You know, I would have normally been pretty irritated as a diehard Tiger fan by the results of the Illinois game last night. However, the final incident in the broadcast quickly snapped me back into reality.
For those that missed it, as Quin Snyder was leaving the court last night, a fan near the exit thought he would do something really cute and decided to dump a tub of popcorn on Quin Snyder's head. That single act and the fact that I'm somewhat removed from the daily MU/KU banter that occurs in KC allowed me to realize something very important.........this is a game for entertainment purposes and the fact that any one person decided that it would be a great thing to dump a tub of popcorn on a total stranger's head without ever having met that person face to face shows just how bad the effect of sports has had on some people.
Ignore all of the other obvious problems that the Missouri basketball program is facing. It's a shame and most are quite frustrated by that. That's a perfectly acceptable stance as a fan. But how would this young man feel if someone else had done that to him? He would have been irritated and would have probably even struck back physically. I admire Quin for doing no more than brushing some of the popcorn out of his hair and quietly walking back into the locker room. It took much more courage to do that than any amount of courage this coward had to muster to dump popcorn on someone he didn't know.
Coming from a background of officiating both basketball and softball for several years as a kid, I have seen all of this before. It's a very nasty off-shoot of sports that adults who should be role models to their kids and family, somehow end up acting in a way they know is inappropriate when a sporting event is occurring. I threw out one guy multiple times out of games. He had a temper, but the fact that he showed up drunk as a coach certainly hurt his chances of staying in the game. I threw out a coach who was ranting from the dugout in between innings. I finally got tired of it and asked him if he wanted to be thrown out of the game. He said yes and I threw him out. A fair and quick resolution in that I even gave him the option to stay if he wanted. Heck, I even yell at the officials on occasion at basketball games, but you won't find me hunting them down after the game to dump a Coke on their head.
In summary, as wrapped up as we get into sports in our daily life, it's really not that big of a deal and shouldn't influence us as much as it does. If anyone happens to notice me not abiding by this message, a quick whack over the head should do the trick. And when good times do come for your team, savor the moment.
