Penn State's Fans: The Worst in College Football?

I've just been reading an intriguing piece about crowd trouble at football games that was highlighted by a front page picture of fans tearing down goalposts, which everyone else thinks is a pretty romantic notion. That includes ESPN, which see rushing the field as something romantic.

But now, that sort of outpouring of delirium is seen as trouble.

Before I get to the Penn State bit of this article, I was pretty stunned to find out that a Red Sox fan had been reprimanded for using the "S" word when his beloved pitcher gave up a dinger at Fenway Park.

What is the world coming to when you can't use the odd epithet when being at a game. In the UK, it's all part of the chanting! OK, there are some people who go over the top (nobody's perfect when it comes to bad language—particularly at a sports event in which you are passionately involved in), but isn't that part of the game.

It shouldn't be, but isn't it?

Anyway, back to the boys at State College. According to ESPN, Penn State police reported 397 incidents in 2008, 62 percent of which involved alcohol. That's more than double the estimated 177 incidents in 2006. Over those three years, the highest number, 101 incidents, came on Oct. 27, 2007, during a game against Ohio State.

Behavior at the 2005 game wasn't great either. And we're certainly not proud of the behavior outside the frat house in 2007 , which saw OSU fans bombarded with cans.

Those are the sort of things which let us down, Nittany Nation.

Stunningly, the ESPN report paints the Buckeyes fans as whiter than the driven snow with fewer than five arrests per year and five ejections per game. Obviously, they didn't catch the Buckeyes fans who threw buckeye nuts at a friend of mine who went to the Illinois against OSU game in 2007, and the Penn State fan who had their car smashed up at the Horseshoe.

Having said that, the Buckeyes HAVE been cleaning up their image with the Good Sportsmanship Program—something that ought to be encouraged across every single NCAA campus.

Georgia fans are pretty awful too, according to ESPN, with 300 people ejected per game. One can suspect most of that is for bringing illegal booze into games (not that that would ever happen in a college football game), because I've been to Athens twice and both times the language certainly hasn't been poor (unless you count the screams of rage after the SEC official call in 2009!).

Listen, bad language is always going to be a part of the game. It shouldn't be, but it is.

Unfortunately, we, at the VFA, can understand the authorities if they boot fans out for bringing booze into games, because it's their fault. Fighting should end up in a lifetime ban. But swearing? Can they not turn a blind eye like the UK stewards and police do every Saturday because they are happier that there's no crowd trouble if fans can blow off steam a little?

And West Virginia fans? Apparently couch burnings are in with a victory.

And being an away player and getting whiskey bottles thrown at you? Christ, how about being a home player for Notre Dame, when the student section threw snowballs at you during the Syracuse game last year (giggle!). Snowballs are one thing (Penn State nearly got a penalty for throwing snowballs at Minnesota players in the 2009 game), but marshmallows (the world's best idea at a Penn State game)? Shut up!

We could go on and on, but let's face the facts. If you're an away fan, it's never going to be fun rooting for your team in the home stand.

To be fair, you shouldn't really be there in the first place. You should be with your own fans. But if you are an away fan sitting in a home end, then expect to get heckled. After all, you're not just stupid for wearing your team's clothes in another's section, you're reckless.

But if someone throws a missile—be it a bottle or anything else—then make sure he or she gets their butt thrown out of the game.

That is being out of order. But consistent and funny heckling? That should only be admired. And you should leave sharpish if your team wins on a last second, B.S. call. You can always go and find your fellow away fans by darting over to their end when the stadium empties.

Before we sign off, remember one thing:

If you're a visiting fan in a home section, you're lucky if you get away with the odd "***hole" chant or a finger or 10 thrown in your direction. In the some UK soccer grounds, your butt would be booted out of the stadium, and secondly, the actual percentages of those getting thrown out to those who attend the games week in and week out are comparatively low (Penn State's 397 compared to an attendance of around 800,000 for the year? I'd say college football has it pretty good).

The question is: Who do you think are the worst fans in college football?

If you want to know what bad is, can I suggest you YouTube the West Ham against Millwall riots from earlier this soccer season?

Now, back to Penn State. This amused me, anyway.