A few weeks ago we watched the BYU men’s basketball team play Baylor Bears who came into the Marriott Center ranked No. 6. BYU lost that game, but they won in a big way even before the game started when some BYU fans stretched out a large banner congratulating Baylor’s Robert Griffin III for winning the Heisman. Many of the blogs had glowing remarks about that one gesture by BYU fans.
What I want to know is what happened to those fans? Instead, on Saturday when BYU played host to St. Mary’s, we watched as a number of BYU fans chose to throw debris onto the court on two different occasions when they didn’t agree with an officials call. As BYU fans, are our beliefs so thinly masked that a few bad calls can bring out the worst in us? I love BYU sports and am passionate about our teams; however BYU is not a place for throwing debris, or even disrespect for officials that may get it wrong every now and again. BYU is better than that, and I challenge our student body and accompanying fans to “Rise Up and Roar” the right way. Imagine the influence for good our university could have if our fans were a model to the world of respect, classy behavior and those principles the university stands for. Aren’t we suppose to “arise and shine forth, that thy light may be a standard for the nations?” (D&C 115:5)
MARK MERSERVY
Salem
