I think the Spartan student section needs to learn a thing or two about losing with dignity. I understand how frustrating it is when your team is down and time is dwindling — we’ve all been there before. But I do not understand how my peers can be so unsportsmanlike and crass. The student section should know there’s a new rule in college football that when a player’s helmet gets knocked off during the game, he cannot play for at least one play.

Therefore, when the student section decided it was time for one of our tactless chants toward Notre Dame’s player whose helmet came off and was forced, by NCAA rules, to exit the field, I’ve never been more ashamed and disappointed in our student section. Not only does behavior like that make our fans look unsportsmanlike, it also makes us look ignorant about the game. You disgrace all Spartan fans and our school by participating in it.

I also can’t believe that by the fourth quarter, half of our student section was empty. Show some pride in your team and your school by being there to support them. The football players have to be there through the last seconds of the game whether we win or lose. Is it too much to ask that of the fans?

When opponents enter Spartan Stadium, they should be concerned with the ferocity of our players and the roar of our fans. They should be welcomed into East Lansing (and bantered with appropriately). They shouldn’t be subject to harassment because our fans don’t know the rules and because we’re being sore losers. Losing a game requires grace, a quality I think every sports fan should possess. If you can’t show respect to your opponents and to your team, then I don’t know how you call yourself a football fan. I don’t know how you call yourself a Spartan.

Theresa Kindsvogel, animal science senior