Real sports fans should never cheer player injuries
Megan McGinley
Anyone who knows me knows that I’m an avid Pittsburgh Penguins fan. However, being a Pens fan has its disadvantages. Namely, the amount of animosity we get for having Sidney Crosby on our team. Jeers like “Cindy” Crosby, Sidney “Crybaby,” I’ve heard them all.
This is simply a part of sports culture: fans pick on players whether they deserve it or not. I am surprisingly okay with this aspect of sports. I would be lying if I said that I didn’t shout a few boos when Alexander Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals takes the ice at a Pens games.
However, there is a definite line between jeering the players and completely disregarding their safety as people.
On Tues., Jan. 29 the Pens played the New York Islanders at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. The game went as one would expect. The fans cheered when the Isles did well and cheered harder when the Pens did not. Nothing out of the ordinary.
However, about mid-way through the 2nd period, Crosby took a stray puck to the nose. As blood dripped onto the ice, the fans shouted with pleasure. “Crosby sucks” echoed through the arena as he was escorted to the locker room to receive stiches.
It does not matter how much you dislike a player. When he or she is injured, you do not cheer. If you were to see a person outside of a sporting event get hit with an object and notice blood dripping from their face, you would be concerned about them. An athlete, no matter how well-liked or disliked, is still a person. The only difference is that they have chosen to pursue a career in sports.
Growing up around sports, athletes learn the importance of sportsmanship. It is the code they live by. They learn to respect their opponents, regardless of their personal feelings toward them. They learn to lose with grace and win with even more. Most importantly, they learn that wishing harm on an opposing player is wrong.
Sportsmanship does not only apply to the players, but to the fans as well.
Just because you are tucked safely behind the glass or on the bleachers away from the action does not mean that you are exempt from their code. Both teams deserve some level of respect.
I am not saying that you need to act like a perfect lady or gentleman at sporting events. That would be unrealistic and would take away from the atmosphere of the game. By all means, jeer the players a little, get rowdy when calls don’t go your way, erupt with excitement when your team wins, but just realize that you have entered into a silent contract of sportsmanship with the players.
Professional athletes dedicate their lives to a physically demanding activity because they love it. A serious injury could end that for them. Think about how you would feel if you were unable to continue doing something you loved while everyone around you cheered because of it.