The American Spectator

p> RATTLING THE CAGE br> Re: Reid Collins’s Root, Root, Root for the Home Team! : /p>

Enjoyed reading this article by Mr. Collins, and agreed with many of his points. There was one point I take exception to, concerning NBA fans and the clappers they use to distract visiting players when they shoot free-throws.

Mr. Collins wrote, “There was a time when a fan would not want to be seen demonstrating in such a way.”

Mr. Collins may not be aware that basketball players used to be nicknamed “cagers.” This came from journalists in the first half of last century and it described many university gyms where basketball games were played. These gyms had a lower level, where the court was, and an upper balcony, where fans could watch the games. The basketball goals were suspended from the ceiling and fans in the balcony could easily grab a support and shake the goal when a player on the opposing team shot, which they did quite often. This led to the universities fencing off the balcony to prevent this interference. The lower gym now looked like it was in a cage, hence the term “cagers.”

p>Things may have worsened, but boorish behavior from the home-team fans is nothing new. br> — Kent Thomas /p>

Why was this article allowed to be on the website? If Reid Collins is so upset at the thought of fans cheering for their teams, then maybe Reid shouldn’t bother to watch sports at all. This was an idiotic, pointless article that demonstrated nothing so much as Reid is a know-nothing killjoy who doesn’t understand anything about sports.

The rant against instant replay was incredibly dumb. Apparently, in Reid’s world, the “authorities” are always right and just, and if anyone questions them, it’s because of “disrespect.” Or it could be that the officials screw up occasionally and there’s a system in place to prevent abuses. But hey, for Reid, the authorities should never be questioned. That, my friends, is a totalitarian view.