Jan 31, 2015; Bloomington, IN, USA; Indiana Hoosiers fans and students show support from the stands during the first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at Assembly Hall. The Hoosiers won 72-64. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Dear Indiana University Basketball Fans,

Never Change.

Sincerely,

Some silly freshman from New York that has aspirations to someday work in the sports media industry.

In order to fully understand the sentiment behind that statement, you must first have a proper understanding for the nature of sports, the nature of college, and the nature of our society at large today.

The nature of sports is dynamic and multifaceted, but it comes back to one simple concept. Sports were created as a form of distraction from the stresses of our daily lives. It is as simple as that. Of course the world of sports has grown to be such a large and powerful entity in our lives, but no matter how you slice it, sports are just a distraction.

There are sporting events. There is a winner. There is a loser. We move forward.

Now what this creates is fandom. You can be the most knowledgeable fan or not. You could have memorized the birthday of every Indiana basketball player for the past decade, or you can just show up, root for your team, and hope they come out victorious. Either way, I don’t like you any more or less.

As a fan, what establishes your affiliation to a team is sometimes calculated and sometimes random. You could be from the state of a team, you could have attended the school of the team you support, or it could just be because you like a team’s colors. Either way, I will not question you or your affiliation. And most importantly I will not in any way attempt to degrade your affiliation. Your team is your team and you’re not a good or bad person because you follow them.

No matter what, I would only have one expectation of you, and that is to cheer for your team, and in the scenario that your team faces off against another team, you cheer against your opponents. Simple as that.

Now, the nature of college is similar to that of sports because of how dynamic it is. College is complex, but it all boils down to the simple fact that is all about an education. Students are taking part in new experiences, learning how to transition to adulthood, and attempting to build their future.

These students are impressionable, but intelligent in their own right. Therefore it’s important that they’re treated with at least some facet of respect.

College students also have to dish out a serious amount of cash to get this higher education. That’s why many students chose to stay in-state for their education. Others that come from out of state for their education face an even higher risk than those that are in state by coughing up an aggressively large amount of money for education.

In most cases, those students are putting a large amount of trust into the program they are entering. They are trusting that that program will put them in the place they want to go. Consequently, it’s important to respect them and their affiliation to their university. They are paying their due to attend, and they deserve just as much respect as any other individual attending a university.

Finally, the nature of society today is probably the most complex of it all, but I just want to touch upon one facet of it.

We are now a part of an instant gratification society fueled by social media and technology. People are able to have instant reactions and opinions and post them anywhere. Whether that’s a good thing or not is not what I plan on diving into. I just want to acknowledge that people have the ability to get their message out faster than ever before, and that has led to some people acquiring more publicity than others.

It’s also important to acknowledge that with that easy accessibility, there are people out there that attempt to take advantage of the system. These people tend to say things that they wouldn’t say in person, just to garner more attention.

For those that were unaware, Gregg Doyel of The Indianapolis Star recently released a piece about Northwestern’s point guard Bryant McIntosh and how he was upset after his team’s loss to Indiana. The piece went on to explain that McIntosh was born and raised in Indiana, and that he had dreams of playing for IU. Unfortunately, McIntosh never received an offer and as a result, the “boos” from the IU crowd seemed to hurt him.

This column then led to a bit of an outrage of sorts.

I myself, appreciated his piece. I thought it was a well written article that made me feel something. I read this piece and felt bad. I genuinely did. But, I also put the matter into perspective.

Bryant McIntosh is most likely a great kid. He just happened to not be what Indiana Basketball and Tom Crean wanted at the time. They wanted James Blackmon Jr., and that’s who they got.

Life is about facing rejection and adversity. One must battle past rejection and move forward to the best of their ability.

Bryant McIntosh is like every other kid that got rejected from a school. You have to move past it and do the best with what you can. He’s currently the best player on Northwestern as a sophomore, and he’s probably receiving an incredible education. He’s afforded the opportunity to be a leader for his team, while getting a great education, and doing it all at no cost. Missing out on the opportunity to play for IU may suck, but one can easily argue that the situation he is in right now “ain’t that bad.”

It’s also important to note that Bryant McIntosh was treated like every other opponent is treated. He was treated like every other opponent that comes into Assembly Hall, and probably treated the same way that opponents in other buildings across the country are treated. And that is to be expected.

On Saturday, he was booed when the starting lineups were announced, but so were the other four players in Northwestern’s lineup. Not one boo louder than the other. All the same.

Then later on in the game he was treated to loud chants of “Air-ball, Air-ball, Air-ball” when he released a shot from the 3-pointline which did not reach the backboard. This is known as, you guessed it, an “air-ball.”

If everyone in Assembly Hall knew where he was from, knew his story, and knew his previous dreams to play for IU, then he wouldn’t have been booed. I’m confident enough in the Hoosier faithful to say that.

But as I stated earlier, you don’t need to be the most knowledgeable on a sport, to be a fan.

Those that “professionally” cover college sports need to understand they’re covering sports funded by STUDENTS. Never act like you’re better or smarter than half of your readership

There was not some sheet of paper handed out to all the fans saying “HEY, here’s Northwestern’s best player’s life story, please don’t boo him.”

So, he was treated like everyone else. The whole Northwestern lineup was booed and that’s ok. He was treated to “air-ball” chants after an air-ball, just as Toby Hegner of Creighton was treated to “air-ball” chants earlier in the season. Macintosh was treated no differently, and he shouldn’t have been.

Now, after looking back the game, Indiana fans had an effect on him. He went 2-12, and you can argue that the IU fans had a positive impact on their team’s performance. That is what comes with a home court advantage. That is part of the reason IU is undefeated at home this season. Our fans are unrelenting, but not unjustified. Don’t give away your ability to affect the game as a fan.

Greg Doyel himself even tweeted out after the game that his piece was not about the IU crowd being unfair. His story was simply about a Northwestern player that was bummed by the game and he acknowledged that it happens.

Now, this brings me to my purpose of writing this piece. After the Greg Doyel column, there was some negative backlash on Twitter towards IU fans and their intelligence. So, I would now like to take the time to present you that backlash, respect the opinion of those involved, and then provide my rebuttal to them. I in no way intend to attack the individuals that tweeted. I simply want provide my opinion and inform all Indiana fans that it is imperative that you never change.

These two tweets fit quite nicely together and allow me to come back to some of my earlier points.

Telling students to educate themselves is pretty ironic when that’s exactly what they’re here for. Unfortunately though, that education tends to come in the form of actual things that matter. My roommate is planning on majoring in finance, and my two suitemates are majoring in environmental science and entrepreneurship. Actually, nobody on my floor is majoring in “Sports” or “How to be a Basketball Fan.”

Why?

Because sports are intended to be a distraction. You don’t have to know everything about a team or even an opposing team to root for them.

To call students classless is also a bit ironic. I take 17 credit hours, so I go to class all the time. *bud um chh*

But in all seriousness, treating an individual just like every other opponent shouldn’t be considered classless by any means.

To assume the nature of what occurred on Saturday wouldn’t have happened “back in the day” is unjustified. If students today don’t get it, then when did they? What was different back then that insinuates that today’s students are less understanding?

Ohhhhhhhhhh. Ok. That’s what’s different. The 27.9% of campus that comes from outside of the state of Indiana. The 27.9% of campus that is currently paying three times as much for tuition as those that are in-state. Yes, those individuals.

To quote a Sports Media associate professor at IU, and the Director of the National Sports Journalism Center, “Many of my best students – and most fervent IU fans – are out of state students.”

It’s a shame that those “fervent IU fans” are looked down upon for lack of understanding.

The final tweet of them all is probably the most ludicrous. It’s pretty odd to complain about IU students cheering for IU players and booing opponents. The logic is a bit flawed and draws back to my only expectation of sports fans.

“No matter what, I would only have one expectation of you, and that is to cheer for your team, and in the scenario that your team faces off against another team, you cheer against your opponents. Simple as that.”

I don’t know if anyone should trust my unintelligent out-of-state mind, but I’m pretty sure you’re supposed to cheer for YOUR team.

Attempting to belittle a player that worked hard for his scholarship just to improve your argument about another player that worked hard for their scholarship doesn’t exactly work.

My final say on the matter is as follows.

Those that “professionally” cover college sports need to understand they’re covering sports funded by STUDENTS. Never act like you’re better or smarter than half of your readership. Don’t alienate the ones that allow you to do what you do and remember to be humble.

To all Indiana University Basketball Fans,

Do not change. Support your team how you like and don’t belittle others that support their team in their own way. You can know every little factoid or nothing at all. Just enjoy the experience and distraction that is sports, and move forward.

Sincerely,

That same silly freshman