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College sportswriters are in an interesting predicament. More so than any other publications, we're fans of the teams we cover. Sure we try to hide it, and we do our best to be fair and accurate in our reporting and coverage -- with mixed success. Still, we sportswriters at The Daily Pennsylvanian remain fans of Penn sports, and, in some cases, friends with the athletes. And so, now that I'm not a sports editor anymore, I'm in the stands a bit more. I have season tickets for the men's basketball team. I finally get to cheer. It's nice to cheer again for the Quakers after spending a year on press row. It's weird, now that I'm trying to suppress the urge not to cheer, rather than suppressing my want to yell out while covering an event. Penn's fans this season have been good for the most part, and great at times. The way the Palestra was packed for the Brown game a week ago was incredible -- and don't think that the 8,000-plus fans cheering on the Quakers didn't help them pull out that win. Still, there's something that bothers me when I'm sitting in Section 119. No, it's not the quality of officiating in the Ivy League or the whiny rants of Brown coach Glen Miller. It comes out at random times -- after a hard foul, a bad call or an opposing player's taunt. "Ass-hole... ass-hole... ass-hole." "Bull-shit... bull-shit... bull-shit." Now, I don't consider myself a prude and, yes, we're all adults here -- we can all handle this language. But, you know, these chants are just plain stupid, rude and perhaps even a bit offensive. After all, there are children in the Palestra, families in the stands and old Penn alums who certainly don't want to hear college kids spout this crap. The Penn athletic department doesn't have figures for how many children attend each Penn game, as tickets for seniors and students are grouped together in one price category. But there's enough, especially with the new "Pupils of the Palestra" program that gives free tickets to Philadelphia schoolchildren. While, profanity isn't going to turn a kid to crime it certainly isn't the best thing for little Joey or Sara to be hearing. Furthermore, it's simply not clever. We're Penn fans, and some of the chants and signs we have are among the best in the country. Chanting a two-syllable naughty word isn't going to make you look good or get you on television. Take the case of the Duke students a few years back who, angered at the calls by a certain ref, chanted, "You suck, Dick!" When Duke coach Mike Kryzweski asked them to stop, they changed to "You suck, Richard!" Now that's comedy. Speaking of "you suck," it's a bit of a toss-up here. It's not really a profanity, but, again, it's probably not something that five-year-olds should be hearing. And, while it's fun to chant, "Hey! You suck" or "Airball... airball... airball -- you suck," maybe it's something that needs to be rethought, at the least. As for Penn fans who make personal attacks on referees or players, they don't even belong at this University, let alone in the stands. I understand that when supporting your favorite team, it's tough to hold back. Emotions take over. Hell, I'm as guilty of it as anyone else. But that's no reason to go over the line. I'll be honest -- I've joined in with the profane chants. It's fun to turn around and tell the band to play "Rock and Roll II" so you can tell an opponent just how bad they are. But, maybe -- just maybe -- it's stupid. And, maybe -- just maybe -- we Penn fans need to shut the !%@# up.

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