From the Sidelines: The OC must stand for Obnoxious Crowd
Sports reporter
Walking into the gymnasium Monday at Osage City it was obvious it would be a tough place for Marion High School to play.
The pep band rivaled a college one, and the deafening noise bounced off the walls, pumping up the Osage crowd, and causing MHS fans to cringe.
The home side of the gym was nearly packed with a sea of red shirts, all cheering the hometown Indians.
When the game began the crowd lived up to its hype, rocking the house heavy-metal concert-style.
As the Indians began to climb to a comfortable lead, the crowd noise grew louder, but the sea of red remained respectable.
However, as the Warriors began slowly chipping away at a 17-point deficit in the fourth quarter, the home patrons turned ugly.
The student section, which allows players to stand on the same level as the court just inches from the players, got out of hand.
The students began yelling during MHS free-throw attempts, and yelling at players with the ball just inches away.
Now if this were a college game, no problem. Outside of throwing objects on the court, the student section can do what it wants. But most college student sections are back off the court 20 feet or more.
To make it worse, adult fans in the crowd were yelling out during free throws, and yelling across at the Warriors' fan section.
The MHS faithful were on their feet late, and showed their displeasure with a foul call by yelling to the refs to make the call even.
Of course it won't help, but as a fan that's just what you do. What you don't do as a fan is yell across the gym and tell everyone to sit down when they are doing nothing but supporting their team.
Especially when you are an adult.
Especially when your team is at the foul line 31 times and your opponents find themselves there just 15 times.
Just because there is a foul discrepancy doesn't mean the refs aren't calling a fair game. Sometimes other teams foul more often. However, if the other team is called for almost twice as many fouls (22 to 12), you keep your mouth shut.
When a player on your team is 0-8 from the field but scores 10 points in the game, you let the other team vent its frustration.
High school athletics are unlike college and professional athletics.
The players aren't being paid millions of dollars or receiving a free education. They are on the court because they love the game.
That is why crowds in high school should be respectable. That's why athletic directors and principals look like the bad guys when they tell their students to calm down. When in fact they are trying to keep the integrity of the game.
The Osage City crowd was not the worst I've ever seen, and not everyone was disrespectful. But the ones who were took away from their players by worrying about the other team.
So, Osage fans, in case you didn't notice the score as you were yelling across the gym, congratulations on the victory.
