Fans can be passionate within reason

Dave Price

Enthusiastic and passionate fans are part of what makes basketball so much fun to watch, especially at the college and high school games.

Sure, all the dunks were fun to watch during the NBA All-Star extravaganza (I won't call it a game) last weekend. But somehow, at least in my opinion, nothing replaces the excitement of the fans, especially the kids who turn out to support their schools and teams.

They cheer. They chant. They are loud. Some show up dressed in amazingly creative attire. That's the way it should be.

But there is a line that when crossed turns that greatness to ugliness, no matter where the game is played or who is on the court. It can happen right here, as was the case over the weekend during a Carson City fourth grade youth league basketball game when a parent allegedly attacked a game official, over a possession arrow decision, no less.

With the high school playoffs now under way, fans can expect to hear announcements regarding the Nevada Interscholastic Activities Association's code of conduct for fans. The code includes avoiding unsportsmanslike gestures or language, appreciate a good play no matter who makes it and respect the judgment of the coach and the game officials. Furthermore, it will be made clear that yellow cards will be issued to warn those fans who cross the line and become too unruly and that second warnings mean removal from the gym.

Hopefully, cooler heads are going to prevail and nobody will be removed during the regional and state tournaments over the next two weeks.

And that brings back a memory I have of a situation being handled ideally during a regular season game in December, 2002 when Galena High hosted the Victoria Vipers from Texas. The crowd was small that night, which made one particular fan in the Texas crowd stand out because he was loud and critical of the officials. To be honest, I have seen fans removed who weren't as voiciferous as this one.

Rick Borba, Galena's principal and a longtime high school football coach in Northern Nevada, walked across the gym and sat down to chat with the fan. Whatever Borba said to the fan, it worked. Within a minute or two, you'd have thought the two men were long-lost buddies because they were laughing and backslapping. And, impressively, that was the last anyone heard of what can be best described as a non-incident.

I watched the Texas fan leave Galena's gym that night with a smile on his face (of course, Victoria won the game). I also saw the same fan seemly enjoy himself the next three nights after that during the Carson Valley Classic at Douglas (Victoria won the tournament).

That was a happya ending. It was good basketball, with passionate fans and a happy ending. Just the way it's supposed to be.

Dave Price is a sports writer for the Nevada Appeal