My hockey experience this past Saturday was an interesting one, not just because our beloved Terriers completely destroyed the Boston College Eagles, but also because I apparently ruined some woman’s night by being verbally involved in the game. I did not notice her distress throughout regulation, but was told afterward by my compadres that I had garnered several dirty looks and remarks from the woman directly in front of me. While it is not the first time I’ve been vocal, it was the first time I had been the “annoying fan” to someone.
What stunned me more is that, according to my reliable sources, the aforementioned woman remarked that “they really need to figure out how to get rid of people like [me],” which genuinely upsets me. Normally I wouldn’t care, but it’s a matter of principle. What does this woman expect to encounter when she is sitting in the front row at a BU-BC hockey game? Granted, I used the “F” word in the appropriate chant when it came up, but in my lone yells, my language was mainly limited to “sucks” and “stinks,” which are PG at the most. Yeah, it was loud, but I sincerely wanted Schneider and Boyle and Filangieri to know how I felt about each of them as they approached our seats.
Her reaction is a singular incident of what I see as a larger problem. Now believe me, I am in favor of people having the right to feel comfortable in establishments. But it’s very simple: don’t expect people to behave how you see fit, especially if it would be uncharacteristic of the establishment. I was not yelling “d-che” at a referee while she tried to enjoy a delicious lobster bisque at a fine dining restaurant; it was at a hockey game. A college hockey game. A second-in-a-series rival college hockey game, no less! If I spilled beer on her or kicked her chair, then I’d understand her fury. But yelling that Schneider is “the worst goalie I’ve ever seen” is not vulgar in the least. People, especially those in the parents-of-college-kids generation, seem to see this yelling as destructive and distasteful behavior, but I see it as passion. My friends and I avoid swearing around the youngest Terrier fans (and we hardly said a peep when Dean Elmore sat directly behind us), but that restraint is a judgment call and, most importantly, optional. When it’s a section full of consenting adults who paid to go watch a game and yell and scream and wave free rally flags, all bets are off. The bottom line is, if you’re offended by the word “suck,” perhaps hockey is not the sport for you. Don’t try and make it something it’s not. Your prudish restraint is your choice, and should not be imposed on the people who actually attend this school.
Amber Hathaway SED ’06