Respect for the Game

Final score:

Colorado School of Mines Division II Soccer team - 0

Major League Soccer Franchise Colorado Rapids - 2

Surprise, surprise, the underdog didn't pull out the upset. But who really expected them to? I can name approximately 3,500 students that even if they were not present at the game, at least would have liked to see Mines pull one out. I had the pleasure of attending this game and got to see the one disallowed goal that Mines managed to put in the net. As a side comment, I must give respect to all the players on Mines' roster that held the Rapids to only two goals, and even more respect for the defense. Great game, guys. I believe they deserve some credit. The Mines roster can be found here: http://www.athletics.mines.edu/Sports/Soccer/Men%27s/2005%20Season/05roster.htm.

So why then am I choosing to describe The Brad Side of Things of this situation? At this game I also had the pleasure of sitting behind three of the most clueless and obnoxious fans the sport of soccer has ever seen: Three friends -- two men and a woman, who seem to have no grasp on what it takes to play soccer. Even their basic description some may find appalling. They were diehard Rapids fans cheering antagonistically for their Rapids against a Division II college team. Now I can see how the Rapids have allure to fans -- they are no Real Madrid, but soccer in this country has been increasing in popularity, Colorado has a fairly decent team, and the game only cost $7.

So, no doubt there are going to be Rapids fans, and with Rapids fans comes cheering for the Rapids even in this venue, which did occur in surprisingly high numbers. The thing that was missing was the appreciation of how the sport of soccer is played.

On every play, the tumultuous trio would chip in with comments of how the "yellow team sucks" (The referees in soccer commonly wear yellow, for those who may be unfamiliar) and how every call against the Rapids was hogwash and how every play not called against the Orediggers should have been. Every defensive play Mines made against MLS forwards was regarded as error on the side of the Rapids player. Every example of good ball movement by the Orediggers was disregarded and ignored. Anything that Mines ended up doing well was either ignored or blamed as a fault of the Rapids by these three.

Back in the bleachers, all talent on the Mines sideline was being completely disregarded by these three. Does anyone have any idea the courage it takes to go and ask the professional team in your sport to come to your field and play a scrimmage? CSM is a Division II team in soccer that only got its first playoff birth in 2005. Yes, they made it past the first round in the playoffs and lost to the eventual champion, but that doesn't mean they are ready to go pro. To hold a professional soccer team to two-nil is worth commending. Not for these three.

Instead, one of the guys was too busy trying to convince H2O, the Rapids' mascot, to perform a lewd sexual gesture to his amusement. Mind you, the stadium was then filled with hundreds of kids from various Colorado youth soccer leagues.

After the match ended, I decided to be bold and confront the trio. I simply asked them if they had any children. To which, they all replied that they did in fact not have any children, which was easy to assume, given their behavior. I then put forth a hypothetical. I asked them to imagine that they had a son or daughter playing for a 12-and-under youth soccer team that decides to challenge the local high school team. I then told them to imagine one of the high school player's parents, sitting near them, obnoxiously saying how the they should be blowing out these guys 9-0 and giving no respect to the younger, more inexperienced team. I then asked how they would feel in that situation, with their child's team trying so hard to overcome the odds and prove something. I then simply told them to remember that situation, and walked away. Both the guys I could hear over my shoulder muttering about what I meant, and thinking that they did nothing wrong.

In the end, Mines walked off that field defeated. A bunch of guys at a Division II school, a school that produces primarily engineers, not athletes, lost to a team of paid professionals at what they do. The Rapids walked off that field with self-assurance that they in fact were better than a lowly college team. And I walked off that field realizing that not everyone appreciates the underdog, or the true meaning of sportsmanship and respect for the game.