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A little Hoosier Hysteria

Categories: IN THIS CORNER

We Hoosiers love our basketball.  Growing up I couldn’t play the game often enough. I used to shoot an hour a day… and I didn’t even play on a school team beyond age 15. Even this week we’re putting up a new goal at the house because my son has withdrawal symptoms from shooting hoops. 

This past week the Indiana University team stage an incredible finish over [then] #1 Kentucky.  Enjoy the pandemonium, er, hysteria:

It’s the kind of hysteria that HOOSIERS, the movie, captured well in its final scene:

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  • Jim Hampton

    It really was a great game and the explosion at the end of the game was epic. However, comparing it to Hooisers the movie (perhaps one of the top two sports movies ever) is a bit over the top, I think.

    I had a friend who attended the game with his father and two brothers. They chose to wear UK shirts to root for their team. They stopped for food at a local eatery beforehand and were continually abused by IU fans from the moment they entered until they left. (Not just “We’re going to beat you” but “You mother f***ers are going to get the S***beat out of you by the team and by us” type abuse.) During the game, they had people in their face shouting obscenities, trying to pick fights, intentionally jostling them hard, and pouring beer on them. And even when they complained to the security people, they laughed and said, “What do you expect wearing that sort of s*** in our house?” Not exactly Hoosier hospitality. :-)

  • Hope Zeller

    Terry-

    This was a fun game to experience… definitely a wild ride and excitement all around.

    I wanted to write to Jim that made a comment about the game:

    Jim-

    I’m so sorry that your friends experienced that kind of treatment. There is no excuse for that kind of behavior and during the game, the students made some inappropriate chants, signs, and gestures. As a hoosier fan (and family member) some of the behavior was embarrassing, if you’d ask me.

    While there is no excuse, I’m not surprised by this behavior. Hoosier fans LOVE their basketball and are obsessed with the game and players. They literally LIVE to watch the success of the team and have been waiting for years to experience some excitement. Their over flow of excitement is displayed, however, in not so nice way.

    However, when my in-laws visited UK for the UNC vs UK game, they experienced the same kind of treatment that your friends experienced when they wore UNC gear. UK fans were rude, mean, and yelled hurtful words about my brother-in-law that plays on the team. While the Hoosiers showed alot of passion (and some inappropriate behavior), it is a common experience for many passionate college basketball programs. In my opinion, it is on the brink of getting out of control, if it isn’t already in some instances.

    Instead of disrespect for the opposing teams at sporting events, the crowds can show respect and support for their own teams. The sporting society is taking a turn and their needs some definite intervention. There are sanctions for players and coaches for inappropriate behavior but not yet for the fans. Unfortunately, I fear that it may come to that eventually.

    Again, I apologize to your friends for that experience. I wish it would have been different, but it’s important to say that it is not solely a “Hoosier experience” as it is a college basketball experience. And unfortunately, without any sanctions for the crowds, there is a possibility for it to only get worse. I pray for the sporting event culture, and these experiences are exactly why our family has started a non-profit organization to teach character within the sports world.

  • http://www.terrylinhart.com Terry Linhart

    Ah Jim, so sorry for your friends’ experience. That’s deplorable. And so wrong/evil at so many levels (that no one stepped in to stop the behavior). Seems like this type of thing is becoming more common.

    I hate when that kind of thing happens anywhere, but especially in my home state (even as a Purdue grad).

    Regarding the post and comparison, clearly I was a fan from a distance watching the excitement of a
    last-second shot in both instances.

  • Jim Hampton

    Thanks, Hope, for your note. I wasn’t pointing this out simply to “out” IU fans…as a proud graduate of the University of Kansas, I’ve seen similar behavior on display there. I simply pointed it out in reaction to Terry’s post.

    I agree totally that the issue is not just with IU fans, but with college basketball in general. (Really, a lot of sports are this way.) We’ve allowed the success of a team to dictate not just our actions, but our attitudes and our language. If our team loses, it’s been shown that people actually suffer much more depression than on average, and that depression causes them to say and do things they would not normally do.

    I worry that our culture has become so infatuated with sports that we’ve forgotten what it means to be civil to one another, to cheer for our team without having to simultaneously denigrate the other team, and to understand that the players on the other team are someone’s son or daughter, not just some nameless/faceless number.

    I’m grateful for the non-profit your family has started, and certainly pray that it will be used to make a difference.