Good sportsmanship

montgjules · 11-24-2004, 07:56 PM

Utah is generally known for being very welcoming to strangers in general.

Utah is also known for rather bad sportsmanship in general. BYU fans have been reprimanded more than once for their excessive booing and being rude to the opposing team. Ironically, those same fans are some of the nicest people you'll meet when they're not in the football stadium.

The question is: What sort of example do the Loyalists want to set for greeting the opposition? I agree with the sentiments of this article and would like to set this as a standard for the Loyalists:

BYU Magazine article about sportsmanship

Thoughts?

SoccerPrime · 11-24-2004, 08:54 PM

Well I guess we'll be a little of both. Being rude/losers but nice people-BYU fans and be arrogant/semi-nice and winners -U of U.
Pick what you like best.

Honestly, I hope we are loud, encouraging and having a good time.

Hiddnfox · 11-24-2004, 09:23 PM

I plan on being an ass to anyone from another team as long as they are on the pitch. I'll yell, I'll scream, I'll try and refrain from throwing my beer.

on the other hand. If there is ever a 'meet the players' for other teams while in salt lake I will respect them and not be the slightest bit rude.

when they are on the pitch however, it will be a completely different story :D

Czar Jake · 11-24-2004, 10:03 PM

I like the St. Louis Cardinals fans. They cheer really hard, but they aren't thugs. You'd never see one throwing anything or booing their own team. They cheer loudly against the other team but all within the realm of sportmanship. They mostly cheer FOR their own team, I think. Anyway, I plan on being very vocal and into the game. But I'll never throw anything, that's crossing the line.

Jose Luis Luviano · 11-24-2004, 10:10 PM

I mentioned this on another thread, but some visiting players actually enjoy being verbally abused. Like the old cliche goes, "I don't care what you say about me as long as you spell my name right."

Wynalda could take it and dish it out when he came near the Galaxians section. Even in the PSL, John Cairel loved it when we yelled, "Judas!" and "Blitzz Reject!" at him.

But once off the field, they are our allies in building soccer in this country. We are still quite a few years away from being able to turn over the visiting team's bus.

Someday. *wistful sigh*

The situation at BYU and the situation at RSL are apples and oranges. Or Sierra Mist and Polygamy Porter would be a better analogy.

BYU's opponents are not being paid (Insert joke here about USC football players). RSL's opponents are professionals and most of them hope to end up in Europe (or maybe Mexico for the Chivas) where they will face taunts (or worse) far beyond our abilities to deliver here.

The guy that wrote that article that Jules posted a link to runs a company that is a competitor to the company that Chivas' owner Jorge Vergara runs. I bet we could get him to show up to RSL games when the Goats visit and lead the chorus of boos...................

Neil · 11-24-2004, 10:51 PM

We should cheer when they come onto the pitch, and cheer when they head off, only as they head off we're cheering their loss. While the game is in session is another story. I don't necessarily care for booing, but good natured morale killing is a good time. As long as you leave the players family out of it and aren't swearing like a pirate, it's all good. Attack their style of play, not the person.

Czar Jake · 11-24-2004, 11:08 PM

I'm always partial to the old "Hey player X! Celebrity X called, he wants his X back!" You know what I'm talking about!

montgjules · 11-25-2004, 12:40 AM

I think some people missed my point here... It was more about being gracious hosts to the FANS of other teams, not the other teams themselves. Didn't any of you actually read the article? :p

I don't have a problem with good-natured ribbing of the players, as long as it's kept within bounds. This is about treating the competition's fans with respect and admiration, and I didn't think that would be controversial, but rather assumed.

Neil · 11-25-2004, 01:55 AM

Oohhhh, the fans. That's easy, they should be treated with the utmost respect. It's fun to rip on each others teams, but not on each other, we're all fans of the beautiful game, so in a way, we're all part of a huge fanatical family.

I would hope if I traveled to another city, that I would be welcomed into their stadium with open arms, not looked down upon. Traveling fans are hardcore fans, and I'm all for that.

Loyal1 · 11-25-2004, 10:21 AM

Ooooh, the fans...

At the Blitzz matches we've welcomed fans from Greenville, Wilmington, Pittsburgh, BYU, SD, and Portland. Some of them took our pictures and posed with us.

As an away fan I've been to LA, Denver, & BYU. LA and Denver ignored me; a D3 fan posed little threat. At BYU I was harder to ignore 😉