Sportsmanship

The crowd at Blazer games (where i usually sit – mid priced upper deck) is primarily 30 years or younger. With an emphasis on the younger. There’s the scattered families, and maybe this is just my observation, but I don’t think there’s too much of a problem with people being Rowdy up there.
Everyone kind of accepts it and it’s part of the experience.

in my section alone.

i feel like that’s going too far, pushing, punching, fighting. i mean its just a game even when the other team is reckless its just a game.

to be how I would want to be treated if I went to go watch the Blazers play in an enemy arena (say, San Antonio or something).

I want to see good-natured ribbing from the crowd when appropriate, boos for calls that go the Blazers way, but I don’t want anyone chucking profanities on the court. That’s just dumb.

Bottom line—the golden rule. Do to them what you’d want them to do to you if you were at their house. Cheer loud for your team, heckle and boo to a certain extent, and then just realize it’s a game. We love this game. Basketball is our passion. There’s no reason to be out-of-control cannibals that figuratively eat our own by throwing beer at other teams or yelling things that really ought not to be yelled.

It’s a game, and should be treated as such.

we’ve been raised that way.

Sportsmanship as a fan…Fanmanship…

I generally don’t like all the cursing—but that’s just me in general as well. Be courteous to the nearby families if there are any. Cheer loud for the team. Boo the other team when they get away with a bad call or no call.

Just don’t ever be like the New York Knicks crowd cheering for LeBron James.

Obviously home court advantage means something or else teams wouldn’t do better at home then they do on the road. I’m not sure how much noise plays into it but I know it plays into the advantage for our team. So I see it as important to boo every call that looks bad (Funny that I feel my view point matters from 200+ feet away), boo people like k*be and Garnet that take cheap shots at my team whenever they can, and cheer for everything the Blazers do well. However, my favorite part about being a fan at a Blazer game is when 20,000+ people are clapping in unison, I get chills every time it happens.

All of the things I have stated above I feel fall into the category of good sportsmanship, and I think it is not only every fan’s right to cheer, I think it is an obligation based on how much of a fan you are.

That said, I also condone a couple of things I consider not so good sportsmanship. This includes when large portions of the arena begin chanting in unison, especially when they are saying something to the effect of l*kers suck or garnet sucks.

What I think is not ok is swearing. What I think is somewhat obnoxious (but not wrong) is the random guy yelling out things all game long. However, as long as he doesn’t say something that you can’t say on Blazersedge then I think he has the right to yell.

I think my one problem I am having is some of the people on here that complain about the noise level, I say bring ear plugs. If you want to have a relaxing conversation during the game then go watch at a restaurant or go to a baseball game. I know there are people that disagree with me on this and I respect your disagreement, but I don’t get why you show up in person? For me it isn’t about how far up in the stands I am, it is about that feeling when we are all screaming, or booing, or clapping in unison. All of us cheering for the same purpose.

Last thing… I’m not kidding about the ear plugs, please don’t bring a young child to a game without ear plugs. Especially a playoff game, I think people have forgotten how loud those games get.

invokes change then adjustment. It happens often and too conveniently in this day and age especially in our society. Standards are raise or lowered and we tend to acceptor carelessly, intentionally, and/or willingly allow it. I know this is a vague statement but if you really peer into the world you’ll notice how we are continually and poorly reestablishing etiquette.

Brain fart.

I think that loud and noisy as a group is great. “Defense”, booing, thundersticks; they add to the home court and overall connection between the fans with both each other and the game. As along as we aren’t ,as a whole, talking like sailors it is great. I just don’t like it when it is a few people going being obnoxious the entire time despite what is actually happening on the court. Some people need to be cut off or at least pay attention to what is going on.

I also draw the line of poor form when heckling becomes personal and unrelated to the game on the floor, meaning families, legal issues, and other off court stuff.

-On a side—I was at the Nicks game when Roy won it for us. During a good portion of the game, some lady in front of me had her face buried in a novel. Her seemingly disinterest was more annoying to me than anybody being loud.

college, not family entertainment, is way more ruthless. even high school basketball crowds make NBA fans look respectful.

great plays and yell for more/better defense or groan about turnovers.

Partizan-Belgrade

Especially those of some clubs in the not so well-known leagues. The big name brand teams are keeping it pretty orderly. They are usually outdoor, duh, but still there are limits that shouldn’t be passed or you would have people beating opposing fans up and yelling racial slurs. I don’t want that to happen in the NBA. The brawl in the palace had entertainment value but was frightening at the same time. When things are getting thrown on players and other fans, it is going too far.

I don’t want arenas to be as quiet as a snooker tournament either and booing is completely fine in many situations. But my current pet peeve is canned music/sound fx playing while the ball is in play like some teams are doing it. That is more unnecessary and occasionally even unfair to me than some fan yelling at an opposing player.

Respect the opposition, boo unfair plays and wrong decisions, cheer loud for your team.

where I said it either so I looked it up – mainly to see what I’d said because I know I edited it fairly hard before I posted it :-) It was in your Game 63 recap in response to TwoDeep’s comment about so much booing.

One thing I edited out was something you included, “Does the word even have meaning anymore?” When writing my comment I had decided that it does have meaning to the players (or most) but not to the fans – but then I argued with myself that the definition of the word has evolved along with fan perception of their rights (obligations?) so I left that part out :-)

I really think the comments above validate mine in the other thread : it is all about age. Several commenters said “this is the way we were raised”; “we grew up hearing this”, etc. Not true, for not all of us were raised hearing certain words on a daily basis – or even weekly :-) Some of the words I hear all over would never have been uttered by my working class parents. When I went to baseball games as a kid I didn’t hear comments about the pitcher’s butt (and even that word was considered slightly risque’ in those days) – we heard cheers and encouragement for the home team.

I guess what I find annoying is that heckling/booing the opponents doesn’t hurt them and I cannot see how it helps the Blazers. Do the thundersticks really distract someone shooting free throws? I don’t think so. Last season someone here suggested dead silence … or maybe everyone jumping up just as the player shoots. Something unusual, something distracting. (Do I remember mention of nudity??) I don’t object to trying to distract the opposition – but if it doesn’t work, or worse if it motivates them (which I often think booing the opposition does) then why continue. Now I admit to booing Ricky Davis for a couple of games after his “roaches” comment – but that was in retaliation for a deliberately nasty comment on his part (which DID motivate the Blazers.)

As far as people not screaming their heads off – my section has several older men (and I mean older than me) and they’re pretty quiet, but maybe their lung power isn’t what it was when they were younger and maybe they are wearing pacemakers … should they have to stay home because they aren’t contributing to the noise? Or jumping up for every 3 PT attempt? If someone thinks so then I hope that when you are 70 (?) you aren’t permitted in because attendance is for young people only. “Family friendly” doesn’t just refer to kids.

At the T-wolves game my g’son and I switched our normal seats and I heard, for the first time, a man near us. Every time Aldridge missed a shot he’d announce that he now had missed seven or ten or fourteen attempts. He wasn’t counting his many rebounds. I asked the kid on the way home if the man was always that negative and he said he was, “it’s like watching a game with Grandpa” (my ex). I don’t understand how people who gripe about things can be enjoying themselves. One night it was a man who loudly uttered “aaaaargh” at every missed shot attempt, turnover, etc. That was pretty annoying, but he’s not been back.

But I’ve strayed from the topic of sportsmanship into the broader category of general fan behavior so I’ll shut up.

you can be heard from the top down on the court, we tested it pre game pre season last season ;)

I don’t mind very vocal complaining about bad or no-calls. That’s just being a fan of your team. Cursing is way out of line, though. And pretty annoying whether you have your kids and wife there or you cuss like a sailor yourself.
I never ever ever boo a team, player, or official…….only because it hurts my brain with all the vibration it causes.
Thundersticks are alright. They’re just a fan novelty and the players and fans know that. I’d rather hear those than the stupid noises coming from the kids at college games.
I will admit that I have heckled Dan Dickau by continually yelling “Dan ‘whip yo’ Dickau”……I was just a kid

Here’s a top ten of baddies … Bottom ten?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=inCXusnrNRs

I really can’t stand them.

Respect for fellow fans. Respect for the players. Respect for the officials. Respect for the experience. Respect for the game. Good thought provoking post.

Seriously, these guys get booed all the time at the start of away games. Some of these guys have been getting booed since middle school! At some point, it’s just ineffective and meant solely for a release of pent up energy for the fans.

However, if a team comes into an arena, hears their name called for introductions and then hears dead silence, they will surely remember that. It also increases the effect of booing later on in a game.

I used to be very rowdy…yelling, cussing, taunting, etc. At one game, I remember yelling at Zach (while still a blazer) that he was a $&(&(^@(^&$ (blankity blank blank). I look down, this little girl, probably 3 or 4 years old was staring at me with fear in her eyes. I have never cussed (at a game) since.

2 or 3 profanities a game if i go. Which is pretty good since it’s usually when the crowd is so loud it just blends in with the booooooooOOOOOs. But i still clap when i see the other team make a good play occasionally, you know those plays where you are like “Dang, I know I’m supposed to hate that guy right now, but that was freaking incredible.”
 I really liked watching the bejing games (even though i had to get up at like 3 or 4 AM to watch a lot of them, the Chinese have very good manners and clap for both teams and are so quiet you could hear the players talking and sneaker squeaking very clearly, I’m sure some of that was there were not so many bells and whistles and amped up PA systems in the arena in china.

POINTLESS. They do not make the opposing team shoot FTs worse. Once the fans get going the thundersticks are just another piece of the background that is blocked out. Anyone who knows anything knows this. My solutions.

1. Have the fans keep the thundersticks down until right before the guy shoots. Then everyone erupt at once. THIS could be a distraction because of the sudden change in the noise/background. (Picture drawing a straight line in a room with loud music. No problem right? Not picture trying to draw a straight line in a quiet room when suddenly music starts blaring. You’re going to flinch and mess up your line.)

2. Multicolored thundersticks! Give each row/letter/column/whatever a different color. Have people wave them around. If the opposing player thinks he’s on an acid trip, it might hurt his FT shooting.

3. Teach the fans before each game how to create a spiral with their thundersticks. A hypnotized enemy will not hit his FTs.

At the L*ker game there was the group of L*ker fans sitting a section over from us (I think that must mean they were in 303) who, after the first half, got 4 blazer fans ejected because the L*ker fans said that they were threatened with physical violence. THEN when Rudy was down on the floor waiting for the stretcher and neck brace, this group was flying their huge Faker flag and jumping around. This, needless to say, upset almost EVERYBODY around them. So along with a couple dozen other people we laid into them….that is…in the most sportsmanlike way we could muster we told them to uh…well…we expressed our displeasure. I think we shamed them into silence at least until they were leaving about half way through the 4th quarter where they had to make a big exit scene and exchange obscenities with basically EVERYONE around. Not sure there’s really a moral to this story, but did anybody see this crew? Pretty sure it was section 303. Oh yeah, also there was a rumour as we were leaving that these same Faker fans turned some garbage cans over in the bathrooms on their way out.

I generally don’t boo unless it’s really deserved. (like garnet)

Personally, i have very little respect for people who need to curse on every play and find it obnoxious. I’ll become emotionally involved in the game, but for the most part I’d rather focus all that shouting and energy to MY team, not the other team. I’m a firm believer that positive outweigh the negative and I’d rather motivate than attempt to demotivate the other team. Frankly, I think noise and booing would just energize the other team more unless the entire team boos because it was something extreme.

My thoughts. I’ve called out the “you suck ref” because I’m all original like that and we had a number of bad calls so I figured I’d give him a hard time (he can hear me).

my thoughts.

I don’t care if people have some drinks, but at some point many people begin having more fun being lame to their fellow blazer fans than watching the game. Also, you know how really drunk people repeat the same thing over and over? They think its funny every time. That’s really bothersome, they sound so stupid. They yell something stupid just to hear themselves and to make their friends laugh. I can take almost anything to some degree, but after hearing the same thing for an hour, come on.
I must be old fashion, because I give a golf clap to the opposing team as they come in, then yell my head off for our team. The other teams still deserve respect, they are basketball players, I like basketball, there would be no game if they were not there.
People who think the players hear, or care about, their individual yelled comments are crazy. The Rose garden needs more and better group cheers and chants and songs, as that’s all that matters.
I love all these people who think that anyone who does not behave like themselves is not a real blazer fan and should not be at the games. That’s real American. All sarcasm, of course.
Also, saying that all people in the lower bowl are rich lame people who never cheer and don’t deserve the seats is lame
Also, saying that all people in the upper bowl are poor stupid drunk people who are only there to act out and that they deserve those seats is lame.

I’m a big fan of ironic heckling. Whenever I watch the Lakers my too favorite heckles are “PASS IT TO KOBE!!!” and “SHOOT, KOBE, SHOOT!”.

The cursing could be done without, there is almost always a child within shouting distance. However I love me a good heckle in a timely manner. I remember being 10 rows behind the Blazers bench when we played the Lakers the year they had Malone and yelling on to the court multiple times “your game is tired Malone, it’s time to hang it up.” The entire bench was laughing but that was a different Blazers team. The fact of the matter is, it’s part of the game and I don’t see that changing anytime soon.

It was clean and wholesome back in the day? You’re kidding yourself.

It doesn’t work any other way. Soon as one party at a game breaks the bounds of what is considered “good sportsmanship”, it all starts to go downhill rather quickly. I had the displeasure of being stuck in LA for 4 years for undergrad, so I was constantly hearing about the Jailblazers. Some heckling is fine in my opinion, but at some point heckling doesn’t serve to do anything. In small amounts it makes a point, even if it is an annoying point.

I was talking with one of my best friends from my years in LA yesterday about the game monday. He (as a Laker fan) was not very pleased with the loss for obvious reasons, but he actually made it a point to call me to thank me for not harassing him about the Ariza foul. Evidently, all but 2 of his 20+ good friends who are Blazer fans just called / texted him repeatedly just barraging him with crazy accusations and personal detriment. We ended up having a productive discussion about the game, with special focus on the play. I may not agree with him on all of his viewpoints, but the point is that even two polar opposite fans were able to hash out a good understanding of the other’s side of the story.

Like I said, sportsmanship is a two-way street. Alcohol and the emotions in the moment are going to strain that, but in the end sportsmanship is respecting the other team’s (and their fans’) humanity. When that is broken, just about anything is fair game.

and we all drive nerf cars, and guns shoot rubber bullets….

The world isn’t a friendly place. If you’ve managed to live your life thus far in a sheltered environment where everyday people don’t commit atrocities, consider yourself lucky. Sportsmanship is important, and should be rewarded. The bigger a city we get, the more knuckleheads will rise up and take over a crowd inciting the some of the ugliest parts of humanity.

is the piped-in, corporate, manufactured pseudo-noise and the inauthenticity of the experience.

Any honest reaction from the crowd, and anything that happens spontaneously is a surprise.

and the perception of rock star lifestyle I think have served to created a barrier between players and fans. They no longer seem like normal people, and therefore we think they are no longer perceptive to what we say/ do.

Blazer fans on this very blog say things about Blazer players that they would never publicly say about somebody they personally knew.

and largely ineffective. Rather than bring the target down personal attacks serve to bring the attacker down.

Attacks on performance on the other hand are highly effecive. If fans were to take the time to study opponents and call out “57%” to a poor free throw shooter (his career or season average) it reminds him of his weakness. Airballs and wild passes can me taunted freely. Situations with family or other personal issues should be off limits.

Being in a crowd actually carries a personal responsibility to act, not to incite the crowd to violence or hatred but to support the team you cheer for and respecct the opponent.

The NBA is only viable with many strong and competitive teams. I want our team to play its best and face the best the opponent can offer as well. I have never ever rooted for the Celtics or L*kers but their rivalry in greatness has served to attract thousands of boys to aspire to greatness and that includes Blazers players as well. We are all benefited by the opposition in out enjoyment of the contests. The stronger the opposition the better we feel with a win.

Free knife night! At half-time, the crowd FIGHTS TO THE DEATH!

I long to return to the days when people thought before running thier mouth at sporting events or in life generally. With the way the trends are going, I doubt its going to happen, but people take things too personally that aren’t and are so amazingly aloof on things that actually affect them personally. It doesn’t make sense to me.

The major reason that this is accepted in sport’s venues is that it isn’t in virtually every other accessible outlet for the average fan elsewhere in society.

Perhaps we’ll reach a point, as did many European countries in the 80’s (soccer/football), where mandated restrictions are required (no alcohol, no standing-or only in specified sections, fencing), though I hope that we do not. It should be noted that what got Football (soccer) Associations to this watershed moment abroad was a significant level of hoolaganism which would often include racial, communal or nationalistic overtones.

These actions were often acceptable and impicitly encouraged, but risked undermining business models and would forever limit the sport’s growth potential (see professional hockey for a lesser degree example). It was around this time where football owners/associations/etc began to see the growth potential.

Are we anywhere near this level of detriment to the sport as a result of the actions cited in this post (writ large)? Not even close. Assuming that violent behaviour remains isolated and controllable, it’s difficult to envisage a “clamp down” by the league whose average fan is most certainly of an adult drinking age (though the NBA targets youth significantly more in its advertising).

I say let it out, do your best to not to be offensive to those around you and don’t take it out of the arena. In most cases, a sports venue and its entertainers are not a public good; meaning your tax payers dollars are usually not subsidizing the activities.

As such, if enough of the fan base determines that is no longer an enjoyable experience, a wise businessperson will adjust the strategy to accomadate the profitability pool.

Those who wish to revert to the golf clap or other like-minded courtesies will probably reach the promised land sooner by encouraging the ‘devient’ behaviour in order to faciltate the sport’s downfall (err…I meant to say ’readjustment’).