LETTER: Basketball loss not fans’ fault

Editor,

I read the recent editorial “USU fans’ common sense may be overrated” and figured that it, too, might also be a bit “overrated.” I attended the basketball game, and I can truthfully say that I enjoyed it. Sure, we lost, and there were some idiots in the crowd, but are we “overrated?” No.

I joined in the chant. I truthfully thought that we would win. Simply put, what we were doing was going to help or hurt them; the fact that Pacific was able to pull this energy to themselves and create victory shows how great of a team they really were.

Personally, I have heard more offensive and directed chants before, such as “M.C. Hammer” and “Warm up the Bus,” to name a few. I have no qualms about what I was chanting; it was a perfectly legitimate chant. Sure, it may not have been true, but neither was “M.C. Hammer.” Chants are made to taunt the team. Again, how they overcame it was a true sign of their strength. And had we yelled “defense” there would have been nothing to fight against.

Now, I don’t agree with what some of the spectators did, but should they “be banned from all athletic events at Utah State and every other venue for the rest of their lives?” The energy that gets built up in a game against rivals is extremely strong and can cause people to make stupid decisions. They should be punished, but forever? That’s pure babble; even murderers get second chances.

Look: The fans have little say in how any game turns out. Trying to influence the game by chanting will not cause the world to explode or hell to engulf Earth. We are not going to be put through an endless torture for doing something that helped the other team, no matter how small or large the effect was.

Am I going to keep chanting? Of course I am, if it helps them warm up the bus before their long trip home.

Brian Cook