Daily Double - Hell is a Little Cold Edition

1. First topic, booing. Is booing your right as a fan? When is the acceptable time to boo? Is it okay to boo pro athletes? College athletes? High-school? Steve Kelley of the Seattle Times, presents his objections to the Washington Interscholastic Activities Association proposed Boo Ban.
   
   I generally agree with Steve in the fact that I believe the ban is directed at the playful-taunting booing that occurs at most high school sporting events. I can vividly remember being at many a high school basketball game as a teenager where I and my fellow students would hurl insults at the opposing team. It was not intended to be harmful or hurtful and often the insults weren’t even true. It was just funny and juvenile humor is the most beloved genre of humor around. I present the recent success of Wild Hogs as exhibit one in defense of my argument. Anyhow, I have no issue with Steve’s argument that playful taunting is part of the allure of sports and that legislating what can and can’t be said is a dangerous road to travel down.
   
   However, I do want to make an argument against another type of booing and insult-hurling. This generally comes not from peers of the athletes, but from others, usually male, who for some reason get upset with high-school athletes. Let me just say that if you are booing a high school athlete, you are a fairly low-level degenerate in my opinion. Sure I’m not for blowing sunshine up someone’s butt and telling them how great they are, but outright public embarrassment is another thing. And, no it’s not the same thing as booing a professional or even college athlete. A professional is being paid outright for his or her services and you, as a paying fan, are allowed to voice your opinion concerning the athlete’s performance. College athletes are not paid outright, but are given compensation for their services. For whatever reason, booing college athletes hasn’t quite caught on yet. It probably has something to do with the supporters of the university feeling some affiliation with the athletes, however vague it might be. The point to all this is that I have no issue with the regulation if it gives school administrators the right to remove patrons who are booing a high school athlete in an abusive manner. Of course, giving school administrators the right to do anything is a disaster waiting to happen. Probably the best recourse is to allow the fans to police themselves. So if you are at a high school sporting event and someone is being a complete ass, do the right thing, ask them to shut up or leave.
   
   
2. I’m about to write words that I swear upon the good Lord himself I never thought I would type. Bill Simmons and I agree on Scoop Jackson. Stop. Let that sink in for a minute. Yes, Bill Simmons. No, I’m not joking. No, it isn’t about the Red Sox. Bill essentially makes the same argument that I made in this space last Thursday.
   
   By the way, a pig just flew by my window.