Behavior at high school football game unacceptable
I’m new to attending the weekly football games for our Upper St. Clair High School team as my daughter is in the band and I attend the games to see her perform. While this usually a pleasant evening out, this past Friday’s game against Bethel Park was not. I never expected to see and hear such disrespectful fans for a high school event as evidenced by the Bethel Park attendees. Even before the teams took to the field, the Bethel Park attendees were booing our band and players while performing the opening numbers. They paused briefly to cheer the Bethel Park football team as they entered the stadium, only to return to booing the USC football team as they entered the field. This unsportsmanlike conduct was repeated all throughout the game, even though Bethel Park was clearly wining from the start. There were very rude chants, booing, and even baby powder “bombs” thrown while our band was preparing for the half time show in front of the visitor’s bleachers, and all throughout the game. In the last quarter of the game, an entire section of the Bethel Park visitors cleared the stands in an attempt to storm the field during the game. Thankfully, they were stopped by security. The worst offenders seemed to be students who kept themselves isolated in one section of the bleachers, but their behavior reflects poorly for everyone from the visiting team’s side.
I understand that there will always be some kind of rivalry between some regional teams, and I felt the behavior of the Bethel Park attendees to be completely disrespectful, unsportsmanlike, and reflects very poorly for the Bethel Park band, football team, parents and the entire community. When I was in the marching band, we would never have been allowed to behave so poorly. Is this the kind of behavior the Bethel Park School District encourages? Where there not chaperones to keep some semblance or order among the students bused in to attend the game? Why were the parents not stepping up to control this unruly behavior?
Mark Chiocca
Upper St. Clair