It was a perfect night at the Rochester Rec Center Thursday night until the end.

Sunday, March 04, 2001

It was a perfect night at the Rochester Rec Center Thursday night until the end.

Several over zealous and frankly rude fans put a damper on what was a great night of hockey and what had been an excellent demonstration of enthusiastic support.

Unfortunately in one brief flurry, a group of Austin fans left a mark on the game that will be remembered for years to come.

As the final horn sounded on Austin High’s 4-3 victory over Rochester Century, Austin players jumped on the boards to celebrate with the student body. The spontaneous reaction turned ugly quickly, and could have been much uglier, when a piece of Plexiglas went crashing to the ice along with several students. Thankfully none of the students nor the players were injured.

The breaking of the glass provided an opening for more students to pour onto the ice and soon there were more fans on the ice than players.

Meanwhile, Rochester Century stood poised at center ice watching the spectacle and ready to shake the hands of the victors.

Certainly there is nothing wrong with the team’s reaction, or the enthusiastic support of the crowd. What is wrong is that a number of fans proved they aren’t capable of cheering and supporting appropriately.

Appropriate behavior includes showing respect to your opponents, demonstrating respect to the game and having respect for the facilities the event is played at. Arguably some of Austin’s fans failed in all three areas.

This coming Thursday Austin’s hockey fans will have a chance to redeem themselves by behaving appropriately on the state’s biggest high school sporting event stage.

Bring your school spirit and your enthusiasm, but leave the nonsense and immature behavior at home. Let’s make sure the players and the team remains the story and not the boorish behavior of a few fans. Your team deserves it and so does the community that supports the high school.