Don’t Be A Douche
Cal fans, please be classy.
Standing in the Student Section today I heard a lot of poor fan comments regarding Kevin Riley. Here are a few examples verbatim: "F@#$ YOU, KEVIN RILEY!" and "YOU F%^&ING SUCK!" and "WHAT A SH@#$TY QUARTERBACK" and "HE’S F@%@ING JUST LIKE AYOOB!!!" and "YOU’RE NOT AIMING FOR THE SPACE STATION!!!"
These comments are disrespectful, rude, and unnecessary. And guess what? These comments were things that I heard in the first half! After we lost the game, they got even worse.
I know most of our readers aren’t like this. Judging from our readers’ comments, you guys/gals all seem to be level-headed diehard Cal fans that are reasonable enough to not to give their own players the shaft. Instead, I think most of these comments came from casual Cal fans (student fans who are just at games on Saturdays just because it’s something to do and not because they’re there as True Blue supporters of Cal Football) who have been spoiled with the success of Longshore (and if they’re as old as me) with the success of Aaron Rodgers. They don’t realize that Riley is a blue-shirt freshman (Cal equivalent of a red-shirt), and this game was his first career start. Yes, expectations should be high, but also realistic. And regardless of whether they knew that Riley was a freshman or not, fan behavior should ALWAYS be SUPPORTIVE of the players and NOT malicious.
Booing and cursing the players is completely inappropriate and well, downright pitiful. Without naming which Pac-10 schools, some of my fellow Cal fans could have passed for students at those other schools. Yes, their behavior was that bone-headed and douchebag-like.
I was very dismayed with what I heard today from my fellow student Cal fans today. And honestly, I think I really feel just as disgusted at them as Oklahoma State Mike Gundy was at the female journalist.
Riley, like Ayoob, is doing his best. He’s not going out there trying to purposely screw us up the butt. He’s a red-shirt freshman! This is his first career start! He’s only 20 or so! He’s a fellow Cal student!!! He’s one of our own! Yet based on what I heard today you could swear some people thought he was Satin or a terrorist.
Anyways, this is just a reminder to calm down, and remember to NOT take your anger out on the players. They are people too. They’re fellow students. They’re trying their best. None of our players, no matter how good or bad they may be, deserves to get the shaft from their own fans because of poor play. Please, be respectful. Be classy. Remember who you are and who you represent.
