In response to Zach Juett’s letter Good sportsmanship includes student behavior in the stands (SN 2/6), I have to ask: Is it about sportsmanship or rowdiness?
As a three-year member of the Izzone, I have endured a year in the upper bowl; I have enjoyed a year in the lower bowl; and now I am enjoying a year where I have sat front row for nearly every game. As a student season ticket holder, I have befriended the ushers and staff that work the games and have been at every game when the gates open. My group of friends and I literally Facebook-stalk and Web search every single player on the opposing team. The things that we say during the other team’s warm-ups have likely earned us a front row ticket in Fan Hell, but we do it for a reason: to get into every player’s head. We have made fun of sisters, girlfriends, criminal records, public displays of self (in the case of Penn State Nittany Lions’ Stanley Pringle) and we will continue to do so.
The way that I see it is this: Breslin Center can be an environment where every single player on the opposing team feels uncomfortable, or it can be an environment where opposing teams laugh and enjoy their stay. I would prefer the former. Why did no one call out the Izzone in 2006-07 when now-Portland Trail Blazers center Greg Oden came to town and we made fun of how old he looked? I personally read “SpartanTailgate.com”:http://www.SpartanTailgate.com’s MSU Red Cedar Message Board — a forum devoted to Spartans sports — and the Izzone is constantly criticized for many things. One game we are criticized for “not bringing it” and “not being creative,” and the next we are criticized for “being too mean.” Alumni need to decide whether they want Breslin to be the place where some of the longest home-winning streaks occur or where maturity reigns supreme.
Keep in mind, this entire ordeal was started over a chant that is not vulgar and was directed toward an NCAA Division I basketball player. When he accepted his scholarship and signed his letter of intent, he knew that he was going to be playing in places like these. This also falls far short of the “P-L-O” chant that Arizona’s Steve Kerr was subjected to in 1988. Just look at Sports Illustrated: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2008/sioncampus/02/26/pattern.of.abuse0303/.
Sportsmanship or rowdiness? You decide.
Adam Blaylock
international relations junior
Support student media!
Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
Discussion
Share and discuss “Student behavior in Izzone is justified; sports figures should be used to it” on social media.
