When Is It Okay To Boo Your Own Player?

Today's blog entry was written by Amarpreet Rai, a junior science pre-professional student at the University of Notre Dame, and a member of the Social Foundations of Coaching Class.  Amarpreet is currently conducting research on the value of sport for urban youth.

Sometimes we take sports too far. As fans, we consider ourselves fully a part of a team. We think we know just as much as the players or even the coaches. And sometimes, we take this too far. We forget what our role is.

Let me explain. Sometimes fans think it’s acceptable to call for bodily harm or the benching of athletes, in college or professional sports. Two notable recent examples come to mind. The first is the hatred that Tommy Rees, the Notre Dame quarterback, has experienced both from the student section during games and through social media after. We forget that he’s a young adult on a public stage trying to do the best that he can. And as fans, instead of supporting him and making his job easier, we increase the pressure, making it harder for him (and for our team) to be successful. The second example is the booing of Matt Schaub, the HoustonTexans quarterback. Sure, he’s a little older and making money at what he’s doing. However, is it really acceptable to cheer when he suffers a game ending injury? For some reason, we do.

          An injured Matt Schaub on the sidelines                          Tommy Rees directs the Irish before his injury against USC

Play Like a Champion Today forces us to think about how we motivate athletes. It forces us to consider why athletes play the game. Negative motivation almost never seems to work. Constantly yelling at children neither inspires them to work harder nor does it help them learn faster. By booing Rees or Schaub, all we do is undermine their confidence in themselves. It does not matter if an individual is 8 or 28. Negative reinforcement from fans, coaches, or teammates does not work. What helps is a positive environment, fostering growth at all ages. 

As fans, we never like to see our team lose. Yet, when we boo, we make winning just a little harder for ourselves. So I ask again, when is it okay to boo your own player? The short answer: Never.