Heckling is its own sports

Mocking and heckling poorly-performing sports teams is an age-old American pastime.  Whether it is at a Major League baseball game or an amateur hockey match, one can often be found laughing about an opponent, a school’s team, somebody who had a bad game or even their own performance. Either way, everybody has the right to make such a classic form of entertainment more entertaining. Watching sports is an emotional journey for most people. Your choice to be happy, sad, annoyed or humiliated by your team or another all becomes part of the experience regardless of whether you are physically present in the arena or in the comfort of your own home. Everyday, people indulge in utter excitement or demoralizing sadness after they witness their team dominate a game, or underperform. Considering all of the other emotions people accept can go into the experience of watching sports, there is no reason why humor can’t be one of those common sensations. For as long as sports and other games have been around, they have acted as a common form of entertainment. The rush of adrenaline you get when a player on your team throws a pass, and the feeling of defeat and disappointment that you are overcome with when the pass turns into an interception. All of it is part of the fun of watching the game.  Another common, universal form of entertainment is laughing, especially regarding the lighthearted misfortune of others. Take the internet and YouTube for example; many people find it laughable when they watch people fall over, hurt themselves and make mistakes, and nobody seems to have a problem with that. Comedy in regards to sports is the same thing, it’s just innocent and devoted fans and hecklers laughing at people falling over and making mistakes, and what’s the harm in that? Though making fun of sports teams may be fun and entertainment in itself, it differs from being rude and disrespectful. When people single out players and coaches by referring to them in rude ways in person or to others, that is where the line is drawn. It is never acceptable to personally attack somebody in a manner that you nor them will find humorous or lighthearted. By demeaning and damaging the reputation of these sports teams, you are no longer making fun of their performance--you are attacking them as people. Insulting them would create a bad environment for everyone. Overall, it should be absolutely acceptable to taunt poorly performing sports teams, as it adds to the fun of the game and can even lead to more publicity. Think about it, would you rather go watch an average team play that you have never heard about, or would you instead go and see the team that has built notoriety around campus or on social media for occasionally making laughable plays? The entertainment and success of sports not only comes from a team and the game itself, but the passionate fans who will stop at nothing to share their debatable opinion about a subpar sports team, whether or not that opinion is positive or negative.