St. Thomas may be the best in class on the hardwood, but its their classless fans that spark the most controversy

As I entered the forum for Saturday’s game against St. Thomas, I heard an eruptive crowd: it was a college basketball game on a Saturday. But what I found most interesting were the fans.

In high school, I was voted the person with the most spirit by my peers; I wore my green and white with pride. As I filed into the stands on the students’ side of the court, I noticed a clump of students exhibiting that same spirit, proudly displaying their black and gold. The Gusties were cheering on their fellow athletes and classmates. These Gusties brought back memories of my chanting and cheering days.

The chants rang loudly—popular and fun. “Let’s go Gusties!” and the somewhat controversial “Bullsh*t! Bullsh*t!” Having heard many of these cheers at football games or other sporting events with a large fan-base, I’ve even said them myself. But for older Mid-westerners, or even non-Midwesterners who see us as a pleasant, polite bunch of kids, they might be frightened or confused.

“Why are these nice, young Gusties saying these vivacious cheers and showing such aggression?” The answer is simple: sports bring out something from deep inside their fans. We are nice, polite students, but we are allowed to show a wild side.

But why I am talking about this really has nothing to do with the students. It really has nothing to do with the Gusties. What I was shocked and disgusted with were the parents and adult fans sitting opposite the Gustavus students.

As I sat down in the stands, I was happy to see that St. Thomas had a good amount of fans. I wasn’t cheering them on, but it’s good to see some hard-core fans down here in St. Peter. However, I wasn’t pleased with the actions of these people.

As a child of many youth sports, even into high school, I know that parents take calls and their children very seriously. They tend to get “excited” and can overreact sometimes. My parents were never those people, but I knew plenty of parents who were. But in the great state of Minnesota, the overreactions were hardly heated.

From many personal experiences, I know what a reaction is. The adult St. Thomas fans were not just reacting or even overreacting—they were just plain mean. There were dozens of fouls in Saturday’s game, and after almost every one, the purple would turn to red; red faces like spilled blood from the family. After every call those fans were on their feet. They were screaming, shouting and scaring the crap out of me and some of my peers.

After cheers against St. Thomas came from the mouths of the Gusties, an uproar would occur. Tommies would grab their shirts and flaunt their colors; they pointed and snarled in pure disgust. But their actions were worse than ours. I am not bitter about the loss. The Gusties played hard, and there were a lot of calls that could have (and should have) gone differently, but what grinds my gears is the way adults acted toward us.

I understand that here at Gustavus we are supposed to become adults and respectful, responsible citizens, but they are already adults, and they really fell short. I have never been so offended at any sporting event. It made me wonder what made them act that way; shouldn’t they be the bigger people?

I felt as though we were being the adults and they the unruly children that desperately needed to take some chill pills. On the other hand, did they have the right? Since we Gusties were being so belligerent and rude in the first place (merely sarcasm, don’t worry…)?

I am going to answer that last one with a no. If these parents were so proud of their kids that they drove an hour and a half (or maybe more) to come and see the fine young athletes play, then they should conduct themselves properly. As a former Mustang and a current Gustie, I have been taught that if you go somewhere else to support your school, you need to be respectful and polite. You can cheer on your peers (or children) while upholding a good image for your institution, and I’m sorry to say it, but the Tommies’ fans need to be re-schooled on good behavior.