Like many people, I have been an avid athlete and sports enthusiast since I was a small child.
However, I have always been amused by the variety of crowd "etiquette" that takes place at different sporting events. What is normal for one sport would be completely out of the question at another one.
What started me thinking along those lines was the recent Masters Professional Golf Tournament. Crowd etiquette at golfing events is unique and, in most instances, reserved to say the least.
When a player is getting ready to putt it is like they drop the "cone of silence" as the crowd around the green doesn’t even try to move. Many tournaments actually post tournament people in front of the crowd holding signs that say “Quiet please.” Can you picture that happening in any other sporting event, or better yet the people actually doing it?
What is funny is many times the announcers who are sitting in a booth maybe 100 yards from the action go into "whisper mode" like they are going to disrupt the shot by talking normal.
There have been times where if someone in the crowd accidently coughed during a putt it would bring a glare from the player. It gives the sense that it takes all the concentration in the world to putt a little white ball three feet into a hole.
Of course, that same player who demanded total silence while putting changes their demeanor dramatically if they sink it with a series of fist pumps and gyrations that put Michael Jackson’s moonwalk to shame.
Tennis is the same way, when someone is serving the announcers go into whisper mode right before. However, leading up to it everyone is yelling out encouragement to their favorite player followed by a “shh … shh …" right before the serve.
What is also unique to tennis is the crowd seems to "ohh" and "ahh" over every shot until a point is won. Then they break out some polite cheers followed by more encouragement and yelling until the next serve.
However, that is quite a contrast to professional baseball where when a pitcher gets two strikes on a batter and the whole crowd will sometimes stand and cheer non-stop to strike him out. Makes you kind of chuckle that you don’t need quiet to try and hit a baseball that is coming at you 100 miles an hour while you do to sink a three-foot putt.
At playoff time, they even do curtain-calling standing ovations until the player comes out and tips his hat or waves to the crowd after hitting a homerun. Can you picture a curtain call in golf, football, baseball or hockey after a big play?
What was interesting was during the "fan shutdown" many arenas would pump in appropriate sound for the game even if arena was empty to make the players feel at home.
Likewise, it is the same when a basketball player is shooting a free throw with the game on the line. The whole crowd behind the basket is not only yelling, but they are waving their arms and everything else they can get their hands on to distract the shooter.
And how about football kickers who have to concentrate on putting the ball between a set of narrow goal posts while the crowd screams to distract them and 11 big guys come charging at them to block it. No pressure there at all.
Domed football stadiums and other ones that hold in the sound are also famous for fans cheering like crazy to prevent an opposing team from hearing the offensive signals. You don’t see that happen when a guy is getting ready to putt on the green.
Crowd etiquette – you got to love it.
While golf may be prim and proper around the green, it’s different off the tee and in the fairway. Take for example when a player comes up to hit and everyone is more lively giving them a “let’s go” good luck wish to hit a good shot.
What is funny is at every tournament there is always the guy, who the second the ball is hit, yells out at the top of his lungs “Get in the hole” despite the fact it is the first shot on a 620 yard hole. Boy, would that be something to see a 620 yard hole-in-one, but yelling that is acceptable behavior.
Can you imagine every time Detroit Tiger slugger Miguel Cabrera swings the bat that someone would yell, “Get out of here” like it was going to be a homerun? That would be a little different to say the least.
Of course baseball has some unique crowd etiquette of its own, like if a pitcher can’t seem to throw a strike or a high-priced hitter produces a series of weak ground balls — the crowd boos them. Can you picture the crowd booing Tiger Woods if he hit a shot in the woods or if tennis great Roger Federer hit a couple shots past the back baseline and got the same response?
Hockey fans are a breed amongst themselves. We all have seen the games where an opposing player comes near the boards and the fans pound on the glass. They even cheer when a fight breaks out and an opposing player gets punched to the ice.
Nothing like backing the home team.
Hockey fans even like to donate head apparel on an occasion when a player scores three goals or converts what’s called a “hat trick.” When it happens they all toss their hats on the ice to show their appreciation.
Maybe baseball fans should do the same, throwing 100 Grand candy bars for every grand slam homerun or bird feathers when someone gets a birdie or an eagle in golf.
Ahh … yes American sports fans are unique to say the least, but what about soccer fans in Europe who often begin singing or whistling during the game. Now that would be very different.
Hopefully, it’s a tradition that doesn’t take hold in America before I see you again on Thursday.
Ken Grabowski is the retired associate editor at the Manistee News Advocate. He can be reached at grubba65@yahoo.com.
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April 22, 2021 at 11:16PM
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KEN GRABOWSKI: Crowd etiquette for American sports can be unique - Manistee News Advocate
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