IU students must cease buffoonery at Assembly Hall

Let us begin by expressing our gratitude and elation to the players and coaches for returning IU basketball to its rightful place in the NCAA. However, recent events inside Assembly Hall have left us disappointed with the Hoosier "Faithful," especially with regards to the student section. On numerous occasions, examples of poor sportsmanship, classlessness and overall distaste have pervaded the atmosphere at what is generally regarded as a great venue for college basketball.\nExhibit A: booing and jeering a player on your own team whom you "support." While this isn't the majority of students, it is completely unacceptable. What does this accomplish? True fans would support the whole team and appreciate a player who comes out and works hard in practice and in games.\nExhibit B: Rushing the court after beating a team ranked five spots higher than IU. This is lame. It indicates surprise that we are capable of beating a top-ranked team. IU has been there before; this should be no surprise. If we were Georgetown beating Duke, this is appropriate and even warranted.\nExhibit C: Booing the other team's players and coaches during player introductions. It used to be that out of respect for the opponent, Hoosier fans would clap, or at least not be derogatory. This is only acceptable for Purdue, Kentucky or Duke, not UNC-Charlotte, Florida A&M or University of Indianapolis. \nExhibit D: "BS" cheers for legitimate calls by officials. This could easily end up working against the home team in repetitive situations like the Purdue game Saturday. The second half shot-clock violation was not immediately whistled a turnover to allow Purdue to have a fast break advantage. When we recovered the ball without Purdue establishing possession, it became a shot clock violation. We would want this same call to go our way had we been playing defense. This makes Hoosier fans seem less knowledgeable than most probably are. How about just plain booing the refs to express displeasure? This could dissuade parents from watching the game at home with kids or bringing them to the stadium out of concern for language exposure. That kind of behavior could potentially deflate Hoosier tradition for the next generation. \nBasketball games have always been a positive experience whether they are live or on TV. In a basketball-crazy state with a team having such a great year, let's not ruin it by being poor sports. We can support our team without degrading the opponent (save Purdue, Kentucky, etc).