All right, here it goes.
I’ve always hated columns like these, the one when the columnist takes on an “I am holier than thou” attitude and tries to make him or herself seem quite saintly, compared to all the other heathens out there in the world.
Truth is, I, like everyone else on this little planet, am not a saint. I’m not a wild party animal who wakes up every Sunday morning face down in my own mess, but I’m not perfect either.
Say I were at a sports game, watching one of my favorite teams, and my team had just finished beating the stuffing out of an archrival. Now, if some of those opponents were headed my way, then sure, I might take the opportunity to greet those players with a few sarcastic statements.
But is that the right thing to do?
No, really, it’s not. It’s just a game, right? Home-field advantage is key because fans can get in the head of opponents during the course of the game. But in no way should the home-field advantage inflict physical threats or verbal abuse on athletes who are merely playing a game for another team.
Such incidents occurred after the Oregon football team trounced and bounced UCLA last Saturday.
Several Bruins were taunted, some with obscene words and gestures, as they tried to make their way from the field through the west end of the stadium and to their lockers in the Casanova Center. Players had to be pulled away from fans by UCLA administrators and assistant coaches.
So goes collegiate sports.
Oregon athletes are not professionals, but are our peers. Some of us have classes with them, eat with them, party with them or even live with them. While some of them may have wealthy pro careers ahead of them, they are more tangible to us than any other class of athletes because they are of our walk of life.
So, with that in mind, nobody expects to see a perfect aftermath to a college football game when an unranked home team destroys a highly-ranked opponent.
But those Bruins are people too, probably no different than our own Ducks when in their natural habitat. Just think how much tougher Ryan McCann’s sophomore year got — why make it any tougher on the poor kid?
And Freddie Mitchell, one of the players the fans taunted. Granted, he may be a jerk. Actually, he all but proclaimed he is a jerk when he started spouting trash about Oregon’s Rashad Bauman after the game.
Maybe Mitchell had a little post-Bauman incentive when he made all those remarks?
So that’s it, as far as the fans are concerned.
For having to use these valuable column inches to write about something that seems so trivial, I apologize to the more than 44,999 of you who cheered on your Ducks, rightfully chanted “ov-er-ra-ted” until your throats went dry, and then, at game’s end, left the stadium without being disorderly.
But to those few bad apples in the barrel, remember that people are watching. Last Saturday, when a few rowdies took it upon themselves to tarnish what otherwise was a perfect day for Oregon football, the entire nation was watching.
Imagine, just for a second, what would have happened to the Ducks’ national reputation had a fight broken out. The media would have had a field day, and despite that 29-10 final score, Oregon fans would be losers for years to come.
The athletic department also needs to take some responsibility for the taunting that took place. According to Oregonian reporter Ken Goe, who was on the scene, Autzen Stadium’s security personnel seemed more intent on protecting the goal posts and the Casanova Center than they did the UCLA players.
Shame!
While fans need to not cause trouble in the first place, the security officers’ first priority should be to keep people out of danger, not to mind the facilities.
When Washington comes to town on Saturday, it is hoped that everyone will be a little more careful about what they say or do, especially if Oregon wins.
So go out and be a rabid fan. Scream your head off. Shout “Huck the Fuskies” (or something similar) when Washington runs onto the field and keep getting into the players’ heads after that. Go crazy and make the noise level displayed against the Bruins look like nothing more than a child’s tea party.
But when the game is done, it’s done. Let the losing team escape with some dignity.