News has been circulating for a week now that the WIAA (Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association) has banned certain chants from high school gyms across the state of Wisconsin. "Airball," "scoreboard," "fundamentals," "sieve," "We can't hear you," "You can't do that," "Season's over" and "There's a net there" are included in this list. Apparently, students can now be kicked out of games for saying these words.
Coming from a high school that was fairly strict, I can contest that this will hurt high school sports. People liked going to the games that were rowdy. Rowdy games make for more fun for fans and players, and students return to sports games because they have fun. Our high school's administration banned us from saying a lot of things during games. However, we were allowed to chant some of the sayings in the above list of banned phrases because, honestly, saying "airball" is just stating a fact. Anyway, the WIAA is banning these phrases. But to be honest, there are more phrases high schoolers could say that are worse than what the WIAA banned. Here is a list of just a few of the things the WIAA didn't ban high schoolers from saying that they maybe should have.
1. "You suck." Seems pretty obvious, but there is no rule outlawing this saying. The new rules from the WIAA say that anything that calls out an opponent is off limits, but they didn't specifically say this phrase. So if you ask me, there is a loophole in that rule and high schoolers can embrace this saying without fear of being kicked out of the game.
2. Anything with profanity. I'm not condoning profanity, but it hasn't really been banned. So, students, feel free to drop the f-bomb at games all you want because technically you can't get kicked out for it.
3. "My mom plays [insert sport here] better than you." This is actually kind of a compliment. Students that cheer this will be honoring and admiring their mothers. That's pretty sweet, if you ask me.
4. "Daddy's money." This one was cheered at my high school often. But really, is it making fun of the other school? Students that chant this are merely saying "Daddy's money"; there is nothing explicitly mean about it. What about Daddy's money? So go for it, high schoolers. However, the usual response to this cheer: "That's all right, that's okay, you're gonna work for us one day" should probably be kept out of high school gyms because it merely makes your student section look as stuck up as the opposing team thinks you are.
5. "You are bad." If you ask me, this is stating a fact. It doesn't necessarily mean an opposing player is bad at the sport he or she is playing. Also, any cheer with the word "you" could potentially be anyone watching the game. It could be the kid leading his or her own high school in cheers. So technically, the word "you" is not calling out a specific player or opposing fan (unless the student section is pointing at a specific person). So a high schooler could argue he or she was just yelling at a friend, therefore not targeting any opposing person—thus, not violating the rules.
The WIAA has had these policies for years; however, this is becoming news because of a mini-scandal involving a high school basketball player and a tweet (with profanity) directed at the WIAA. The tweet caused said player to be suspended for five games. But maybe the WIAA will actually be cracking down on its rules from now on. If that is the case, high schoolers, I'm not encouraging anything—but keep in mind you are technically allowed to yell the above five phrases (and others; let your creativity flow).
