Rachel Heaton
The Paw Print
Scrolling through my newsfeed on Facebook on Super Bowl Sunday after the Denver Broncos 43-8 loss to the Seahawks, I was confronted with several things that I believe are wrong with sports fans and society today. I am a Denver Broncos fan, born and raised. I wanted so badly for them to come out on top. But they didn’t and sometimes that’s how the game goes. The Seahawks put together a better all-around game. We all saw it unfold as the clock wound down.
And what social media saw was anger and bitterness directed at both teams. Even die-hard Broncos fans were quick to sing a different tune. This is what happens far too often today. When times get tough we’re too quick to jump ship. Too quick to change our tune. Too quick to disassociate ourselves from any turmoil. We are a society that likes to high tail it out of a situation once it gets the slightest bit difficult. We’d rather give up than sit it out to the, albeit bitter, end.
It goes both ways. When something is easy or successful we jump on it as fast as possible. I’m sure, following their victory, the Seahawks gained many fans who claimed to have always been a fan of the team. The same would have happened had the Broncos won.
I’m not saying that we should be all sunshine and rainbows while our favorite team gets blown out on the national stage or that we can’t celebrate another team’s victory. No. Rather, show some commitment, people! Don’t be a fair-weather fan. Don’t be a bandwagoner.
Also, I think social media has desensitized us to the impact of our words. Often when we post something it feels like we’re talking into a big black hole. But really everything we say is going out for the world to see. Our words are an extension of ourselves. “F*** Manning!!” and other expletive-laden posts demonstrated just how childish we can be when we don’t take the time to choose our words wisely. So the lesson? Think before you post. Be careful what you say, especially as a self-proclaimed “true Broncos fan”.
Sunday night, we resorted to name calling and anger, trying to see who could come up with the comment that stung the most. Like middle schoolers, we twisted names into hurtful rhymes and puns. We became bullies.
And you know what else? We cheered when the opposition got hurt. When Richard Sherman left the game due to injury, I saw several excited posts on Facebook as if people were celebrating a spectacular play. I’ll never understand how we can celebrate another man’s injury. I get rivalry and hatred towards opponents. There are many teams and athletes that I hate and there’s nothing I would love more than to see them lose. We feel that way sometimes. But by no means does that give us an excuse to offer to buy others drinks because an opponent had to be helped off the field. Root for your team. Scream. Get loud. Go crazy. Raise hell. But know where to draw the line. Maybe we should all take a closer look at who is classless here.
I am still proud to be a broncos fan. I’m still proud that my team competed in the biggest game in professional football. What I am not proud of is how we as sports fans and members of society handled ourselves following disappointment. I am not proud of the way my generation feels it can conduct itself. The game was ugly. It wasn’t the most fun to watch. But we made it to the Super Bowl this year. That’s more than 30 other teams can say this season. We didn’t win, but we still came in second and it was one heck of a season.
So when next fall rolls around, I’ll don my Broncos gear again and root for my favorite team in the league. Maybe next season we can get that Lombardi Trophy. And maybe next season, we’ll learn a thing or two about respecting the opposition. If Peyton Manning can conduct himself with grace after a loss, we should be able to as well.
What’s Been Said…