Fan Is Short For Fanatic: athletes ton’t Deserve Such Abusive Fan Behaviour Mike Storey, The Carillon (University of Regina) REGINA (CUP)—When does a fan become a fanatic? One only has to look at recent events to answer this question. Unless you’ve been living in a cave, you have probably seen or at least heard about the Detroit Pistons-Indiana Pacers basket- brawl that occurred November 19. For you cave dwellers, here’s what went down. Indiana forward Ron Artest delivered a hard foul late in the game to Pistons centre Ben Wallace, and an on- coutt scuffle ensued between several players. During the melee, Artest retreated to the scorer’s table, where he was promptly hit in the face by a beer bottle launched by a Pistons fan. Artest then abandoned any sense of professionalism by immediately entering the stands and attacking the aforemen- tioned fan. This started one of the ugliest scenes to ever take place at a professional sporting event, as an all-out brawl broke out between Piston fans and several Indiana players. By November 21, Artest had been sus- pended for the remainder of the season and star centre Jermaine O’Neal and guard Steven Jackson had both received 30-game bans, effectively ending the Pacers’ title hopes. The shocking lack of composure exhibited by the Pacers’ players more than warranted these harsh suspensions. However, the majority of accountability needs to be placed on the fans. Since when did assaulting a player become acceptable fan behaviour? Granted, Artest should not have rushed the stands, yet he still had the right to protect himself. Athletes simply do not deserve the abuse regularly directed at them by fans. At the end of the day, they are paid entertainers. Nobody hurled a chair at Ben Affleck because Paycheck sucked. Yet, in the context of sport, some fans view an athlete’s actions as a person- al affront. Fan lunacy has also been on display closer to home. Roughriders’ kicker Paul McCallum had his house vandalized after missing two short field goals that could have potentially sent the Riders to the Grey Cup. His property was egged and manure was dumped on his front lawn. Fans even went so far as to threaten McCallum’s wife. The sad fact is these are only two recent examples of behaviour that has been going on for some time. Who can forget the Philadelphia Flyers’ fan who launched himself into the penalty box in an effort to attack Toronto Maple Leafs’ forward Tie Domi? English soccer star, David Beckham, one of the most revered athletes in the history of English sport, received thou- sands of death threats after being ejected from a 1998 World Cup match. It is also a long-standing tradition for New York Jets’ and Philadelphia Eagles’ fans to hurl batteries at opposing players. These would be the same Eagles’ fans who gave Dallas-receiver Michael Irvin a standing ovation after it looked like he had been paralyzed on the field. Then there is the crown jewel of fan idiocy that occurred following the 1994 World Cup. Fans in a hometown bar mur- dered a Colombian soccer defender, who scored on his own goal. In an age where an athlete’s life story can be found on the internet and alcohol is liberally dispersed in the stands, I ques- tion whether this problem will ever be solved. The sight of young children crying in the stands after the events in Detroit should send a clear message to all belliger- ent fans: You have no place in sports and your presence is not wanted. Professional athletes are human beings who make mistakes, just like the rest of society. Fans need to view sporting events for what they are, games played for enter- tainment value. So please, lighten up! Pearcey s Rugby Report Dave Pearcey, OP Contributor he Premier ladies suffered their worst loss of the season to UBC by a score of 10-36 to end the first half of the 2004-05 campaign. The well-drilled and well-conditioned UBC team found holes in the defense several times and scored several long tries, includ- ing three by Canadian U23 centre Rosie Cobbett. Support was the key. Whenever UBC made a break, there were always players following up to retain possession. And when Douglas runners managed to pene- trate the first line of defense, they were often isolated where UBC had the num- bers to win possession back. By the time the first half was done, the Thunderbirds led by a score of 17—5 as Corinne Jacobsen’s lone try could not stand up to the Thunderbirds’ two con- verted tries and one penalty. To start the second half, Douglas did manage to stretch the UBC defense with- in inches of the try line, yet they were unable to get the score and pull them- selves back into the match. UBC then fe | OUNEPPPeSS scored again, before Jacobsen coun- tered with a meaningless 60-metre run for her second of the day. Two more converted tries by UBC followed, including a long run by sen- ior national-team player Leslie McKenzie, who ran through at least four attempted tackles to score under the uprights. Douglas must now use the Christmas break to regroup and move ahead. Another well-drilled UBC squad attended Queen’s Park on Sunday and left with a win over our 2nd Division ladies, but the score was a paltry 5—0 and circum- stances were markedly different from Saturday’s match-up. Douglas spent almost the entire first half on the UBC side of centre, but a solid defense and some ill-advised deci- sions prevented the home side from taking the lead. UBC gave Douglas trou- ble with their tight and well-organized rucking and made their sole penetration into Douglas territory near the end of the half. A near-perfect maul from a 10-metre lineout resulted in a try for the visitors. scrums Although they were unable to score, the second half saw Douglas dominate in the areas of territory and possession as Nicole Edgson and Bonnie Riordan both crossed the try line before being held up. Another chance came when Tia Staller set up Felicia Younker, who dove into the corner to touch the ball down, yet the ball came loose as she hit the ground. Some referees may have awarded the try, but on this occasion it was ruled as a knock-on. After that, Douglas had several other chances to score, but turnovers or dropped passes allowed UBC to gain pos- session and kick out of danger. In the end, the first-half try stood up as the winner, yet Douglas took consola- tion in the fact that they had improved significantly since a 40-point loss to UBC early in September. This year it seems the men are picking up the slack as Douglas’ premier men ran their record to five wins and three losses with a determined 25-12 effort against a quick and always dangerous SFU squad. Douglas crossed the try line first, but Michael Collins was held up. But soon after that, Daniel Webster kicked the home side into the lead with a three- pointer. SFU scored a converted try and seemed destined to lead at the half until some magic by prop Dan Forthuber. Douglas stole an SFU lineout at midfield and the ball went to Forthuber. After a solid run downfield, he chipped over the SFU fullback, scooped up the ball on the bounce and stretched over to score while being dragged down by two tacklers. That gave Douglas an 8-7 lead at the whistle. The visitors started the second half strong and another try them a four-point lead. But Douglas was not to be outdone as a tactical kick by flyhalf Nathan Klement was kicked forward by speedy winger Mike Burge. He beat the fullback to the ball at the try line and scored. Webster made it 15-12 with the convert and added a penalty soon after. The final score was added by Greg Doucette at the end of a driving maul leaving the victors with a score of 25-12 after the conversion. pecember § 8/e00u