“Twenty years ago, the band had a cheer, ‘One-two-three (clap) first down’ and it was just the band,” said John T. Madden, director of the Spartan Marching Band. “Now the students added their favorite word at the end.”

Many students agree that the language is inappropriate and sometimes immature, but most continue to do it anyway.

“It’s inappropriate for sure,” accounting sophomore Kaylee Hendrick said.

“I do partake in the verbal abuse.”

Chinese and international relations junior Calvin VanEck said while the language may be verbally violent, it’s not a danger to anybody. However, he still recognizes its implications.

“I had my little brother and my dad come up and I almost felt bad,” he said.

Since some students realize it’s inappropriate, the issue for university administrators lies in finding a way to stop it if that’s possible.

“As you watch the movie ‘300’ and it says, ‘Your strength comes from the person next to you,’ you can relate that to the behavior in the stands,” said Mark Hollis, MSU’s athletics director-designate.

“If those phrases are being used, it’s not just the person being judged; it’s the whole campus.”

Football players said if they can hear the cheers at all from the field, they don’t put too much thought into it.

“It doesn’t bother me,” quarterback Brian Hoyer said. “I can see how if people have a little kid at the game, it might. But you can’t really hear ‘b——’ anyway. I think college students are going to do it. I don’t have a problem with it.”

A cheer called “Pound, Green, Pound” has been recommended by members of the Spartantailgate.com message boards in reference to a catchphrase used by head coach Mark Dantonio. The cheer stems from “Kill, Bubba, Kill,” which paid tribute to former Spartans defensive lineman Bubba Smith.

“I also think it’s a mindset,” Dantonio said. “I want to make sure that as a football team, we leave it on the field and that we come with an aggressive nature.

“It’s important to me because that’s our tradition and it’s something that binds us with the past.”

Madden said the reason behind the difference between behavior at football and basketball games may be linked to pre-game activities.

“Does this happen at basketball games? Not to this degree,” he said. “And why is that? Because they’re not tailgating all day leading up to basketball games. This is part of the behavior.”

At the Oct. 6 game, the “Pound, Green, Pound” cry never surfaced, but profanity still laced cheers. Occasionally, after first downs the band would play a number that either delayed or subdued the students’ chant.

“It’s pretty simple,” Madden said.

“I don’t think the band can control anything. The reality of the situation is every cheer the band plays now has been polluted with profanity. The band can’t do anything except not play and even when the band doesn’t play, the students still do it on their own.”

Administrators have made minor adaptations, such as showing clips from “300” and messages from Dantonio and basketball coach Tom Izzo during the games. At other schools the Spartans have traveled to this year, Hollis said, profanity is not a part of student section “choreographed chants.”

He also said that some day potential employers may have in the back of their minds the language the MSU student section is becoming known for.

“You would prefer that’s not something connected with you as a graduate of the university,” he said. “It has to be the individual that looks in the mirror and says, ‘This is not part of the image we reflect at MSU.’”

Staff writer Zack Colman contributed to this story.