To the Editor: I’ve been to a lot of sporting events. I like to watch the games, the athletes, the cheerleaders. But there’s something I always pay attention to: the fans. I look at how many fans are there, how loud they are, and recently, I’ve been paying attention to their behavior. Every time I go to a game, there’s always a fan there who, in my opinion, probably should be removed from the building because they’re yelling something dumb during the entire game. Every sports team—high school, college, or professional—has fans like that, someplaces worse than others. At a few recent sporting events, I’ve noticed some of our own fans doing some things in the stands that I don’t like. Constant yelling at the referee, shouting insults at the other team, or simply booing the other team onto the field (or court) have become really common. These are all unnecessary and useless. Yelling at the referee doesn’t solve anything, it just makes the ref. hate us and make more calls against our team. Shouting insults does the same thing, and it really embarasses the coaches and the players on the field to hear their own fans shouting insults at the other team like that. And, while booing the other team isn’t quite as bad as the others, it’s also completely useless. It psyches up the other team for the game, and overall, it just shows bad class. So what if the other team’s fans do it, let’s show them why we’re better than them. Just be as silent as possible, that’ll be enough to show them they’re not welcome, and they won’t be psyched up by it either. Now, if you think I’m making us sound bad, these are actually nothing compared to what I’ve seen from other schools, which include the following: At the Boys’ State Soccer tournament last year, Ames got a penalty kick and then someone turned on their car alarm to try to distract our PK kicker (and it worked, he missed). In that same game, the Dowling fans twice had to be removed from the restricted area behind the goals, the second time with a security guard. I’ve also been made fun of at a basketball game in Newton after the girls’ team lost, and I think you’ve all heard about the incident with Tony Dempsey and the Ankeny JV players. The thing is, there really isn’t much discipline. None of these events were really punished; the Ankeny soccer coach even tried to cover for his player by saying, “he’s Bosnian, he couldn’t have been shouting racist comments.” Unfortunately, I can’t do anything about the “kids” from the other schools, but I can do this. For those of you who like to go to games, let’s really show everyone why Ames is the best school in the nation. Go to the games, support your friends in the game, but let’s cut back on all the negative actions. Let’s try to stay positive, and overall, let’s go out there and win. Let’s set a good example for all the other schools. Sincerely, sophomore Mazdak Mina