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Forum: Talk Bulls
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While warming up before Friday’s game against Kansas, University of South Florida QB Matt Grothe noticed a USF fan screaming derogatory slurs at the Jayhawks cheerleaders.
“I didn’t appreciate it,” Grothe said. “Some idiot of ours, every time a [KU] cheerleader walked by, he yelled ‘[sexual slur]’ over and over to each and every one.
“Yelling at a cheerleader? Those poor girls don’t know why they’re getting yelled at. It’s like me going up to that guy’s mom and calling her [that]. Is he going to like that? They should just be happy with [us] winning games.”
Apparently, winning isn’t everything. And, unfortunately, what Grothe witnessed wasn’t an isolated incident.
It was among several examples of abusive, profanity-laced verbal attacks and intimidation of KU fans before, during and after the game.
Pat Porzelt, a 1987 KU graduate, was part of a group of 12 Jayhawks fans at the game. She has been attending games for more than 20 years.
“That,” she said, “was the worst experience I’ve ever had.”
Porzelt, 44, said she realizes when on the road she will receive some harassment. But, she said, this was different.
Walking through the Raymond James Stadium parking lot, a USF fan she estimated in his 30s raced from his tailgate party to confront her.
“He sticks his finger in my face and says, ‘Go home, you [expletive] Jayhawk [expletive],’ she said. “I expect to hear profanity, but it was the in-your-face hatred behind it that was different than any other stadium I’ve been at.”
Porzelt certainly wasn’t in Kansas anymore.
She said the treatment she received from fans during and after the game wasn’t much better.
What’s ironic is that USF just started a “Respect-A-Bull” campaign, asking USF fans to show “pride, sportsmanship and honor.”
“Visitors should be complimentary of the treatment and respect they receive from our fans,” USF President Judy Genshaft said. “USF is on the national stage, and we want those who attend our games to enjoy USF’s hospitality as a community that is welcoming and respectful of our guests. We want our guests to leave with a good experience and see USF fans as national role models.”
That wasn’t the case Friday. There were 64 ejections, the most for a USF home game, and nine arrests.
Eric Morton, 34, a Kansas fan who lives in Tampa, said he didn’t experience any physical abuse, but “the verbal abuse made you feel uncomfortable. A lot of young people getting in your face screaming, ‘Get the [expletive] out of our house.’”
KU alum Brent Kassing, 39, of Winter Park, attended the game with his cousin’s family. In all, they had five children ranging in age from 4 to 15.
“I must have heard ‘[expletive] you!’ about 200 times,” said Kassing, who complained to USF officials in an e-mail. “It was a terrible environment. I had never experienced that at an away game.”
Greg Morgan, USF’s student body president, said Bulls fans must be considerate of visiting fans. “At some point of being a gentleman, someone has to stand up [to the abusive fans] and say we don’t condone this type of thing,” Morgan said. “USF fans have to be accountable for other USF fans.”
USF, UA finalize deal: USF and Under Armour finally signed their five-year deal, which had been in place since November, on Tuesday, making UA the official outfitter of USF athletics. The deal will pay USF $1 million over the life of the contract and provide $1.2 million in apparel for USF’s football, baseball, softball, soccer, golf and tennis teams.
Posted by August, Philadelphia on 09/17 at 07:59 AM
I do agree we should act in a little classier manner, but I have traveled to many schools and seen many of the same things. I went to Penn St. My whole family went there. They can get pretty rough with fans. I spent a year at LSU. That was scary for me too and I even went there. Those people are harsh, especially when Florida is there or even if it was a big game. I don’t want to sound like I condone what happened, I just want to state that it does happen at other HUGE schools in the football world.
Posted by Aaron Jones, Temple Terrace on 09/17 at 07:51 AM
Anyone that dismisses this behavior by pointing out other schools (UCF, UF, Miami, etc.) worse behavior is just ridiculous. Why would you want to be grouped in with those school for that? Shouldn’t we strive to be better? Why give an opponent something else to complain about? Let them complain about the refs, a bad coaching decisions, and a poor performance by their team. This is a very simple problem to solve; treat others as we would like to be treated and this all goes away.
Remember win with class and act like you’ve been there before.
GO BULLS!
Posted by Sanjay, Ft. Myers on 09/17 at 07:36 AM
UF-Miami is a rivalry game, and you can understand there being some heated emotions. Kansas? Our fans are going to be obnoxious to Kansas?
I did not see the type of behavior being complained about, but I did hear the “FU KU” chants on the way out. That was unnecessary.
Posted by Allen Brown, Tampa on 09/17 at 07:14 AM
There is no reason for the national media to focus on our game when the UF-Miami game was far worse in terms of ejections and arrests. I’m not that worried about a few bad people.
1 fan was arrested for going on the field. I doubt that disturbed many Kansas fans. I sure hope it didn’t.
Posted by Harold Wheeler, Tampa on 09/17 at 06:37 AM
You can have a lot of fun with visiting fans without being abusive. And you especially need to tone it down when kids are around.
Plus some people just can’t handle the alcohol unfortunately. Old and young.
Don’t be surprised if this doesn’t pop up somewhere in the national press if it keeps up. Last weeks issue have been pretty well chronicled on the internet.
The idiots out there need to straighten up before we get a bad rep.
Posted by Dr. Rob Ritter, on 09/17 at 06:26 AM
Allen,
I too was at the UCF game and on campus for a few hours before the game tailgating. I was uncomfortable after the game ended on the way out to the car. I have never seen a more hostile crowd than that night. They yelled everything in their very small vocabulary at myself and my wife. If that is the way USF fans acted to KU fans last Friday night, we have a lot to be ashamed of. This is not what college football is about, that’s professional football. We cannot allow this to continue, we need to conduct ourselves in a classy way like other big time programs and their fans do!
Posted by Allen Brown, Tampa on 09/16 at 11:04 PM
Wow, what a bunch of whiners. I must have heard the same kinds of things at UCF more than 200 times. I never felt threatened. I was on their campus all day and most people you pass had something ignorant to say. Just ignore them or come back at them. It’s just verbal. Now, I did have a beer fan thrown at me, luckily short and empty, but seeing as how there is no report of that at our game, I don’t see the big deal.
Oh no, young people telling you to go home! Whatever shall I do?! Seriously, I don’t do stuff like this, but it’s not a big deal.
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Posted by Matthew Mitchell, Raleigh, NC on 09/17 at 08:12 AM
The worst football environment I have ever seen was in Starkeville, MS for a Mississippi State game. They fill up the back of their pickup trucks with water and act like it’s a hot tub, drinking for HOURS before a game. They yell at opposing fans and shake cowbells in their faces.