Sports Etiquette: Going to a NBA Playoff Home Game

The game are more important, and so are the fans...

Even with the Jazz coming home down 2-0 last season, people were excited about watching the them in the playoffs. The torch was officially passed from the Stockton/Malone era Jazz to the New Generation. Everyone wanted to see how the new squad would react in the playoffs. Also, playoff games are a blast! Everything is better! The play on the court is more intense, the fans are more jacked up, the pyrotechnics are outstanding, and even Pace Mannion seems more bearable in the euphoria that is the NBA post season in Utah.

I wanted to take part of that environment for the first home game against the Rockets last season. So, not having tickets, my wife went online and found some lower bowl tickets that were actually very reasonably priced. WE HAD A BLAST!!! The game was amazing, and I lost my voice for the next day or so (Always a sign that I had a really good time).

Yet, while we were at the game we saw the two polar opposites of Utah Jazz playoff fans. Behind us was a man and his son that were having the time of their lives. The son, who couldn't have been more than 5 or 6, was standing, cheering, and yelling with the rest of the crowd. The door give away were megaphones (which must have raise the volume of the crowd another 10-15 decibels, because it was LOUD!) and the kid behind us loved using it. When give-aways happened, we made sure the kid got as many things as possible. T-shirts, Frisbees, mini-basketball, etc. He was standing, cheering, high-fiving, and really having the time of his life.

On the other hand below us we witnessed a man that seemed to be trying to hold back the ocean with his own two hands. Here is a man that really had no business being at a playoff game(or really any Jazz game for that matter). He only stood for the National Anthem, and the only cheer that he gave was telling the people in front of him to sit down. The noise seemed to bother him quite a bit as well. Telling people around him, his wife, and his children to stop yelling. His temper came to a peak during the third quarter when after an amazing dunk the crowd exploded and tired to tear the roof off the arena with their voices. The man could hold it in no longer, and wanted to put a face to the noise in the arena. He turned around, poked me in the chest, and threaten to inflict bodily harm on ME if I wouldn't keep it down! Shocked by the man's anger towards me I shrugged, looking side-to-side with my arms out stretched as if to say, "How am I suppose to keep these people quite?" I was unable to express these thoughts vocally, as all the fans around the man expressed their displeasure in much stronger terms.

After hearing this rebuke, from everyone sitting around him, the man sat down in disgust. While the other fans around me told me they had my back, and what they would do to that man if he were to threaten me again. The grumpy man in front of me, after being turned away by the fans, tried to appeal to a higher source. Racing up the stairs to the usher standing by the portal. I looked up in interest to see the man, obviously relating the what had just transpired, and then pointing down directly at me. The usher response to the man was perfect. He looked around, with oddly the same mannerisms that I displayed earlier, and I saw him mouth, "What do you except? It's the playoff."

This second rejection was more than the man could bear. Deciding to retreat, by leaving the game, in the middle of the third quarter. This action was followed by upper-bowl fans sneaking down to take his seats. Something that all of the fans around greeted with great joy.

So how do you avoid being a terrible playoff fan? Be Prepared!

1) Be prepared for noise! Know that a playoff game is more noisy and intense than regular season games. If you have sensitive ears, then get ear plugs before the game starts. I have friends that will get them even for regular season games, and they work great to lower the sound of the arena. If you don' t think you can handle the extra noise and excitement, do yourself and the people that would be sitting around you favor, stay home and watch it on TV.

2) Be prepared to stand! Once the game tips-off you will be on your feet for the majority of the game. I know a lot of you aren't used to this if you are coming from poor crowds (such as Houston(I had to take a shot at the awful fans there)), or you think you can be a "sit-down guy," but if you can't handle standing, stay home and watch it on TV.

3) Be prepared for more rowdiness from people in the stands! I am not encouraging throwing stuff on the court or long verbal tirades, both of which regardless of the situation go way beyond the line of fanhood. I am not encouraging fans to berate opposing fans, but there should be some trash talk spoken to them. There are going to be more signs, and so you will have to show patience with them. There are going to be more people going wild and having a good time. There is going to be more excitement! If you can't handle that, stay home and watch it on TV.

Bottom line, the playoffs are more intense all-around, and that includes the fans at the games. Please, if you can't handle it don't come. You will enjoy the game more, and the people that would have sat next to you thank you in advance. I hope the crowd this year is as good as the crowd last year. If they are, then break out the brooms because a SWEEP IS COMING!

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Sports Etiquette: Be a Good Fan Around Kids

What is your obligation as a fan to kids sitting next to you...

Whether you bring them yourself or you're just sitting next to them, kids come to sporting events. It is a great thing, for the most part, to sit next to young kids at a sporting event. Usually, there is a little more work (putting up with a more movement in the seats, more cheering, and entering/leaving of the seat) you have to put forth while watching the game. Yet, seeing the happiness in victory or the disappointment of defeat in the attitudes of these young fans really makes it fun. Lately though the family friendliness of sporting events have taken hits. Too much beer being sold, and crude language has taken a toll on the behavior of fans. Seeing grown men climb over the top of kids to get a free T-shirt or fuzzy basketball is also disheartening. The majority of us have memories of going to sporting events growing up, and of having good/bad experiences with the older fans sitting around us. It is important, and should be the responsibility as a fan, that when you are sitting next to a young fan of your team at a game to make their experiences great. Here are some suggestion for making this happen:

1) Language! Language! Language! It is annoying to sit next to a foul mouth fan in general, but when you are sitting next to one and a young fan that goes over a line. Man up and tell the person to keep that type of language to themselves. The person that brought the younger fan to the game is usually looking for this back up to get those fans to shut up with the foul language.

2) Talk to younger fans. This is a little tricky. You have to play most situations by ear, but for the most part the younger fan is looking to feel included. Asking some simple questions, giving a high five, or explaining a question that they may have makes their experiences much better. You DON'T want to step on the toes of the person bringing the kid to the game. Also you don't want to hound the kid if they don't want to talk. Be smart, but do go out of you way to bring them into the game.

3) If you get a give away item (T-shirt, ball, Frisbee, etc...) give it to the kids. What are you going to do with a crappy little give away item after the game? Something like that makes the kid extremely happy, and will keep them following the team. Don't, under any circumstances, run over a kid to get to any prize, no matter what that prize is. There is no bigger jerk in all of sports than the drunk guy slamming a kid to a the ground to get a little stuffed item, with a corporate logo, thrown into the crowd.

4) Be patient! If the kids are standing and cheering...you can join in. Don't be the sit down guy. Who likes the sit down guy? Why do the sit down guys come to the games to begin with? Friends don't let friends be the 'sit down' guy!

Remember that the building of a fan base is always important. It is fun to talk sports with fans that actually know what they are talking about. This all start with getting the fans when they are young. You remember that fan you were sitting next to at a sporting event that made it fun, be that fan for the next generation!

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Sports Etiquette: When to Leave/Enter Your Seat

The acceptable way to enter/leave your seat...

People coming to and from their seat at any sporting event are just part of going to a game. Yet, we have all been to games when people abuse the good nature of the fans sitting around them by leaving and coming to their seats at random. These fans have forgotten the basic common courtesy that should be shown for the fans they are sitting next to at games. Likewise, many fans become overly critical of fans leaving there seats at all. If you have ever been to any BYU sporting event you know the favorite saying of the older fans is, "SIT DOWN!!" Followed by a sob story about why they are never able to see their beloved Cougars playing football/basketball/baseball/squash/etc. because of terrible fans like you. There are certainly two sides to this issue, here are some ground rules for both sides to abide by.

1) During the first part of the 1st quarter/half there shouldn't be any problems with letting fans into their seats at any point in the ball game. It doesn't matter if there is a break away basket or a touchdown pass in the air, if it is early in the game the fans should be allowed into their seats without being forced to wait for a stoppage in play, although the arriving fans shouldn't abuse this right. They should not pull the get settled and go technique. That is when fans will go to their seats and drop off their jackets and then go to get food. That kind of in-and-out gets on peoples nerves. You are already late to the game, get your concession house in order and get them before you sit down. Also, arriving fans should try and time their arrival with a stoppage in play. If you can wait for a stoppage in play to go to your seat, that is appreciated by the fans sitting around you.

2) After the first half of the opening period of play, fans should wait until a stoppage in play to enter their seats. It is rude to force people to stand, blocking the view of fans behind them, during the action of the game. What ever the circumstances were for being late to the game are lost and so is the right to go straight to your seats. Wait for a stoppage. (Free throws in basketball counts as a stoppage in play.)

3) Once you have arrived at your seats, stay in your seats until a stoppage in play. Unless there is some kind of emergency (at which point all bets are off and you should just go) it is only common courtesy to wait until there is nothing to see on the court/field to leave your seat. Now the exception to this rule does come when there are small children involved. (Small children include all children under the age of 12; once they hit the 12 they are old enough to control themselves.) If you are sitting around a family with young children at a game you are obligated to go out of your way, as a sports fan, to make sure that child has a positive experience at that game. (This includes the unwritten rule of giving a give-away item you win to a young fan sitting around you, as will be discussed in an upcoming Sports Etiquette article.) Fans should be more forgiving of the children going in and out of their seats. This is an item that shouldn't be (and often is) taken advantage of by the family of the small children. If it is taken advantage of, than it is the right of the fan sitting next to the family to ask them to either go out the other way, or to control their children.

4) If there is someone on your row that has difficulty standing, try to find a different way out of your seat. Normally there are two ways to get in and out of your seats. If at all possible try and find a different way out.

5) During stoppages there should be no complaining about the number of times people leave their seats. If they aren't affecting the way you view the game, the understanding that you will need to stand and allow people to enter/leave should be accepted.

6) Just stand up to let people get to their seats. Nothing is more awkward than being force to climb over the top of people going down narrow rows. Especially at the Energy Solutions Arena (worst arena name EVER! Every time I write the name, it is insulting). When Larry H. Miller built the arena he built it to get the most fans possible in that building. With the extreme slant in the arena it can be hazardous to do "the-crawl-over-the-top" technique.

Basically, when in doubt, just try to be a good fan to sit next to at the games. We are all there to have a fun time, and nothing can ruin it faster than sitting next to someone who seems to be allergic to their seats.

If you have a suggestion for a Sports Etiquette column please leave a comment or e-mail your suggestion.

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Sports Etiquette: When to Use "We"

A column dedicated to correcting sports behaviors...

That post always exists. The post on a message board criticising people for using the pronoun "we". The posts are usually about the same. An angry English junky telling people that they aren't on the team, and therefore, can't us we when referring to their team. The authors of these posts want a difference to be shown between people that are actually a member of the program, and people that want the program to succeed.

So is it correct to use the we term? It is debatable but Yes. There are certain rules that should be followed when using we.

1) Only use, "we" when you are an established fan of the team. If you have been routing for a team to succeed go ahead and drop the "we." You are a part of the franchise. Home court advantages for teams prove this point. The fans make a difference with the way a team performs on the court.

2) No bandwagon "we." If you aren't an established fan of a team, don't use the "we." Use the name of the team to refer to them. You might as well take out your man card and shred it for using the bandwagon "we" in any circumstance.

3) When leaving comments on message boards refer to rules 1 and 2. Also be sure to stand up for your right to use the "we." Don't let the message board jerks make you think twice about using it.

4) Avoid using it when you are around new people. If the person you are talking to doesn't know of your affiliation with a team than you come off as a bandwagon "we" guy.

5) Although fans are part of the organization, don't use the "we" when calling into a show with a coach/player. Phrase your questions with "you" rather than "we." The coaches and players are actually on the court and when talking strategy they are the ones making the plays.

6) When calling into a talk radio show, without a player/coach, follow rule one and two.

If you use it right than you will enjoy using "we."

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