I think we need to stop using the "F*ck You Akron" chant. Its classless and it makes us seem very trashy like Akron. Last night we embarrassed ourselves by doing that. Keep in mind children, grandparents and others go to that game for entertainment and it supports our Flashes. Having a student section chant profanities does not make that a good time for them and could potentially hurt our attendance.
I hate Akron just as much as the next guy, but come on? Show some class, we are Kent State, not the community college down the road.
We should be able to come up with more clever chants than that.
Just my 2 cents.
Amen jFlash. My 6 yr old son kept asking what they were saying.
I would agree with that too, I couldn't even get into the student section last night but you could hear the chants all around the arena. I don't think it's an issue of "not sinking to the level of akron," it's more of an issue of having class. On an issue like this one there is no reason to bring comparison into it.
On another note, it would be nice to see that many faithfuls in the stands every night. I understand it could get a bit expensive to come out to every home game, but students don't have an excuse. You can't just be a fan when Akron rolls into town. There was an article in the Kent Stater yesterday talking about how out of the 8 teams with as many 20 win, consecutive seasons as us, we have the worst attendance and following. It would NOT have been easy for anybody to win against us in that kind of atmosphere. Even without the profane chanting the environment was just downright hostile.
I was at the Ohio U game on Saturday and they had an impressing turnout for their massive arena. I don't see why 6000 a game is so difficult for us. All you have to do is start handing tickets out to elementary school kids and they will drag their dads along.
jflash07 Wrote:I think we need to stop using the "F*ck You Akron" chant. Its classless and it makes us seem very trashy like Akron. Last night we embarrassed ourselves by doing that. Keep in mind children, grandparents and others go to that game for entertainment and it supports our Flashes. Having a student section chant profanities does not make that a good time for them and could potentially hurt our attendance.
I hate Akron just as much as the next guy, but come on? Show some class, we are Kent State, not the community college down the road.
We should be able to come up with more clever chants than that.
Just my 2 cents.
I agree. I don't ever remember anything like that for the three years I regularly attended games in the student section. Granted, we always had a few choice words for the officials and the opposing teams players/coaches. but it never consisted of a profanity-laced chant from the whole section. We also never through anything on the court. Even though it was being chanted by the whole section (mob mentality), it was probably started by the handful of drunk freshmen and sophomores that seem to show up to one or two games a year.
Sadly, I would not bring my daughter (12) to KSU-UA game at either facility, or to a football game between the schools, either. What does that say about things?
ksugldnflshs Wrote:We also never through anything on the court.
...never THREW anything on the court. Can't read...can't write...
Kballard122 Wrote:On another note, it would be nice to see that many faithfuls in the stands every night. I understand it could get a bit expensive to come out to every home game, but students don't have an excuse. You can't just be a fan when Akron rolls into town.
When Mike Scott was asked about the crowd in the post game press conference he even mentioned how great it would be if we could get crowds like that every game. It's too bad we do not because you can tell it means a lot to the players to have the crowd behind them.
I agree - I was at the Akron/Kent volleyball match in the JAR last Fall and they had a bunch of their students show up to pretty much have a "lets see who can behave the worst" contest. I thought then that I was glad I've never had to put up with that stuff in the MACC - until last night. It's too bad, because local families will stop attending rather than subject themselves to that kind of behavior, all because of a few immature students.
HOWEVER, I've also been to some of the women's games where a bunch of old guys sit down in the front row and think it's their job to harass the refs. In my mind that's no better than the immature students....just throwing that out there.
Flashs Wrote:Kballard122 Wrote:On another note, it would be nice to see that many faithfuls in the stands every night. I understand it could get a bit expensive to come out to every home game, but students don't have an excuse. You can't just be a fan when Akron rolls into town.
When Mike Scott was asked about the crowd in the post game press conference he even mentioned how great it would be if we could get crowds like that every game. It's too bad we do not because you can tell it means a lot to the players to have the crowd behind them.
I agree w/ Mike Scott. Where are these people during the non Akron games. Are these the ones who throw crap on the floor ? Normally our "student sections" are well behaved and somewhat knowlegable. What happened yesterday was embarrasing. I know it was only a few students who did the throwing. It's great to have a large number of students at the game rather than the couple hundred that Akron has at their home games. Maybe the trash throwers should stay home and let someone in who wants to watch one of the great games in this rivalry.
The reason the student section was so misbehaved yesterday...The Akron-Kent game is attended mostly by students who have not gone to a game all college but this one. the 1st couple foul shots you could see the true fans, the ones that knew our traditions when either team is at the line (by the 2nd half the rest of students figured it out). At the end I tried getting the "We are Kent State" Chant going, but everyone around us looked at us weird bc they had never heard it. The true fans will be there against WMU. I would like the **** akron to stop, but I know it probably won't. Although last years **** LeBron and LeBron's B**** to Akron was amusing.
In my experience, more than a few of the extra students that only show up the rivalry game are ones you generally don't want returning for any others. It's sort of a trade; you're getting more people, but you're getting a lot more dumb people.
I have heard choice things from Akron fans, I hear choice things from KSU fans. If you are in a bigger confrence, things get uglier between rivals. I was called pretty much every insult after leaving the Q last year, after losing to Akron in the MAC. And that was after I apologised to the Akron fans who were sitting in front me, who was hearing insults from our student section. Did they deserve it? NO. Did I deserve it? NO. Is the F-Akron cheer necessicary? NO. Is the Golden Showers cheer necessicary? NO.
My point?? It is what it is. It sucks, its tacky. No Kent State fan should ever say Akron is at some low level of class. No Akron fan should say that about Kent.
I'm not sticking up for anyone. If you are ashamed about what was going on, I understand. But realize that we are not at some new lowpoint in testelessness. Unless you are talking about the Walsh/Malone rivalry, you are going to get that.
I agree with all the posters. I think we should be able to bring kids to these games without having to worry about this @@#@@ and foul language and behavior.
Somewhat off topic but to the point; I took a visitor from the Balkans to her first baseball game. She was fascinated by the game and the modern stadium until the end of the 4th inning, when it dawned on her that people were drinking and that there were plenty of children around in the seats. She expected the behavior of Euro soccer hooligans and was afraid for the children. We need to try to preserve that kind of atmosphere.
I do not want to see our rivalry descend into the Georgia -Florida football game I saw years ago with more action in the fights in the stands than on the field.
If they keep the drunk underclassmen out, I assure you, many of these problems would be much less severe. I agree with several of you that the regulars who attend games are much more in-control of their mouths. But these big games bring out the one-timers who feel the need to get hammered and come to the games. I saw it multiple times when I went, and I am sure it hasn't changed in the 4 years since I've been on-campus. Perhaps security should start ejecting these idiots and send a message to the rest of them to behave themselves. I never understood the mentality that just because you have a ticket it gives you the right to lose control.