Negativity in Sports--What a shame!

Am I naïve, or have things drastically changed? As a sports fan growing up, I spent a lot of time cheering on my favorite local teams. Like everyone else, I had favorite players. Being from the Detroit area and growing up in the 90s meant that Barry Sanders and Sergei Federov might as well have been created by Stan Lee. I would watch every game I could and cheer for the Redwings, Lions, Tigers, and Pistons to win.

What I don’t remember doing is cheering for the other team to lose. The other team didn’t really matter, and they weren’t of any consequence to my fandom—they were just the other team. The other team had to be present in order for my team to win, but their demise wasn’t my focus; it wasn’t even in my peripherals. 

Things seemed to have changed. I saw a picture today of a female fan flipping off Joakim Noah after he had been ejected from one of the Bulls’ matchups with the Heat in this year’s NBA Playoffs. If you’ve ever heard Dane Cook’s description of a giant middle finger with eight knuckles and a million tiny middle fingers raining down around it, you have somewhat of an understanding of just how violent this woman’s intentions were.

 I know I was late in seeing this incident, because I have largely distanced myself from any interest in the NBA. I’m not trying to pick on this woman in particular, because I think her sentiment is shared by the vast majority of sports fans.

 Adam Jacobi wrote an article called, “The Difference between a Good Fan and a Bad Fan” in regards to the same incident. He says that the middle finger would’ve been acceptable except that, “Noah didn’t do anything to the fans to ask for it.”

 I couldn’t disagree more. Who cares if someone “asks for it?” Since when do we teach that two wrongs make a right? I see this attitude as a piece of a paradigm shift in sports, and perhaps in society in general. I mentioned earlier how I grew up with a great deal of love for my favorite teams. I feel that today, most sports fans’ appreciation for their own team in overpowered by their hatred of the other team.

I saw further evidence of this tonight when watching the Redwings take on the Blackhawks in a playoff hockey game. I’m sure Chicago fans were outraged at the middle finger toward Noah, but this didn’t stop them from treating an opposing player with disrespect the next time they had a chance. Detroit goaltender Jimmy Howard stood on his head, walked on his hands, juggled with his feet, and did everything else he could possibly do before surrendering the losing goal midway through the third period of game one.

Chicago fans went nuts when the goal was scored, and rightfully so. After all, if you aren’t excited when your team scores, then why are you at the game to begin with? They didn't stop with supporting their own club, however. Immediately following the uproar was a long, slow, taunting chant of Howard’s name. What did he do to deserve this? Is he worthy of ridicule because he did his best and came up just short? Would those fans appreciate being taunted if they made a mistake in the wording of an email at their job?

 Unfortunately this problem isn’t unique to Chicago, and I have no intentions of picking on them either. I heard my fellow Detroiters doing the same thing to Jonas Hiller just a few days ago in the midst of a very impressive performance on his behalf. I just don’t understand the negativity, and it is really pushing me away from being a sports fan. I remember a story of my grandpa going to a Tigers game and cheering on one of the opposing infielders as he was making a diving stop and beating his man with a throw to first. As the story goes, Grandpa got some funny looks, but he shrugged them off. “It was a good play,” he said proudly, “he deserved to know it.” I wish this is what being a sports fan still meant, but I feel as though that’s not the case. Am I naïve, or have things drastically changed?