Neyland Stadium is one of my favorite places to be in the fall. Pretty much every time I go to a game, I leave with sore feet from standing, a sore throat from cheering, and a pounding headache. During the first half of the season, everyone is sweaty and sunburnt, and during the last few games, I feel like my fingers are going to freeze off. But there’s just something really great about being there. I mean, we have the best band, the cutest mascot, and awesome fireworks, and we can cheer so loudly that we can make the other team screw up or need to call a timeout or something.
BUT. That’s not what I want to talk about right now. I just want to talk about a pet peeve of mine. I want to talk about how some people think it’s cool to show up drunk to the games, swear like a sailor at the top of their lungs, and completely disregard everyone around them. I hate to be the one to tell you, but that’s not cool. If anything, I feel bad for those people. Don’t get me wrong. I want everyone to have a good time at the game, and I don’t really mind if you feel the need to use a stronger word than “dang.” Using that kind of language is your choice.
What frustrates me is when people feel the need to string together every single cuss word they know in a sentence that makes no sense at all just because they want to make fun of a player from the other team who got hurt. So cool. So classy. I know that most of you don’t act this way, but for those of you who do, stop. I know you get upset and concerned when one of our players gets hurt, but for some reason, you think getting hurt makes the other team’s player weak? I don’t think that’s how it works, and I’d bet you wouldn’t make it out of a game without a broken leg or something.
Most of the time, these are also the same people who are rude to other Vols fans. These people will steal other people’s seats and yell at those people if they ask to sit there. These people will flail around and hit the people around them. One time, someone even spilled mustard on another person.
All I’m trying to say is that it’s completely possible to have a great time without being an obnoxious jerk. I know it may come as a shock to some of you, but there are other Vols fans who don’t think your outbursts are cool. Basically, just be a good person. Really, it’s not that hard.
