This is truly one of those times when I feel grateful to have this forum for my thoughts and feelings. I just finished reading today's Idaho Press-Tribune, the Monday, September 14th edition, with it's loved/hated cheers and jeers section. This section allows people to give gratitude, vent, and most of all, make fools of themselves, because their name will never be put in print

The particular one I am referring to is a Cheers and Jeers, an entry that contains both, and refers to the BSU win over Oregon. The writer states that their jeer is for the handling of the incident after the game, but the jeer is not aimed at the Oregon player for his ugly behavior, but at our own player and Coach Pete for not suspending him also. (And a final dig was made by saying because he needs this player was why he did not suspend him.)

When I read this I had to laugh out loud at the level of misunderstanding regarding football and what goes on. As anyone who reads my blog often knows, I am a football person. I grew up with football in my family, I married a football player, and we raised boys who played football from the time they were little. Over all these years I have heard more stories than I would like about ugly behavior, on and off the field.

The writer of this obviously does not have a clue what goes on at the bottom of a dogpile, or what can be shouted, or even whispered, when teams line up on the field. To say that a "taunt" is equal to a cheap sucker punch has never stood on the sidelines during a game, or talked intimately with a devoted player. As spectators we are clueless to the things that go on during the game, and taunting is often the least of them.

My husband and I used to barbeque for our son's football team after every game, home or away. They looked forward to this time as an opportunity to "chill" as they put it, and talk about the game among themselves. Oh my, the things you would hear, even to someone who had been around it all her life. I remember after one particular game, as the boys began trickling in, I noticed that almost everyone of them had scrapes and scratches all over their face.

As it became more and more obvious that something was different about this game, they all looked like they had been in a bar brawl, I finally said...guys! What is going on? Turns out this particular team would go for the face at the bottom of a pile, trying to gouge eyes, nose, anything they could get their fingers on. I was much more appalled than the boys were, yes unsportsmanlike, yet they accepted it as part of the game.

So, to me, a verbal taunt is more than part of the game, it is just one of the many ways an opponent uses to get in the head of their rival. I didn't say that making a taunt after the game was over was classy in any way, I was also disappointed that it happened, but in no way does it deserve the same punishment as a sucker punch. Not only a cheap shot, but the Oregon player continued in his rage by trying to go into the stands, something you simply do not do.

As far as what I consider this Cheers and Jeers writers "cheap shot", that Coach Pete did not suspend the player because he needs him, is ridiculous. Coach Pete is not only a great coach, but he is a stand up individual who would never compromise his morals because of his need for a player, we have witnessed this in the past.

So yes, I am bummed that all the activities overshadowed our BSU win than night, I would much rather have had all the focus on the game itself. But as most of us realize, we need to keep the situation in perspective, and even though we wish it hadn't happened, we can still know that we were the bigger team that night, in more ways than one.