Hi. I'm a girl. (A novelty for most CougarBoarders, I know.) I also happen to be the Cinderelli/offender in question.

I would just like to tag-team on what bradleyd said about refraining from judgment.

FUN FACTS:

- My husband was coached by Ciarelli's dad, Rocky, for the three years that he played varsity VB in high school 2000-2003.
- My brother-in-law, who now plays for BYU, was also coached by Rocky (2003-2006) and played with Tony on the team.
- We actually ASKED Tony before Saturday's game if he'd be cool with me dressing up as Cinderelli. He said he'd love it.
- After the game, I went up to Tony's MOTHER and introduced myself as "Hi, I'm the girl who's been making fun of your son for the past two hours." She laughed, gave me a HUGE bear hug, and said "That was SO funny!!!! We LOVE playing here because of the size of the crowd and your fans. They're creative, but not mean. Seriously, you guys are the best."
- Tony's mother then proceeded to pick up remaining Tony+tiara masks off the floor to keep and give to friends back home.

cougfan_on9th, it's obvious that you didn't grow up playing VB in Southern California. Heckling is literally a part of the game. Players expect it and ENJOY it. (It may baffle your mind as it did mine earlier on, but I've come to accept this after marrying into a family from the region that lives and breathes the sport.) Volleyball is a game of momentum, and hecklers are a huge part of that. There's nothing like the silence from opposing fans after an ace to get your adrenaline pumping. Players LIVE for that. Ever notice how after every point--EVERY FREAKING POINT--in volleyball, the players all huddle together and do "weird man stuff" like grunting and slapping butts and chest-bumping? Again, all this plays into momentum.

My husband and I usually stay late after volleyball games to wait for his brother to come out of the shower. We often end up facing the very opposing players who we heckled. Here is another way in which BYU hecklers differ from others: The "worst" of us do our heckling knowing full well that we will MEET the people we are making fun of (most of us have friends and family on the BYU team that we wait up for). We have the balls (/ovaries) to face them, to make friends with them.

The reaction we get from the "hecklees" is always, ALWAYS, the same: They shake our hands and laugh with us. They tell us how much the LOVE playing here, and how they looked forward to seeing us next year. Not "us" as in BYU. "Us" as in US. The vile, unchristian hatemongers! Perish the thought!

Trust me, it is REFRESHING for these players to hear the "personal attacks" we heckle them with as opposed to the graphic, personal obscenities they get EVERYWHERE ELSE. Ever been to a game at Irvine?

Aside from "don't be a Judgy McJudgerson", my advice to you would be to buy a DeLorean, go back in time, attend high school in Southern California, play on a varsity/club volleyball team there for a few years, and THEN tell me that the heckling we do is nasty.

Context is everything. Until you have it, refrain from judgment. Not just on the CougarBoard, but in your mind as well.

Bibbidi Bobbidi BOO ON YOU,

Cinderelli