The Fan Factor

There's an interesting debate on a message board I frequent about fan etiquette. Now, here's the lead post that started the whole thing. This is verbatim, so don't blame me for the craptastic structure or mistakes in spelling or grammar.

We used to be Flyers fans, but after hearing the immature booing every time a skilled player touches the puck in Philly - It's too embarassing to be associated with this team.
Those idiot redneck fans aren't smart enough to realize how lucky they are to be watching skilled players the likes of Crosby, Ovechkin, Malkin etc. live so they boo like a bunch of drunken teenagers! Good thing they are not educated hockey fans as it would be a black eye to the sport. These people are dumb enough that soon they will boo all Canadian players, no matter which team they play on.
Hopefully there will be no more playoff games in Philly this year so all those drunken chest-beating, plexiglass-banging idiots can go back to shining their gunracks and kicking their dogs.
Hey losers; This is Stanley Cup Hockey, not midget rodeo!!

Now, this started a whole bashing of the original poster and thoughts about this inane post and what's it means to uneducated fans.

My take on this first off is that Philly fans are probably the most passionate fans in any sport. Having lived in Philly for a year for college, everyone knew something about sports regardless of bracket-- meaning man, woman, young and old; they had a take on at least one sport in Philly. Sure, you can talk about the bad stuff like the Santa Claus thing and their booing-- but they only want the best all the time. Granted, some of them also proclaim that if they were to win something, it would be the worst time in the sport because of the fact they wouldn't have much to complain about.

As far as fans booing opposing players-- that's the nature of the beast. Personally, it could be a sign of respect in instance like Ovechkin and Crosby and then personal vendetta, like the Capitals' fans when it comes to Larry Murphy (woop, woop, woop), Sergei Gonchar, and Jaromir Jagr. People pay their ticket, they can do whatever the hell they want, to be honest. As long as no personal harm is done-- I don't see an issue with.

The fact of the matter is that if fans were wild and crazy in places like Philly, New York, Montreal, or Toronto-- the game would be very dull and the atmosphere of these arenas wouldn't be what they are. That's why it's called a home-ice advantage, because the fans become the 7th player on the ice without actually being on the ice (which is why I want to bring back the rover, but that's for another article).

So, to the person who started this post....either deal with it or move to a place where political correctness is the norm and everyone wins just so no one's feelings are hurt. If you claim you're a fan, you're really not. Grow some courage and suck it up, Nancy.

Let me hear you thoughts on this-- the comments are always open.