When Seaholm plays Brother Rice in any sport, it doesn’t take much to get people excited.
Monday night wasn’t any different, as Seaholm went down the road to square off with Brother Rice on the hardwood.
Upon entering the gym during the fourth quarter of the preceding J.V. game, I could tell the atmosphere was going to be great for a basketball game.
Both students sections were packed to the brim, and I don’t think one could have shoe-horned another student into the Brother Rice section, where the attire ranged from shirtless, to costumes, and there was even a tuxedo in there somewhere.
The Seaholm section held its own with signs, some face paint, and some very inventive chants.
Actually, the latter is where things got interesting.
I could sense from the start of the game that Terry Piper and Aaron Frank were going to make their presence known, possible even too much, hovering over the students section like administrators at a school dance, peering through the crowd like hawks.
Things seemed to be O.K. while people were arriving, but right before tip-off, a sexually explicit chant coming from the students section got Piper and Frank’s attention very quickly.
Other than shooting some steely glares into the students section and administering some general warnings, no action was taken, but Piper and Frank were watching even closer.
And then came the bombshell.
Midway through the third-quarter, another sexually explicit chant was heard coming from the Maple student section, and at this point, Piper was not happy.
“I did ask six people to leave,” said Piper. “The rowdiness was not the problem, it was the vulgarity. And that vulgarity is an embarrassment to our school.”
Piper would not identify the culprits, but did express disappointment for their actions, as well as those of the student’s section as a whole who were willing to participate in the inappropriate chants.
Frank had similar feelings.
It’s okay to have fun, but you don’t want to act like a bunch of eighth graders,” said Frank “And that is how we acted tonight, it’s unfortunate.”
There are a few factors that led to the chant choices among the students.
First, Seaholm students don’t like Brother Rice.
Let me rephrase, they hate Brother Rice.
And why do they hate Brother Rice?
Well, it probably has something to do with unfriendliness among Seaholm students towards Brother Rice in general.
“Yeah, it’s pretty much because Seaholm kids hate Rice,” said junior Danny Bailey.
Senior Richard Washington, while competing in the game, noticed the added energy in the student’s section.
“Yeah, I mean the students section was definitely excited about the game, because, I mean, no one at Seaholm likes losing to Rice.”
To me, it was a perfect atmosphere for high school basketball.
And I also feel like, to an extent, students should be able to have some fun at a basketball game.
And at times, administrators seem overly vigilante, which can in turn make the students push the envelope for the sheer adventure of it.
To me, the underlying theme in all of this is that people are excited about Seaholm basketball, and they should be.
I also think that students should be allowed to have a good time, as long as the chants are within reason.
Bottom line: Enjoy the game, but keep it clean people. Or at least somewhat clean.
