Bite your tongue and let it go

Listen up Hoosier fans, its time to cut the “bullshit.”\nLiterally.\nWe are unquestionably one of the most die-hard fan bases in all of college basketball. But while our team was laying an egg on national television, it was us, the student section, who really dropped the ball (and the f-bomb).\nOver the voices of announcers Verne Lundquist and Billy Packer, viewers ranging from ages six to 106 heard our fans chant “bull-shit” on multiple occasions. For our encore performance, we represented our school by ever-so-elegantly serenading the crowd officiating staff with “fuck you, ref.”\nThis trend has to stop. In chanting obscenities, we look like we don’t know anything about basketball. More so, in proudly cursing out the officials, we set a disgusting standard to young kids who love to watch Hoosier basketball.\nOK, so Connecticut behemoth Hasheem Thabeet’s first half block on Armon Bassett was goal tending. Big deal. Later in the game, D.J. White tipped a ball out of bounds and it was, wrongly, returned back to us. There are three things guaranteed to all sports fans: death, taxes and terrible calls. It happens.\nBut we need to be better fans. Over winter break, I sat through a 38-point blowout against Chicago State with my 12-year-old cousin, Clint. When we were up by 32, Jordan Crawford was called for a routine reach-in foul. Immediately after the call, a group of 15 or so college-aged fans immediately stood up and started the infamous “bullshit” chant. Clint looked up at me as if trying to find an answer. I was left red-faced and embarrassed, and had no idea what to say to my younger cousin.\nThere is no room for swearing in IU basketball. I beg fans: please don’t tarnish the reputation of our program by acting out in that fashion. \nJust bite your tongue and let it go.