride? Could she be so concerned with justice and fair play that the slightest shadow of corruption sent her in to uncontrolled bouts of rage? What if these sporting events were her one chance to release all her pent-up frustrations in a socially acceptable manner? Or, perhaps, that particular referee was an old boyfriend and truly deserved her insults.

Mostly, I prayed that she was not The HULK and about to grow to 20 times her natural size and strength and destroy the entire stadium. I also prayed that poor referee never met her in a dark alley. He probably wouldn’t have time to whistle for help.

Jeanette Smoot