While reading the Letters to the Editor section from the October 19 issue, two quotes jumped out at me: “… boisterous crowds that have taken to verbally attacking RPI’s opponents …” and “… that’s exactly what Go Be Red set out to do” scare me.
While I do not know Senator Mark Andrews personally, I question his experience with sports and have my doubts about having him act as a representative of the RPI student body.
Judging by his statements, what seems to have been forgotten by Mark and the entire Go Be Red staff is that there is also an element of sportsmanship involved when acting as a spectator. While attending sports games, spectators are expected to show a certain level of respect for the opposing team. This level of respect certainly exceeds comments involving suicide and other derogatory terms.
As a referee for the East Hudson Youth Soccer League, I can confirm that had a player made the suggestion made by Mark, he or she would most certainly have received a red card and been forced to sit out the rest of the game as well as the next. If a spectator had made the comment, I would have been expected to remove him from the game. I do not do this because the fan is “showing enthusiasm for his team” but rather, because the fan is verbally assaulting the other team.
Rob Tricchinelli may have been wrong in singling out Mark’s actions as a spectator, but in attacking this point of his article, Mark seemed to have misread the rest of his comments. Rob did not suggest that spectators stop going to sporting events nor that they sit and watch quietly. Rather, he recommended that spectators translate their enthusiasm into a positive force for the RPI teams and not as a negative force for opponents. The objective of Go Be Red should be to make our athletic teams eager to have home games, not to harass our opponents into loathing the RPI community as a whole.
As an athlete who has competed at state level cross country meets in high school and played on highly competitive soccer teams, I can tell you that you are completely wrong in your assumptions about what athletes like to hear from their fans. Players do not like to watch their opponents be abused. Instead, an athlete likes for his own accomplishments to be recognized and for his efforts to be well received.
While attending sporting events, try making comments that are supportive of RPI and not degrading of its opponents. Please remember that you are acting as a representative of the entire community and that by making these comments, you are not only making yourself look obnoxious but making everyone appear as such. In the end, everyone will benefit further from this form of support and fans will not have to worry about being singled out in The Polytechnic for their rashness.
Matthew Fyffe
CSCI ’09
