Fowl Sportsmanship at SCAR

Jan 21, 2016, 2:27 PM

Wa wa wa. I feel this is the first sporting event this girl ever attended.

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Letter to the Editor: "Fowl Shot" promotion endorses poor sportsmanship

This weekend I attended the men’s basketball game against Missouri with some friends. It was a good game to watch, and I had a great time supporting my school’s team; however, I was absolutely appalled by the portrayal of unsportsmanlike conduct that not only our fans but our administration exhibited.

During the second half, it was announced that a Chick-Fil-A sponsored “Fowl Shot” was in place, meaning that if our guests, Missouri, missed two consecutive foul shots, the crowd would receive a free Chick-Fil-A sandwich at participating locations. I, along with almost the entire crowd of people at the Columbia Life Arena that day, came to support the Gamecocks, not to tear down the Missouri Tigers.

If it were not enough poor sportsmanship to have the student section collectively yell “sucks,” after each starting player from our guest team was announced, the administration and a popular fast food restaurant involved themselves in the degradation of our opposing team, to whom the scoreboard refers as “guests.”

I love my school and love supporting our sports teams, but I do not agree with the sports management administration encouraging fans to cheer for our opponent’s failure. Why not make the “Fowl Shot” promotion for the Gamecocks scoring two consecutive shots, or making multiple 3-point shots? It would be great incentive for the team to make those shots because they know how much the crowd loves free food, and great incentive for the crowd to cheer on the players.

This seemingly small move marked not only the crowd as unsportsmanlike, but our school as a whole. Missouri may have been our opponent that day, but they were also the guest team and deserved to be treated as such.

— Paige Pierce, a third-year public health major

http://www.dailygamecock.com/article/2016/01/letter-to-the-editor-fowl-shot