A Sound Off About Booing

The topic is not exactly timely right now because the University of Louisville football team has won its last two games against worthy opponents. Predictably, the boo-ers have gone back into the woodwork. If things turn sour against a strong South Florida team, however, don’t be surprised if they cup their hands in front of their mouths and let loose. Here are Sonja’s thoughts:

Much Adoo About The Boo
By Sonja Sykes

Following the UConn loss, there was a lot of discussion on web sites, blogs, sports talk radio and cable access shows about the booing of the University of Louisville football team and coaches by a handful of fans in the seats behind the Cards’ bench. And, the debate seemed to center itself around a couple of issues — should you boo college athletes, and should pictures be taken of the offenders and posted on a public access internet site? Let’s take a look at the “boo” and it’s uses.

I don’t remember the first time I ever heard someone boo, but I do remember when I was a little girl on vacation with my family in Maryland, and we attended a Baltimore Orioles baseball game. A player came up to bat, and the crowd greeted him with a round of “boos”. I remember my father explaining to us they weren’t mad at the player, they were just greeting him. His name? Boog Powell.

I also remember Cardinal fans booing lustily in Freedom Hall a few years back. Not because they were upset with the play at the time, it was because James “Boo” Brewer had entered the game or made a big play.

I first remember getting mad about “booing” when I had gone to a high school football game to watch one of my brothers play. It was an away game, and the home crowd booed his team when they came onto the field. I don’t remember doing this, but another of my brothers claims I spent the next few minutes yelling across the field at the opposing fans to be quiet because my brother was out there.

I remember the first time I got booed. I won a jar of jelly beans in a contest at school by guessing the closest to the number of them in the jar. The other kids in the class booed me when it was announced, and in typical Sonja fashion, I responded by telling them that I wasn’t going to share any of the jelly beans with them. That shut ‘em up. Maybe the Cards should carry jelly beans with them on the field.

I also remember when I got really upset about booing a couple of years ago, when we went to Morgantown to watch the football Cards play. You know Morgantown fans: they’d boo Santa Claus on Christmas because he wears red. But they were actually booing the Cardinal fans when we entered the stadium to watch the game.

I don’t like booing, except when an official makes what I perceive to be a bad call against the team I am cheering for. My friend Jamie boos everything, it seems at a sporting event so I always try to bring jelly beans to keep her quiet.

Booing college kids, though, is just plain poor sportsmanship, even if the object of scorn is an arch-rival. I know the argument about paying for my ticket and having the right to do whatever I want to in my seat.  But young college athletes aren’t being paid millions of dollars a year, getting lucrative sponsor contracts or television endorsements. They’re trying to be student-athletes. Do we boo them when they get a C- on a economics test?

Booing coaches, I suppose, has a little more room for leniency. I don’t like the idea of it, though, because the players on the field  may think it is directed at them.

When was the last time I booed? Probably at the UofL vs. UConn women’s basketball game last year. I’m not a big fan of the Lady Huskies coach (Geno) so I gave him a brief “boo” when they introduced him before the game.  I just don’t see the point in it, for the most part…though.

Better to heap positive praise on your team than take a negative approach, in my opinion.

And carry jelly beans with you. Maybe you’ll run into a disgruntled fan…

or Boog Powell.

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