Sifting & Winnowing
To the Congregation
 Nobody
likes a sermon, especially one on proper behavior. Such homilies
are even less welcome when the congregation is made up of sports
fans. Fans don't like hearing them, and I certainly don't
like giving them.
But
it seems that there's a trend running through collegiate sports
lately. More and more often, fans are engaging in behavior that
is less civil and more abusive, even dangerous. Look at what happened
after Ohio State defeated Michigan in football last fall. Or after
Minnesota's victory in the NCAA men's hockey championships.
In both cases, celebrations turned into riots, changing what ought
to have been terrific moments for those schools into an embarrassment
for university officials and a nightmare for many of the people
present.
In
the wake of such events, I and the chief executives of the other
Big Ten universities' alumni associations have decided to
work together to try to help reduce unsportsmanlike fan behavior.
We
realize, of course, that disturbances are caused by only a small
number of fans, and that not all of those fans are alumni or current
students. And we realize, too, that there's a limit to what
we can accomplish. Riots and mob action are province of police and
security personnel, not alumni associations.
However,
mob actions are only one aspect of fan misbehavior. As my colleagues
and I see it, a related, and far more widespread, problem is a level
of incivility that is becoming more common. Fans are quite often
insulting and even threatening to the opposing team's players,
cheerleaders, and fans. I've seen it at Camp Randall and at
just about every other stadium I've been to. But just because
such behavior is widespread doesn't mean it's something
we should tolerate. An abusive atmosphere can encourage more violent
action.
Our goal, at WAA and the other Big Ten alumni associations, is
to see that all fans know that unsportsmanlike conduct is unacceptable,
whether in the stands or away from the field. We will work to educate
alumni and other fans about the nature and extent of the problem,
and we will work with university leaders to identify and remove
the elements that encourage and enable fans to descend into rowdy
and riotous behavior. And we're posting
a summary of the ways in which the Big Ten plans to discourage
unsportsmanlike crowds.
My
hope is that we'll be able to raise the value of sportsmanship
and civility at UW-Madison and across the Big Ten. When we attend
Badger games at Camp Randall or the Kohl Center or anywhere else,
we express our connection to the university and its traditions in
an open, emotional way. Let's make sure that these experiences
are ones that we're proud to remember.
Let's make it so that sermons like this aren't necessary.
Paula
Bonner MS'78
President and CEO
Wisconsin Alumni Association
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