skip-zip Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 I know that we get into discussions on here all the time about the behavior of the fans and players of our rival. And being a rational person, I try to look at things objectively, and surely will admit to the folks to the East that you will find bad apples in every bunch.But, there is a clear pattern here that can't be overlooked....and it just continues to grow larger.1) The proud display of a You-Tube video of fans repeatedly chanting "F U Akron" at a football game at the Rubber Bowl last fall?2) Throwing garbage at the Akron players towards the end of the game at Can't in January? And a player having to be grabbed around the neck by the refs to pull him out of the pile? And while this is all happening, a guy like Jeremiah Wood, who could have certainly been the enforcer in the situation, was calmly telling everyone to calm down?3) A player sticking his tongue out and taunting our players at the post-game handshake?4) A player with previous suspensions sits out one game, and stays on the team, after being arrested for a DUI?5) Someone yelling out "Go Can't State" while the crowd was completely silent during the middle of the National Anthem at the JAR last week while a local high school choir was singing?6) A collective chorus of boos coming from a group of yellow-shirted fans while a group of military personnel was taking their oath of service at halftime in Cleveland last weekend? (by the way, a Can't fan sitting a couple of rows away from us spent the entire rest of the game denying that it was the Can't fans who were doing that).7) Nate Linhart gets heckled repeatedly in the 2nd half for what CLEARLY was a CLEAN BOX OUT (watch the game film again, if you don't believe me).8) Booing Akron when they come to claim the 2nd place trophy, when they already won the game? I've been in athletics my entire life, and I have NEVER seen that. You can attach whatever terminology you wish to these actions, but they speak for themselves...don't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigzipguy Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Not to put the knock on all Can't fans or even the majority of them, but I beleive many of them are just fair weather fans. What was it , 6 years ago they went to the elite 8 and the following season they rarely , if ever sold out any of their home games. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Listen, Akron fans have not always been the poster children of classiness either, but I agree with you that Can't fans seem to be acting like losers. Personality-wise, its analogous to the little punk with self-esteem problems who makes an arse out of himself when he believes someone is making fun of him. Rather than laughing at a good back-and-forth, he takes it personal. Rather than trusting that his girl friend wouldn't cheat, he is perpetually afraid to let anyone talk to her. Rather than having a drink in the bar and laughing it up with one and all, he's always on the lookout for someone who might explicitly or through innuendo slight his character.Even though Can't can have the occasional success in their BBall program, many of their fans seem to have an inferiority complex.Even though Can't graduates their students every 6 or 7 years (if they don't bomb out before their hippie parents cut off the beer money) their student body still can't seem to figure out that a good rivalry makes this more fun, not more personal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skip-zip Posted March 17, 2008 Author Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 That's why I prefaced my comments with "there are bad apples in every bunch". I'm sure not all Akron people are poster children for good behavior. And I'm sure Can't has plenty of great fans. But as I think of all the negative incidences that I have witnessed over the last 6 months or so, they just seem to be piling up on one side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZachTheZip Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Fans of both teams are pretty bad, if you ask me. There are some great Akron and Can't fans, and then there are the drunken assholes who you just want to hit in the face with a chrome bumper.I have noticed that the asshole-to-good-fan ratio is disproportionately high for both teams when you take into consideration other schools (Maybe once we get a bunch of fair-weather fans it will go down since they won't care enough to be jerks to opposing teams and fans). Can't fans have just had more opportunities to be jerks this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Kangaroo Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Beat them. Then they don't talk so much. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOLLYWOODZIPPY Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Beat them. Then they don't talk so much.A-FREAKIN-MEN!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zen Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Beat them. Then they don't talk so much.No, then they just start faceb00ks about paying off refs.Like I said. Inferiority complex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valpo Zip Posted March 17, 2008 Report Share Posted March 17, 2008 Add those to the list:1 - Collectively chanting F U Dials before the game in Can't this year. (when did akron fans ever do that?) not even for Bubba.2 - Flicking up LeBron James last year while we cheered on Josh Cribbs when he showed up at the JAR a couple of years ago.3 - The middle finger is a regular thing in their student section. Never seen at the rowdies areas.Saying that both teams have good and bad fans really is not fair. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zipsrifle Posted March 18, 2008 Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 I'm sorry, but I find it funny that we are justifying why our Arch Rival's fans are Jerks. They are always jerks, because it's a rivalry! IMO, I think a MOB mentality takes over in the student sections. A few bad seeds and everyone else just follows suit. Didn't the Rowdies chant something during the National Anthem at Miami? This entire discussion just seems like sour grapes to me. They kicked our butts and let us know it. Did it get under my skin? Yes, but the next time we hand it to them, I'm gonna let them have it.....that's why its a good rivalry! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bryanschapiro Posted March 18, 2008 Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 All fans are different. Rivalries are heated, there is no doubt about that. I will not say that Akron fans are angels. They are not. But, I have never heard a collective Akron crowd chanting profanity like Can't State sometimes does. I was told by a person that works at FSN that the Akron/Can't game that took place in Can't this past season had to be put on audio delay half way through the game because of the crowd chanting profanity. FSN could have received fines because of the fans at the game. Some people cheer and boo like normal people. Can't fans, collectively, work in profanity when they chant, and that is classless. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RootforRoo44 Posted March 18, 2008 Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 COME ON! it's college basketball, it's not CYO 5th grade basketball. There is supposed to be belligerent drunk students being loud and obnoxious!The only thing that really shows why can't state is trash is their disrespect for America. They boo'd during the swearing in of those servicemen and they yelled during our national anthem.THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE...it is shocking that i see barely any uproar over this. This wasn't just some of them, this was a large contingent, these people were classless in all ways. BUT you can't be upset about simple "flipping off" or our fans and booing and chanting. It's part of college basketball, get over it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Valpo Zip Posted March 18, 2008 Report Share Posted March 18, 2008 COME ON! it's college basketball, it's not CYO 5th grade basketball. There is supposed to be belligerent drunk students being loud and obnoxious!The only thing that really shows why can't state is trash is their disrespect for America. They boo'd during the swearing in of those servicemen and they yelled during our national anthem.THAT IS UNACCEPTABLE...it is shocking that i see barely any uproar over this. This wasn't just some of them, this was a large contingent, these people were classless in all ways. BUT you can't be upset about simple "flipping off" or our fans and booing and chanting. It's part of college basketball, get over it.A collective chant of F U so and so is part of college basketball?I have been watching College Bball for a decade, I have been in almost all MAC arenas and Dayton, Duquesne, Cleveland State, l never heard it from any fans other than Can't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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