Sportsmanship

[The Schwab]

Do we have it anymore? Do parents set good examples for their kids? Do fans have common sense?

These were all questions that came to mind after the first day of Region 2 basketball in Grafton. I had the opportunity to attend all 4 games and was impressed by a lot on the court....as for what happened in the stands....well i'll tell of what i observed and heard with my own eyes and ears.

Now there is little question that I have and will always be a District 3 fan when it comes to Region Play. After the first 3 games had been taken by district 4 I was hoping that D.P would win and salvage a sweep....that was until i learned first hand what a few members of their crowd had to say about individual players, officials and the opposing teams coach.....now mind you that I am not saying this is what all Dakota Prairie fans are like...I am simply stating what i heard and saw.

I sat in the front row at the region 2 tournament. In a section that was assigned for D.P. I was really excited for the game because i knew there was some bad blood (the famous shootout football game up north earlier this year), both teams had great talent. Fun game, right?

The first half went pretty well...not much complaining and amazing display of basketball ability by Tanner Carpenter....he was what one would call ON FIRE! after halftime entertainment and during warm ups the D.P fans were going to heckle a little bit....I am all for good natured heckling, but when a player has just torched your defense in the first half, you probably shouldn't add more fuel to the fire. Then a fan from d.p said to the ref that number 21 (chale) had spit in their faces.....good one. So the second half started and coach symington was standing, yelling instructions to his team when an older gentleman screamed "Sit Down Cooter....your hammered" .....i was speechless after that was yelled.....but the one that takes the cake is the one lady behind me....who thought it was her job to scream in my ear the whole second half about how bad the officials were...every foul that went against the boys from D.P was the WORST CALL EVER....she used some pretty vulgar language....there were a group of boys about 9-12 sitting beside me as well....so they all heard this....but the saying that made me wonder what the heck were teaching our young fans was this "after the game lets all go SPIT on number 21...the p r i c k" exact words.....this is coming from an older lady that should know better.....i mean come on....what are we teaching our young people.....i have no problem with people going and supporting their teams.....thats fine.....but to say that about a young man participating in an athletic contest is sick.......

I am wondering what your guys opinions are on sportsmanship? I would like to hear some stories about good sportsmanship...

[north_border_eagles2106]

Yeah I agree with Schwab on this one, after the game something happened that he wasn't around for that takes the whole bakery. Myself, Dusty, and our two assistant coaches were talking about the game when a girl walked up towards us. She didn't say anything, just walked up, spit in Dusty's direction and left. Dustyn had no idea what was going on until just before that when I told him what the fans were saying about him. The funny thing is right before she came and spit on him he asked me if he should go over to them and apologize. I, like Schwab, am not saying all the fans from that area are that bad but the ones that are bad gives everyone a bad reputation.

[sports for life]

i was at all of the region 4 tournament games and i think that st.john has the best fans in that region maybe even in the state......they show so much school spirit and sportsmanship......ya some of them are unsportsmanlike but doesn't every school have a couple of those

[north_border_eagles2106]

They do but that was probably the worst case of bad sportsmanship I have ever encountered.

[jumpshot22]

I would also like to add something to this discussion. I witnessed some disrespectul actions from the Four Winds contengency last year at the state tournament. After they beat BCN in the consolations semi-finals on Friday I was walking out of the civic and a group of Four Winds parents were saying how the game was a waste of Four WInds time and how could a team like BCN make it to the state tournament, etc. Some of the students from Four Winds even pushed their way through some of the BCN students crowd on the way out of the arena and said that they needed to wait-while the rest of the Four Winds students went through.
I also noticed how the first game on Thursday for Four Winds the fans packed their entire section-but then after they lost to Trinity their crowd for their second game was cut in half. Don't you stick with a team through wins and losses?? I am curious to see on what kind of presence Four Winds brings this weekend into Fargo. Currently Region 3 has produced back to back Spirit Award winners in BCN for the boys and HMB for the girls. I know that Lamoure will bring a huge contengency to Fargo this weekend! Good luck to all eight teams this weekend in Fargo!

[the unknown]

wow the Schwab must having something against DP! You always seem to have negative opnions!-- I dont think NB showed very good sportsmanship that night either...i mean chayle was saying stuff to the DP crowd before the game even started..and Carpenter also during a time out looked at the DP crowd blew a kiss adn waved good bye...GET OVER YOURSELF!! They sure did have some cocky aditudes...and i dont believe DP has bad fans...its called dedicated to the game of basketball!!! plus there is obviously not very good reffing when in the end of the game the foul count was DP 28- NB 9...thats quite a difference...NB had 4 the first have and 5 the second...just my thoughts..that whole spitting thing...Chayle came from across the court right after a timeout...spit a big wad of spit in the DP section...looked at the crowd and laughed..you cant tell me he didnt do that on purpose! His is excuse was he has a spitting problem...why didnt you take care of your "spit" during the timeout??

[The Schwab]

wow the Schwab must having something against DP! You always seem to have negative opnions!-- I dont think NB showed very good sportsmanship that night either...i mean chayle was saying stuff to the DP crowd before the game even started..and Carpenter also during a time out looked at the DP crowd blew a kiss adn waved good bye...GET OVER YOURSELF!! They sure did have some cocky aditudes...and i dont believe DP has bad fans...its called dedicated to the game of basketball!!! plus there is obviously not very good reffing when in the end of the game the foul count was DP 28- NB 9...thats quite a difference...NB had 4 the first have and 5 the second...just my thoughts..that whole spitting thing...Chayle came from across the court right after a timeout...spit a big wad of spit in the DP section...looked at the crowd and laughed..you cant tell me he didnt do that on purpose! His is excuse was he has a spitting problem...why didnt you take care of your "spit" during the timeout??

Here we go again i guess....did you read what i said....i said not all D.P's fans were bad.....did i say anything false....i'm stating my opinions because that's what a message board is for.....stating opinions.....you must be a D.P. student

[north_border_eagles2106]

wow the Schwab must having something against DP! You always seem to have negative opnions!-- I dont think NB showed very good sportsmanship that night either...i mean chayle was saying stuff to the DP crowd before the game even started..and Carpenter also during a time out looked at the DP crowd blew a kiss adn waved good bye...GET OVER YOURSELF!! They sure did have some cocky aditudes...and i dont believe DP has bad fans...its called dedicated to the game of basketball!!! plus there is obviously not very good reffing when in the end of the game the foul count was DP 28- NB 9...thats quite a difference...NB had 4 the first have and 5 the second...just my thoughts..that whole spitting thing...Chayle came from across the court right after a timeout...spit a big wad of spit in the DP section...looked at the crowd and laughed..you cant tell me he didnt do that on purpose! His is excuse was he has a spitting problem...why didnt you take care of your "spit" during the timeout??

Well for one he didn't spit all over the crowd like some the fans over there said. One of the fans over there told the ref he spit and it went all over everyone. Really? That would have to be one intense super-loogey to cover the entire fan section. He does spit a lot and always has, the DP fans are the first and only ones to ever get riled up over it. He knew where he was spitting and made sure it didn't land on anyone. I'm also willing to bet that whatever Chale said to their fans was provoked. I have a hard time believing that they sat their the entire warm up and didn't say anything to him. I heard most of their crowd just saying 56-51! to our players. This game had more to it then any other game for us this year. I don't think the players and fans going back and forth at each other is a big deal because that happens all the time. I do think when a fan comes over and spits on a player when the game is over is unsportsmanlike. He probably shouldn't have spit anyway but it happened and no one got affected by it.

[bigpoppakdog]

wow, can't believe this hasn't been locked yet. I will add(before this does get locked) that in our region the most disrespectful fans are probably standing rocks fans. They will come to your gym and whistle and make noises during free throws and stuff like that. Having said that, I would ask you look at my topic regarding old fashioned cheering, which to me is not disrespectful. It's just that nobody anymore does that stuff. If an opposing team is shooting free throws everyone is suppose to be as quiet as if the home team is shooting.

[oldsportsfan]

When you talk about cheering and hollaring during free throw shooting, MInot Ryan fans are some of the worst.

[Wild Wolves]

I think you mean best!

Have we all turned into a bunch of Sally's !

NO vulgarity, don't single a kid out and cheer for your own team. Simple enough.

[bballuvr]

I will make a challenge to all the good fans on this site young and old. Let's be the ones to not put up with anyone in our crowd when they go "over the top".
I'm referring to situations when comments are made in a derragatory or vulgar fashion towards a player or coach. Here is one I heard this year when a player was elbowed in the head, I believe unintentionally. "Good elbow _______[player's name]". That comment from a parent of the team who's player had thrown the elbow.
Maybe in that situation, and others like it, there could be people with enough guts to repectfully call the person out and tell them that's enough, please stop, ect... Just a thought.
I've heard a few very unsportsman like comments this year.

[baseball]

at the state tournament last year i saw something that wasnt to sportsmanlike. a parent of all people walked up to a buddy of mine and the first thing he said was "wow, way to lay an egg kid. you guys must be horrible if BCN came from your region."...um thanks i guess?

[Curveball]

I am not a DP student, but I was at the game behind the DP student section, yes the DP fans were very rude and probably shouldn't have done most of that stuff, but Chayle walked right up to their section spit right next to them and laughed. And your telling me that that is a normal thing for him? He just spits anywhere he wants during the games? That's just gross, and when he basically directs it towards the opposing teams fans, that is just not right.

[Wild Wolves]

I can't speak for him directly but I have recently worked with a kid who has a saliva issue. Kid either spits or drools. No worries of cotton mouth and we have talked about what is appropriate, but it doesn't always follow societal norms. I am just happy when it hits the floor right now.

[north_border_eagles2106]

I am not a DP student, but I was at the game behind the DP student section, yes the DP fans were very rude and probably shouldn't have done most of that stuff, but Chayle walked right up to their section spit right next to them and laughed. And your telling me that that is a normal thing for him? He just spits anywhere he wants during the games? That's just gross, and when he basically directs it towards the opposing teams fans, that is just not right.

Yeah he's just gotta spit cause he gets stuff caught up in his throat. The reason he had to spit near them is because it was so crowded in there he would have to spit on the floor otherwise. I wasn't over there when it happened obviously but I don't think it's as bad as the D.P. fans made it out to be. I'll take his word over any of theres any day of the week.

FYI - his last name is spelled Chale. There's no "Y" in Chale. haha

[the unknown]

I think everyone gets a saliva filled mouth sometimes during a game..but most people would take a drink of water to wash it down..or maybe a GARBAGE can to spit it in...and I dont think anyone said that Chale spit in their faces...it did land on peoples shoes though! thats kind of disgusting!

[BballFan1307]

I think everyone gets a saliva filled mouth sometimes during a game..but most people would take a drink of water to wash it down..or maybe a GARBAGE can to spit it in...and I dont think anyone said that Chale spit in their faces...it did land on peoples shoes though! thats kind of disgusting!

actually....yes....most of their fans did say that it was all over them....i was sitting 5 seats away when one of thier fans was trying to get chale in trouble with the ref, by saying, that number 21 came over here and spit all over us...

[Curveball]

Just becasue he has a spitting problem, doesn't mean that he has to come right over to the opposing crowd and spit right next to them. I believe it happend right after a timeout or quarter break, so why didn't he just take care of it during that break? But no, he had to wait until right before they started playing again, and walked right up to the opposing crowd, spit right next them, then laughed and pranced back to the action.

[north_border_eagles2106]

Well as much as you want to think he planned it out I am positive it was just one of those things that happened. When I told him what all the D.P. fans were saying about him he couldn't believe it and asked if he thought he should go over and apologize. I told him not to and to just let the situation die out because I didn't think it was that big of a deal. About a minute later is when the girl fan from D.P. came and spit on him intentionally. I don't think he thinks he's got the right to spit either. It's just something he's always done and hasn't had fans say anything about it before that time.

[panther]

The sportsmanship just gets worse and worse. There are poor sports from EVERY town and/or school
and they get all the coverage. A couple of the NB players are known for their bad attitudes. One in
particular, a starting senior player I might add, tried to pick a fight in the hall with a Cavalier player after their District game. He was literally drug away by his coach. There were instances in nearly every game where players show poor attitudes. Have you every seen a coach sit one of them down? Players who get a
technical foul for poor language or behavior are still allowed to return to the game. Sorry, they should
be done for the game. That's how is used to be, and most players learned to deal with it. The problem lies with the adults who choose to reward this type
of behavior by giving the only Regional award to a player whose known for his talking back, for heckling and
for contesting calls. These awards are supposed to encompass grade point average,
attitude, leadership, and athletisicm. Adults choose over and over to ignore this type of behavior and
attitude and then wonder why it's getting worse? Come on people!!

[The Schwab]

The sportsmanship just gets worse and worse. There are poor sports from EVERY town and/or school
and they get all the coverage. A couple of the NB players are known for their bad attitudes. One in
particular, a starting senior player I might add, tried to pick a fight in the hall with a Cavalier player after their District game. He was literally drug away by his coach. There were instances in nearly every game where players show poor attitudes. Have you every seen a coach sit one of them down? Players who get a
technical foul for poor language or behavior are still allowed to return to the game. Sorry, they should
be done for the game. That's how is used to be, and most players learned to deal with it. The problem lies with the adults who choose to reward this type
of behavior by giving the only Regional award to a player whose known for his talking back, for heckling and
for contesting calls. These awards are supposed to encompass grade point average,
attitude, leadership, and athletisicm. Adults choose over and over to ignore this type of behavior and
attitude and then wonder why it's getting worse? Come on people!!

Great Post...makes you think.....what are we teaching our kids

[scruffy]

Agree...Parents and school officials don't realize how much is taught by leading by example.....

[north_border_eagles2106]

Yeah I definitely think everyone is to blame for this. The kids for not showing good judgment but also the fans and parents who don't give the kids anything to go on. When you see fans and parents acting in an unsportsmanlike way when you play it will rub off on you after awhile.

[MT_20]

The sportsmanship just gets worse and worse. There are poor sports from EVERY town and/or school
and they get all the coverage. A couple of the NB players are known for their bad attitudes. One in
particular, a starting senior player I might add, tried to pick a fight in the hall with a Cavalier player after their District game. He was literally drug away by his coach. There were instances in nearly every game where players show poor attitudes. Have you every seen a coach sit one of them down? Players who get a
technical foul for poor language or behavior are still allowed to return to the game. Sorry, they should
be done for the game. That's how is used to be, and most players learned to deal with it. The problem lies with the adults who choose to reward this type
of behavior by giving the only Regional award to a player whose known for his talking back, for heckling and
for contesting calls. These awards are supposed to encompass grade point average,
attitude, leadership, and athletisicm. Adults choose over and over to ignore this type of behavior and
attitude and then wonder why it's getting worse? Come on people!!

Awsome post they do have poor attitudes i honestly think that a certian player from grafton who is 6'6" should have gottin the Award!!!!!