There I was, a little before nine on a Friday night in Missoula, while around 10 obnoxious boys wearing odd outfits were jeering me.

It was the final two minutes of the varsity basketball game against Missoula Sentinel, and we Lady Rustlers were losing by some 30 points. Still, this gang of “fans” that stuck around until the bitter end felt it necessary to chant “butterfingers” at me when a bullet of a pass was tipped before slipping through my fingers, resulting in a turnover for my team.

Why do these boys think it is cool to make fun of me, a junior varsity player coming in at the end of the game, when we are already losing by double digits? Would they make fun of me in a non-sports environment? Would they be holding umbrellas and wearing swimsuits either?

I never had been the subject of negative cheers until that night, and I have to say it didn’t feel good. I was sad enough about our team getting dismantled by Sentinel, and this jeering made me feel worse.

With that being said, I am asking all CMR fans to act the right way.

Don’t be a jerk to someone who is playing. Just because you are standing in the student section and it’s during a game doesn’t mean you can say whatever you want to people. Imagine having rude things yelled at you while you’re trying to focus and play and have fun.

If you are a boy and at any time are screaming mean things to a girl while she’s trying to bounce a basketball, take a step back and realize what you’re doing. You’re not being cool.

It’s not worth it to heckle opposing players. In fact, it has no effect on the game. However, getting excited for your team and cheering positively for them, not negatively against the other team, adds energy to the game that your players feed off.

And if you think you’re so cool you have to call the other team ugly or bad players, get out of the stands and get on the floor. Maybe then you’ll understand the stupidity of some fans.