I received this e-mail forwarded to me from our avid reader (and guest poster) Ben, that gives one Wolverine's fan's "Keys to Heckling" at basketball games:
My keys to heckling are these:
-- Wait for it to be quiet. There is no point of yelling at the same time everybody else does, or if the pep band is playing, etc. You'll get your chance. You may even have to wait for a possession or two, or wait for the calling official to rotate to your side of the court. Be patient.
-- Try to avoid foul language for the kiddies. However, use of the word ass is acceptable. An old favorite of mine that works in any situation is, "Get your head out of your ass!"
-- You only get 3-5 seconds, so make them count. One of my favorite heckles was from the UCLA game a couple of years ago, where Ed Corbett called a terrible charge on us with 5:00 to go as we were trying to rally: "Corbett, if you had one more eye, you'd be a Cyclops!"
-- Use name and personal information wherever possible. My brother and I research this so we are prepared. One official, Sid Rodeheffer, made a bad call on a block/charge. I knew his hometown. So I heckled, "Sid, you can take that call straight back to Findlay, Ohio."
-- Wywrot used to put the officials' names in the game notes PDF on mgoblue.com the day before the game, but he doesn't anymore. I'd like to think I motivated him to take the names out due to all my heckling. But if he thinks taking the names out means I won't be able to identify any ref in the Big Ten, he has sorely underestimated me.
REACT:
This is one reason why NOBODY fears playing in Crisler Arena. Wow. Congratulations, you know the referees by name. And you make references to Greek mythology in your heckling. Heckling in college basketball has to be below the belt for it to be effective. We at Maryland are proud that Duke basketball players called our students merciless in Sports Illustrated for tracking down their Facebook profiles to get ammo to heckle them on. And you need to go after a player or coach's most embarrassing moment... one that you know will burn like hell for them to hear. Much like how J-Red actually goaded Al Groh to come over to the student section at Byrd Stadium by heckling him about his post-9/11 comment about being glad there were no Arabs on his team so that he wasn't afraid to fly with them. I won't even approach the foul language issue. I personally believe that it can be avoided, but that it often times has a very good effect. But this is priceless that this Wolverine fan actually uses these comments as "keys to heckling." That'd be like Helen Keller drafting a pamphlet on "keys to mastering your eye exam."
November 14, 2007
Michigan Wolverines - Bush League Hecklers
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9 Responses:
Well, as I said when I forwarded it to you, I imagined you would disagree with some of it...I guess it turns out all of it.
I think it should be pointed out he specifically goes after the refs, not players and coaches.
Also, no one, and I mean NO ONE, has ever claimed that Crisler or the Big House is loud or intimidating.
But, Jeremy, you've been to Yost Ice Arena. Care to comment on the hockey fans?
I do worship the student fans at Yost. This guy clearly is not one of them.
Going after refs is pointless. They're used to it. The players have only four years high school experience (where they were likely far better than anyone else on the court) and then some college experience. You can actually rattle a player. The refs don't give a shit about a bunch of college kids. They've already dealt with Bob Knight and Coach K and Gary Williams.
J-Red, I won't disagree with you, but at Crisler, there's no point in one individual going after opposing players, either.
The one time I rattled a referee was before a game at Comcast when I yelled "Nice haircut, Duke" at Duke Edsall (after he had obviously just gotten a haircut). It wasn't really heckling, but he actually looked up into the stands (unusual for a ref) and it made Johnny Holiday laugh.
See, Brien has the right idea. If there is one thing a ref is going to be self-conscious about it's a bad haircut or adding a few pounds.
Ahh... the time that I woke up in the morning our senior year at College Park at the house on University and found Duke Edsall passed out on our living room couch. That was slightly startling to say the least. Y'all can e-mail me if you want the full story, I REFUSE to post it on here.
Jeremy, how about you just tell me the story on the 23rd?
The story is true. I have heard it.
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