SPORTS FAN ETIQUETTE
(From the Emily Post Institute)

The Golden Rule of Spectating, “Keep it positive!”
How do you know when to draw the line when rooting for your favorite team? Simple. You should feel free to shout as much encouragement for your teams as you can possibly muster. But when your yelling shifts from being encouraging to derogatory – that’s when you stopped playing a supportive role as a spectator.
Any time that you shout encouragement, the players on the field will feed off that energy. On the other hand if your comments or cheering turns negative and you start berating or putting down the opponents, your own players, coaches or referees, the effect will not only be counterproductive, but you’ll also make people around you feel uncomfortable. Bottom line: cheer all you want, but keep it positive.

When Fans Go Too Far
Maybe it has to do with being an anonymous face in the crowd, but some people seem to think that when they are at a sporting event they somehow have the right to ignore the feelings of everyone around them. Take, for instance, the fan who yells at a ref, coach, or player during a ballgame. Incensed at the latest close call, bad decision or physical mistake, he lets fly with a string of highly uncomplimentary comments at the top of his lungs. I’ve seen the people around the yeller literally cringe at this sort of diatribe. What I really wonder, though, is what his boss, business associates, clients, spouse and children are thinking? Is it really possible to respect this person in the other roles they play when they exhibit such a lack of emotional maturity at this sporting venue? “Hey, it’s a free country,” the yeller may argue, “I’ve paid for the privilege to be at this game, and I can yell if I want to!” He’s right, it is a free country and those people who have had to witness his juvenile behavior are free to treat him as a social pariah or better yet, to watch him be ejected by game management personnel for his asinine behavior.

Spectating at Your Kid’s Sports Events
We are so proud of our kids. We want them to do well. We want their team to be the best. And sometimes we get carried away: we see a call that seems to be unfair, and we scream at the ref. We see the coach take our son or daughter out of the game, and we scream at the coach. We see a teammate make a bonehead play, and we scream at the teammate. We see our own son or daughter miss a play that they’ve made a hundred times before in the back yard, and we scream at him or her. All this screaming DOES NOT work! The umpire is not going to change his call, the coach is not about to suddenly see things your way, bow to the stands in subservience and send your kid back in; the teammate isn’t about to suddenly turn into a Gold Glove candidate. And you son or daughter is now more likely to be focused on your incessant embarrassing screaming than on his or her play.