Ryan’s Rants

The University of Northern Iowa fall athletic season has yet to get underway from a fan's perspective, leaving me with yet another column to fill with my random and often unintelligent "rants" regarding anything to do with sports. My love for sports has taken me to a lot of events over my lifetime, which has given me plenty of time to compile my top five pet peeves at sporting events.

My number five biggest pet peeve at a sporting event are all the fans who get cocky when their team wins, and can't take the heat when their team loses. Unfortunately, as UNI fans we encounter these people on numerous occasions when we play Iowa and Iowa State in football. In 2007, when our football team was going to Ames to play the Cyclones, all I heard was how bad we were going to get smashed. After the big win I started texting every Cyclone fan I knew, but I kept receiving the same response, "We are Iowa State, we always suck at football!" I suppose it shouldn't bother me that much however, because they are actually correct.

My number four pet peeve is the attention-seeking injured player. I can't stand to watch a player go down in a heap during any sport, receive medical attention and then make a miraculous recovery while sprinting off the field. Besides a shot to the unmentionables, athletes should realize the difference between an injury and a boo-boo.

The number three pet peeve for me at sporting events is when fans leave early. I obviously understand if a fan leaves for an emergency or if they have prior commitments, but heading to the parking lot to hammer another beverage is ridiculous. The UNI-Dome can certainly get rocking for about an hour and a half on Saturdays, but after halftime the place is a graveyard. If you are paying for a ticket, stay until the end and support your team.

My number two pet peeve is the random fan at a game supporting a team that isn't even on the field. A baseball cap worn to a football game isn't what I am talking about here, but I get irked when I see a fan walking into a Braves vs. Cubs game wearing a Dodgers jersey and hat. What is this gentleman trying to prove? If this dude was THAT big of a Dodgers fan, why didn't he just stay home and watch his team on TV, instead of parading his L.A. pride around a venue that is hundreds of miles from Los Angeles?

My number one pet peeve is one that has bothered me for years. I have absolutely zero patience for the belligerent, uninformed fan. The one occasion that sticks out to me the most also came during the 2007 UNI football season. In 2007, there was a great game played between our Panthers and the Southern Illinois Salukis during homecoming. The Dome was completely packed with 17,074 fans, and the most obnoxious individual obviously chose to sit directly behind me. I tried to remain calm for most of the game, but after the Salukis made a field goal I heard, "(explicit) you ref!" Maybe I just pride myself too much on my football intelligence, but I couldn't understand how it was the official's fault that the Salukis kicked the ball through the uprights. I proceeded to totally freak out on this football whiz and they started to redirect their criticisms towards me in a way that would surely disappoint their parents.

If you have found yourself guilty of any of these offenses, don't worry, I will probably never say anything to you personally. To the fan I freaked on, I sincerely apologize; I wasn't happy about the field goal either. And finally, go Panthers!