After attending a few football, volleyball, and soccer games this season, I’ve had a great time rooting for the University of Colorado Buffaloes. The energy and passion in the student section are undeniable, and as fans, we are an extension of the team, representing both our team and school just as much as the players. The National Collegiate Athletic Association even illustrates this idea in their code of conduct, saying it is the job of athletics to “enhance the integrity of higher education and to promote civility in society, student-athletes, coaches, and all others associated with these athletics programs [fans] . . . should adhere to such fundamental values as respect, fairness, civility, honesty and responsibility.” For that reason, I believe student sections should conduct themselves with more sportsmanship than I have often witnessed.
I have been really disappointed by some of the crowd behavior I’ve seen. For starters, the throwing of beer cans isn’t just immature, it’s dangerous. Also, some of the chants at football games are concerning. For example, chanting “f*ck Wyoming” may be typical of rowdy, passionate college students, but it still feels unsportsmanlike. Even worse are chants like, “we want JuJu,” when our first-string quarterback is not performing well. The role of the student section is to support our team, not cheer against our own players. Doing so undermines the very spirit of what it means to support our team.
One specific instance that really bothered me happened at a volleyball game, where four students in the crowd went over to the opposing team’s bench and were taunting them the entire match. The security guards clearly shared my concern as they approached the coach of the opposing team multiple times, asking if she wanted them to kick the students out.Â
As someone who played basketball my whole life, I have developed a strong sense of what good sportsmanship is and is not, and it genuinely hurts when others disregard those values. I think that those who have played sports would agree with me that there are certain unwritten rules of sportsmanship we follow. For example, in basketball, it is sportsmanlike to help someone up when they fall. Former or current athletes have more sympathy and understanding of what it is like to be on the receiving end of that heckling, which is why they are less tempted to participate.Â
So it raises an important question: where is the line between passionately rooting for your team and crossing into unsportsmanlike behavior?Â