Draggin' out the old soapbox...

Women's College Softball. One of my favorite sports to watch on television. I rank it right up there with MMA, Indycar racing, Women's tennis, and Women's volleyball.

Besides the fact that it's good competition and filled with exceptionally talented athletes, I appreciate that the young women involved, as well as their coaching staff and their fans, are good sports who genuinely love the game. As a fan, I prefer this to what I usually see in men's sports.

Today, however, was the exception. I just finished watching the Oregon Ducks vs. the Georgia Tech Yellowjackets. It all started with some jackoff in the stands (a Georgia Tech fan) doing the whole, "Swing batter batter batter" business. Then it progressed to boos and catcalls. Then it was straight up asshole-ness. This particular fuckwad fan appeared to have been a football player (he was sitting with a bunch of his buddies who also looked like they were probably football players).

Somewhere around the second inning, this dickhead must have gotten a talking to by some other fans, or security, or perhaps his coach, because he quieted down and seemed somewhat abashed. There was still some noise coming from his section, but at least it wasn't just his voice.

I don't know if it was in spite of this moron or because of him, but the Oregon Ducks went on a tear and started kicking the living shit out of GT. In the first inning, they were down 0-2 when a batter deep in the lineup (maybe the 9th batter) hit a grand slam putting Oregon ahead 4-2 and they never looked back. They ended up winning (by mercy rule) 11-2.

By the end of the game, almost all of the fans were yelling and booing and carrying on like a bakery full of ass-hats. For the most part, they were booing the umpires due to a couple of questionable calls. This must have rubbed off on the team because even the losing pitcher (we'll call her "Piggy") was acting like a bitch. To be honest, however, Piggy was kind of a bitch before she threw the first ball, but she was quite a bit worse by the end of the game. She even threw a shoulder into the catcher out of pissiness.

My point is this: College Softball is supposed to be about talent, desire, but above all else, good-sportsmanship. I've never seen such an embarrassing display in my many years of watching. Fans should be all about cheering for their players and maybe yelling at the umpire, but it should never come down to being jerks to the players, regardless of the outcome of the game.

I was really hoping the first dickhead would have gotten ejected. Had he been alone, rather than sitting with a bunch of good sized guys, I doubt he would have had as much to say. Granted, he was a pretty big kid himself, and he was no doubt surrounded by like-minded fans, however I'm still convinced nobody acts like that without asshole support.

So, I say boo to Georgia Tech, its fans, coaches and players. What a sad, sorry state of affairs. Although, I have to admit it was very gratifying watching GT get their asses handed to them despite being a big bag of dicks. You don't hear that about a group of women normally, but GT is certainly the exception that proves the rule.

Let's just hope this is an isolated incident.

Go Huskies!