CLASS

There are very few things that will make me stop going to games of my favorite teams - especially when it comes to college football. But one sure thing is the display of class by the student section (or the lack of class, as the case may be).

I am ashamed to say that I was in the student section at the Jones this past weekend because of the distinct lack of class displayed by the majority of the section.

I am by no means saying that I am secretly an Aggie fan (even though I almost became an Aggie). I am also not saying that Alabama's student section is the best example of class. Any Bama student will tell you that. In one half of the student section you will be surrounded by drunken idiots who have lost their verbal filters and will say whatever the f**k they want to. The other half you will be surrounded by the "classier" students. Those who don't come to games drunk, and who will usually only curse when the refs make a bad call (or no call). But you know what to expect depending on your seating area.

This was not the case this past weekend. It was not a pleasant game for me, for many reasons. And it all started pregame. The student section has a habit of boo-ing their opponents fans out of the student section. I saw this happen at least five times during pregame and the game itself. It gets to the point where either the event staff or the police will come and remove the opponents fan from the section. The worst one I saw was toward the end of the game, when A&M was beating us. The students around him started boo-ing and then they started throwing things at the fan. I'm talking food, bottles, you name it.

Then the guy who was sitting next to me. Jesus. He was WAY too into the game and half the time he didn't know what was going on. I'm not saying that I'm an expert on all things college football - I'm better than I was, but even I knew some of the calls the refs made were good ones. There was one facemask call against us, and the guy next to me just burst out with this long sentence of curses and how that was a bullshit call and that it was BS about the fifteen yard penalty, etc. Well, facemask is a serious deal and it's NCAA policy that the call receives a fifteen yard penalty. This guy was just going nuts over every little thing...it got to the point where even his friends were telling him to calm down. So it wasn't fun being next to that guy throughout the game.

And don't even get me started on the student section's reaction to the band. For gods sakes. That just pissed me off. I was in marching band for way too long to not be able to have respect for those that can march in straight lines like that. It is a difficult thing to do. But god, when the student section started boo-ing the band and turning their backs on them whenever they got near...UGH. Un-freaking-believable. I understand that it's a rivalry game and that you hate A&M, but if you hate them so much that you don't want to watch their band perform? Leave the stands. Go to the concession stand. Go to the bathroom. No one is forcing you to sit there and watch the band during half-time.

And the quarterback situation! I don't care how crappy of a game your qb is having, you do not need to yell "WE WANT SHEFFIELD," especially when he is out with an injury for two to three weeks. You also do not need to sit in the stands and say that if he (Potts) shows his face in any bars in Lubbock later that night he's probably going get his ass beat.

I honestly don't think that I will go to another game when I have the opportunity.

 

(Photo courtesy of www.dailytoreador.com)

**I wrote this last Tuesday, three days after the football game**