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What a rotten concept this title implies! I disagree with it totally. Maybe I'm saying a dirty word, but does anyone still practice good sportsmanship? My immediate reaction was to recall one of the worst examples of bad sports behavior I've seen recently. It was at a baseball game, but it applies to any event involving fans in the stands. It happened as I watched the 2007 World Series on TV, when the Boston Red Sox were playing the Colorado Rockies.

I can certainly understand the Rockies fans' frustration, as Boston was completing the humiliating sweep with four victories in a row. As the Boston pitcher was winding up, the TV camera angle showed him and the nearby box seat people's faces. One middle-aged male fan, obviously for the Rockies, waited with a sneer until just the right moment. As the Boston pitcher was making his throw to the plate, the fan brought up a large white cloth and waved it furiously. It had to be deliberately timed to distract and annoy the pitcher, because the waving only lasted for the second or two just before the ball was released.

I'm sure the fan paid a lot of money for that choice World Series front-row seat, probably at least $500. But, did that give him the right to disrupt the game? Some of the same thinking ... or mindless lack of thinking ... applies in football games. The worst is when the visiting team is on the offensive, and the quarterback starts calling signals. At that moment, the fans of the defending team start screaming and waving in an effort to disrupt him. Often, even members of the defending team, both on and off the field, wave their arms to encourage the fans' boorish behavior.

As for fan-to-fan annoyances, I don't think I have to offer any suggestions. People who spend hours dressing up in idiotic costumes and printing up insulting signs are well aware that they are doing much of it to taunt, anger and insult fans of other teams. It may be a lot of fun and the practice has a long tradition. However, I believe fans should attend football games to cheer for the hometown team (as if any of today's college or pro players are ever actually from the local town) and still follow the simple rules of respect and courtesy.

Learn more about this author, Ted Sherman.
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