First of all: last week there was a letter about the words to the RPI fight song, and how my friends and I don’t know them. We do. Do you? We’d like to make a few corrections to the lyrics posted in last week’s letter. “True to old Rensselaer” should be “True sons of Rensselaer,” and “Hear that mighty shout of” should be “Hear our thundering cry of.” Even if you claim to know the lyrics, you may not. So what about the people who don’t even claim to know the words? They’ll be left out. “Blah blah blah” is much more fun and much easier to get a crowd to sing than the real words. So leave us alone and start singing.

Next, I’d like to get into the issue that has been complained about the most: heckling. Think of a time you’ve been under a lot of pressure. Now think of someone who doesn’t like you. Now think of that person being there the whole time and ripping on you relentlessly. Do you think you could perform at your top level? Absolutely not. Heckling can make opposing players get off their game, giving our team a distict home ice/field/court advantage. As far as the inappropriate comments are concerned, I’m not going to defend it, but I will say the following: As a kid, my family had season tickets to Dartmouth hockey games. I saw college hockey played dozens of times. I also saw college fans in action every time I went to one of those games. That said, I’d like to point out that I’m not an intolerant jerk that one of the letters suggested the kids who attend these games will become. Republican, but not intolerant. Kids at these games do hear what we’re yelling, but with proper parental guidance, they’ll grow up unscathed by this experience—any intolerance they’ve learned won’t be from college sports fans.

Finally, I’d like to discuss the level of respect I have for collegiate athletes. I have been told that it’s pretty low because I yell at people in the penalty box, and because I make fun of goalies, but I’d contest that. One ice hockey player told me that the new energy at the games helps energize the team, a critical factor in who wins and loses. You could probably ask an athlete from a school that I’ve cheered against, and they’d probably tell you that they hate it—except for the two McGill women’s hockey players in the penalty box who couldn’t help but crack up at our relentless heckling. This is a great thing. RPI should be the hardest place to play an away game. Athletes from other schools should dread playing in the Houston Field House, or on any of our other athletic fields. Besides, based on what I personally have observed this year, the vast majority love it anyway. They understand that we just love our team, and we don’t actually hate them. It’s widely understood and accepted that if you play college sports, you’re going to get hassled.

So really, what’s all the fuss about? A whole bunch of students who love their school and are willing to devote time—time that they could be studying—to their team of choice. I think what we need to be upset about is a lack of this. My challenge to you, the student body of RPI, is to fill the stands at every sporting event, not just Freakout!