Are Utah State fans poor sports?
By Ben Fordham
As a “front-row guy” at the Spectrum, I’ve heard and made some unflattering comments to players of the opposing team.
Welcome to the world of sports! Every student section in the country is guilty of occasionally displaying poor sportsmanship.
Every spectator in the world needs to be aware that there is line that can’t be crossed. It will never be acceptable to make racist, sexist or homophobic comments towards athletes or anyone else. Injuries should never be celebrated. The guy who brought the “How’s Taysom?” sign to the BYU basketball game last year was not clever.
If you think someone is out of line during an athletic event, you should say something to them while you the person near you. If you want to experience better sportsmanship during events, I would suggest transferring to a school like UVU, but that wouldn’t really help.
Remember when UVU fans rushed the court following a big win last year and started an all-out brawl with New Mexico State players? I don’t remember seeing a brawl when Aggie fans rushed the field after beating Boise State last month.
Do we need to question the integrity of UVU’s fan base because a few knuckleheads thought it would be a good idea to throw punches that night?
Remember when former BYU quarterback Max Hall called the entire Utah Utes fan base “classless” because a two or three Utah fans allegedly poured beer on his family during a game?
Remember BYU’s post-game brawl with Memphis last year and Kai Nacua sucker punched a guy on live TV? Is every BYU football player a thug like Nacua?
Generalizations are always going to be exaggerated and dramatic. I hate BYU just as much as the next guy on campus, but it’s not okay to claim that every BYU fan is an overzealous moron just because most of them are.
Athletic events at Utah State are incredibly fun when our students are loud and organized. Some of our fans make mistakes now and then, and that’s okay. We aren’t perfect. If someone offends you, tell them directly.
Go Aggies.
— bfordhamsix@gmail.com
Twitter: @bfordham6
“I hate BYU just as much as much as the next guy on campus but it’s not OK to claim that every BYU fan is an over zealous moron just because most of them are.”
Most BYU grads come from some place outside the state of Utah unlike the home bred folks from cashe valley. It’s amusing having grown up on the beach in so cal and assuming people from Logan are somehow more open minded. Classic!
Actually only 15% of USU students are from Logan. Nice try though.
Brenna, you don’t know what you’re talking about. “just because most of them are”. What makes you think that way? Your comment is just as classless as what you try to point out in your own writing. Shape Up girl!
Thanks, Underdog, but this column was actually written by Ben Fordham (see above). Thanks for reading!
All that sunshine must have got to your head and with your California open mind the proper spelling of “Cache” fell out.
Excellent and thoughtful article. I am a BYU alum and cheer heartily for the Cougars, but I cheer for Utah State and the Utes whenever they play teams other than BYU. I hate the ugliness that comes from some people on both sides at games between our schools. We can have fun at games, but also respect each other. How we treat one another as individuals is much more important than the outcome of any game.