Warning...
The opinion I'm about to express is going to be an unpopular one. Generally speaking, I love it when big groups of soldiers go to sporting events in Columbus. Usually, it's guys who are suffering through basic training, and they're pretty starved for entertainment (and beer, too). They yell and shout and cheer for the home team, and they really get the rest of the crowd into the game. It's great for everyone... the team, the fans, and the soldiers, too.
Something at the hockey game tonight really disturbed me, though. Occasionally, the soldiers will burst out into chants, things like the "Ranger Creed." When they finish, the fans cheer like crazy. Ok, that's cool. What I find not cool... and disturbing, in fact, is when they chant things like "ooh, aah, I wanna kill somebody, right now!"
Normally, I only find it mildly disturbing. But in the last month, a former Fort Benning Soldier has been arrested and charged with the murder of another soldier, and three current Benning soldiers are charged with "concealing a death." The "I wanna kill somebody" cheer seems beyond inappropriate, but they were cheering it, very loudly, every twenty minutes or so. Disturbing.
In addition to that, I'm a little sour on Fort Benning right now anyway (and it's "God Bless Fort Benning Day" in Columbus, by the way). When I arrived at the game tonight, I was seriously struggling to get in the door. I have to buzz myself into the arena, which requires pushing a button and turning a door handle at the same time. I had to do this while holding a 20+ pound camera, a 20 pound tripod, and an equipment bag. Needless to say, I didn't have a free hand to buzz or turn the door handle, and the whole process of getting into the building took about three minutes. The entire time, a bunch of soldiers just stood there, staring at me. No offer of help. A little girl finally offered to help me. As I passed them, one of them cracked a joke.
Later, as I stumbled past another bunch of soldiers, and dropped my equipment bag, the only thing any of them said to me was "Can you put me on TV?"
Ummm. No. No I can't.
The opinion I'm about to express is going to be an unpopular one. Generally speaking, I love it when big groups of soldiers go to sporting events in Columbus. Usually, it's guys who are suffering through basic training, and they're pretty starved for entertainment (and beer, too). They yell and shout and cheer for the home team, and they really get the rest of the crowd into the game. It's great for everyone... the team, the fans, and the soldiers, too.
Something at the hockey game tonight really disturbed me, though. Occasionally, the soldiers will burst out into chants, things like the "Ranger Creed." When they finish, the fans cheer like crazy. Ok, that's cool. What I find not cool... and disturbing, in fact, is when they chant things like "ooh, aah, I wanna kill somebody, right now!"
Normally, I only find it mildly disturbing. But in the last month, a former Fort Benning Soldier has been arrested and charged with the murder of another soldier, and three current Benning soldiers are charged with "concealing a death." The "I wanna kill somebody" cheer seems beyond inappropriate, but they were cheering it, very loudly, every twenty minutes or so. Disturbing.
In addition to that, I'm a little sour on Fort Benning right now anyway (and it's "God Bless Fort Benning Day" in Columbus, by the way). When I arrived at the game tonight, I was seriously struggling to get in the door. I have to buzz myself into the arena, which requires pushing a button and turning a door handle at the same time. I had to do this while holding a 20+ pound camera, a 20 pound tripod, and an equipment bag. Needless to say, I didn't have a free hand to buzz or turn the door handle, and the whole process of getting into the building took about three minutes. The entire time, a bunch of soldiers just stood there, staring at me. No offer of help. A little girl finally offered to help me. As I passed them, one of them cracked a joke.
Later, as I stumbled past another bunch of soldiers, and dropped my equipment bag, the only thing any of them said to me was "Can you put me on TV?"
Ummm. No. No I can't.
Labels: Being the Sportslady, sports
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