First off, let me say that I'm still a believer in our team. We WILL make the NCAA tourney and probably beat Gonzaga tomorrow. I can easily see us going undefeated the rest of the way (the game in Spokane will be hard, but I love our chances with Noah and Davies against Gonzaga's frontcourt).

Actions at the USC volleyball game were a precursor to the St. Mary's game behavior of the fans. Below I copy & pasted my original post regarding my deep concern for the fanbase of BYU and the direction and image they are portraying to outside sources. The trend is worsening and the overall fan "culture" is going in all directions. It is as if we are seeking to define a fanbase that is tough, crude, and mean, when the reality is, the definition of who we should be as fans has already been laid out for us in the Honor Code and general LDS guidelines. You can be passionate about a team but not create a contention-filled atmosphere.

I was at the game and the only good part was the guy winning an iPad during halftime. The actions by the fans and student section were completely out of line and classless. We have already began to establish a bad reputation from this, and numerous radio stations from around the western U.S. region have began to talk about the poor performance by fans. On top of that, a majority of SMC and Gonzaga fans have already began hoping BYU loses regardless of who they play. This deeply concerns me.

I heard numerous cuss words from the section where I sat directed towards the referees. How do you think the referees feel? Do you think they will have a good opinion towards THE CHURCH from this? Believe it or not, BYU is highly representative of the church. If we as a school want to portray an image of a class-filled organization, we need to ACT LIKE IT. We cannot say we have good sportsmanship and have high class and then perform like we did last Saturday. We have a higher standard to follow. We are not like fanbase x, y, z. It's not just the garbage / towel throwing on the court after a clear warning from the refs, it's the way we boo'd nearly every call during the game. We whined nearly all game. We name-called the refs nearly all game. It's just immature and it portrays an image of self-entitled and whiny fans. We as a fanbase cannot gain any sense of credibility if we whine and boo nearly every call. We as fans CAN be better. We as fans CAN create a passionate atmosphere WITHOUT fostering a contention-filled atmosphere, which is exactly what we did on Saturday.

The performance on Saturday, coupled with the classless performance of fans from the volleyball game vs. USC (see below), is highly concerning to me as a BYU fan and member of the LDS church. We cannot continue this. Please do not attack or flame me. I am just expressing a concerned fan's opinion.

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POST FROM JAN. 23


Hello all,

I've been following this board for a while now and finally decided to make an account.

I first want to congratulate the volleyball team on wins both Fri. and Sat. against USC. I was there both nights and we have such a talented and deep team. We will for sure go far this season.

I have a lot of emotions rolling high right now due to the issue I am about to post about, so please try to see where I am coming from. I have decided to bring to attention and initiate discussion on failure of our student section to realize who and what we as a school represent, and also where the line must be drawn if we as a school wish to convey to the world a spirit of friendship, open doors, and overall good taste and respect (see Bronco's ideas on the mission of BYU sports - this is where I wish to establish common ground with all of you).

Various things were carried out during the games (BOTH Friday and Saturday) by the student section which are, in my opinion as a BYU fan and member of the LDS faith, unbecoming of anything near trying to build a good reputation for being an organization with any degree of class. This should be our first priority.

Things I noticed:

1. A USC volleyball player has the last name of Ciarelli and the student section decided to take it upon themselves to chant "Cinderelli" (a la Cinderella) every time he went up to serve. On top of that, many faces of him were printed out with princess tiaras being photo-shopped onto his face. There was even a student that dressed up on Saturday night as Cinderella that sat at the front of the student section and animatedly cheered and jumped every time Ciarelli got up there to serve. Really now? Is this what the student show has decided to stoop to? I am instantly reminded of a playground bully making fun of some innate characteristic about a person that he/she cannot change. This is just wrong. And on top of that, I'm sorry but in this world we live in, this type of femaled-based insult is getting into the realm of harassment.

2. There is a red-headed player with freckles and every time he would get the ball to serve the students would chant "Ronald Weasley!!!" *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* *clap* "Ronald Weasley!!!". Really? This is playground bullying at its best. Again, this person has those innate characteristics about himself and for us to make fun of it was very mean in my opinion. He may be hard on the outside but realize that this person deep down has a self image about his appearance. Choosing to insult him on the basis of those characteristics he cannot change, especially those he has probably been made fun of his whole life about, is wrong.

3. There is a player on the team that had a facial feature that was very large. I saw two students constantly getting his attention and saying "Look at your ---!" and pointing to their --- while saying it. The player got red in the face the first time they did it and you could tell that he was not comfortable at all.

4. On both Friday and Saturday, there was a student in the student section that came dressed in a banana outfit, and other friends around him had Star Wars masks and WCW masks. Remind you of a student section with little class? Yes. To anyone who follows college bball a lot (I do), The Show basically requires their students to dress up like this. And the 3 examples I showed are exactly what a student section like that would do. The 3 examples above, coupled with students trying dress up similar to The Show, just left me shaking me head.

Before you flame me I want to make two final points. For one thing, I LOVE an involved student section. All the great teams and sports organizations have them. However, there is a difference between personally attacking someone and getting in their head. Basketball games are a perfect example. I love the "air ball" chants when that 1 person gets the ball. I love the "you got swatted" chants. They are great and definitely get in their head. But it never gets personal and attacks the very fundamental characteristics of that person. We all have been taught in a religious context to never cross that line. It seemed downright immature and again, unbecoming as fans, given the organization that we represent. Like it or not, we represent more than just the University.

Secondly, these USC players and coaches have memories. If the mission of our sports organization is to promote a reputation of class-filled people, to open doors, to open communication and curiosity in our beliefs, don't you think this behavior is the exact opposite of what should be emphasized and carried out? We can't have both.

We can't stoop to the level of countless other student sections with no class and think we are cool, and then claim to be a high-class institution because we live what we preach. We must choose one Master.

Edit: And many may think this was maybe 4-5 fans, but there were a good 35-40 involved in these things.